The American colonial economy was export-driven, although by far the largest share of output was consumed internally. English merchant-capitalists financed the settlement of American colonies, hoping that they would gain profits from their investments. Notwithstanding the English navigation laws, which attempted to ensure the profits of English capital by restricting American manufacturing and mandating the markets for exports of colonial crops, colonists sought self-sufficiency, not only growing most of their own food but making many of the crude tools they used in production. Colonial ec…
