Mercantilism is an economic system in which one country uses a territory/nation solely for their economic benefit. This means that the controlling country (mother country) will take as many natural resources as possible from the area they are exploring. This helps to drive the Age of Exploration because many countries were having successful trips to the New World in which they found valuable commodities like gold, silver, potatoes etc. This desire for new resources drove European countries to increase the amount of expeditions they sent to the New World.
