Keeping the historical backdrop in mind, let us turn now to America's experience. From previous writers and events, the colonists knew something about civic life. However, this knowledge did not inspire all of them equally. Therefore some remained loyal to King George III and his Parliament even as others sought independence. Furthermore, the Revolution that finally came was so complex an event that historians attribute it to various causes. Still, insofar as rebellion established a special sort of American citizenship, based partly on terms such as those we just explored briefly, the British policy of mercantilism provides an instructive starting point for understanding what happened.

Mercantilism

Mercantilism was a collection of institutional arrangements sanctioned by royal or parliamentary charters and decrees. Via such arrangements, European countries like Portugal, Holland, Spain, France, and Britain, starting even before Columbus reached America in 1492 but continuing afterward, established overseas colonies that were expected to send raw materials, such as silver and naval stores, and agricultural staples, such as tea and tobacco, to their home country. Some of these materials were converted there into finished goods and some of those were then exported for sale to customers abroad, including the colonists.

When working smoothly, the system was supposed to cause gold and silver to accumulate in imperial centers. This was because a colony's exports would sell for less in London or Paris than the same colony's imports would cost in Philadelphia or Martinique.