The mercantile system of the British opposed by the colonists because it put them under restrictions. British as an Empire required wealth. British established colonies in America so that they could gain raw materials and make profits. They did not want the Americans to gain self-dependent by engaging in trading with the other Europeans nation like the Netherlands. The British put taxes on imported goods to discourage this practice, and this forced the colonists to buy only British goods. The Navigation Acts and the Sugar Act passed to regulate the colonial trade.
