Colonial System, also called COMMERCIAL SYSTEM, a name for the theory long acted on by European nations, that their settlements abroad were to be treated as proprietary domains, exploited for the benefit of the mother-country, which did everything it could to import their produce as cheaply as possible, and encourage them to a large consumption of home manufactures. The system was carried to its furthest extent by Spain. See COLONY, FREE TRADE, MERCANTILE SYSTEM, MONOPOLY, NAVIGATION LAWS, UNITED STATES.
Colonial System
Chambers's Encyclopaedia, Volume 3: Catarrh to Dion, p. 357
Source scan(s): p. 0368