• Increase exports while decreasing imports.
• Colonize and use new resources to enrich the mother country.
• Mine for gold and silver among your own nation's natural resources.

The statements above are ways to —

A. increase trade among nations
Incorrect. Reducing imports limits trade.

B. decrease industrialization
Incorrect. These actions contributed to industrialization.

C. increase a nation's wealth
Correct! Mercantilists believed these to be the only ways to increase a nation's wealth.

D. decrease a nation's wealth
Incorrect. Mercantilists believed these to be the only ways to increase a nation's wealth.

Which of the following was NOT a result of the standardization of money?

A. Increased efficiency of trade
Incorrect. With money having a fixed value, trade could be conducted with relative ease.

B. Helped stabilize the economy
Incorrect. The health of the economy fluctuates with the value of the money, therefore fixed values maintain a healthier economy.

C. Encouraged the growth of banking
Incorrect. Banking grew as a direct result of this more consistent form of money.

D. Encouraged lingering distrust among merchants
Correct! When there is no real way to know how much each coin is worth, there is little trust in trade and therefore everyone has to be very careful.

How did joint-stock companies allow for greater exploration?

A. Only the wealthy could afford to explore so they stood to gain all the profit.
Incorrect. Joint-stock companies allowed investors to pool their funds so more people could gain from the profits.

B. Risk was limited to how much stock an investor chose to purchase. However, the potential profit was high so many people bought stock.
Correct! This allowed greater numbers of expeditions because people were more willing to invest in attempts to find riches abroad.

C. Joint-stock companies were prohibited by many governments, therefore they did nothing to increase exploration.
Incorrect. Even the governments in many European nations used joint-stock companies to find valuable resources.

D. Joint-stock companies were popular for a while but quickly died away when people did not receive the profit they had hoped for.
Incorrect. Joint-stock companies still exist today and many people have profited greatly from them over the years.

Which of the following was NOT an advantage of a joint-stock company?

A. Losses are limited.
Incorrect. Buying stock limits your risk of financial loss to the price of the stock itself.

B. Potential profit is high.
Incorrect. If the company made money is was split among stockholders so the more money the company made, the more each stockholder made.

C. Shares made it possible to invest as much or as little as you chose to.
Incorrect. Shares represent a portion of ownership in the company and are relatively inexpensive (compared to financing a whole trip).

D. Eliminates the potential for bankruptcy.
Correct! A joint-stock company limits losses, offers high potential for profit, and allows for flexibility of investment amount. However, these ventures could still go bankrupt.