MERCANTILISM

noun Date: 1838 the theory or practice of mercantile pursuits ; commercialism , an economic system developing during the decay of feudalism to unify and increase the power and especially the monetary wealth of a nation by a strict governmental regulation of the entire national economy usually through policies designed to secure an accumulation of bullion, a favorable balance of trade, the development of agriculture and manufactures, and the establishment of foreign trading monopolies, mercantilist noun or adjective mercantilistic adjective