... in the early part of the 19th century was fairly consistent in terms of the role each of the major parties played: Latin America provided raw materials to Spain/Portugal, and then purchased and consumed the finished goods which were sold to them via the Colonial Government's trade monopoly. For all intents and purposes this is the exact same system which was used by all of the European nations in regards to their colonies: France in the America's and later in Africa, Holland in the Americas and in the Far East, England with their colonial possessions, etc. In all cases the ¨mother¨ country established restrictions on trade which severely limited their colonies ability to grow economically. This entire model was based on the concept of ¨mercantilism/bullionism¨, the idea that a country's wealth is equivalent to the sum of its precious metal supply. As precious metals were a relatively fixed commodity up ...

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