Mercantilism Through The Triangular Trade Answer Key (Page 2 of 2) in pdf

3. From the chart, determine the following:

a. What is the mother country in the chart? England

b. Who is the mother country’s colony? America

c. Who is the foreign market? Africa

Another way to understand mercantilism is to compare it with a modern example. Rather than focus on a country, let’s look at a

company. Today, mercantilism is called franchising, and instead of referring to a country and its colonies, a franchise refers to the

corporation (parent company) and the individual franchises (owner).

McDonald’s Corporation is one of the world’s biggest companies. However, independent individuals own many of the

McDonald’s restaurants that you visit. Anyone wishing to own an individual McDonald’s restaurant pays McDonald’s Corporation

a fee to open up the restaurant. In running one’s own McDonald’s restaurant, the person has to agree to operate it in the manner

that McDonald’s tells him or her to. The owner must agree to set prices and include menu items as instructed by McDonald’s

Corporation. They must also use McDonald’s logos, merchandise and suppliers for food, paper products, drinks, etc.

Therefore, the McDonald’s restaurant is nearly completely controlled by the parent company, McDonald’s Corporation. The

profits made at the restaurant are the owner’s to keep, but he or she has to pay the corporation a monthly fee and pay to use the

items provided by McDonald’s. By making franchises follow their rules, the parent company gains wealth and power — especially

as more restaurants open up. Owners also make a profit, but have little control over the product. Although each McDonald’s

restaurant is independently owned, every owner must follow the same rules in conducting business.

4. How does one’s ownership of a McDonald’s franchise help the corporation gain wealth and power? You

are paying a fee to McDonald’s to run a restaurant and buying from their suppliers. Also, the more McDonald’s there are, the

more the parent company gains nationally.

5. How does the main McDonald’s corporation help individual restaurants succeed? You are getting a proven

and quality product from corporate McDonald’s (the food, logos, marketing, etc.) and buying from suppliers that are trusted by

the parent company.

6. Compare this with the examples of mercantilism from #2.

a. The parent company would be the equivalent of what (from #2 above)? England

b. The individual McDonald’s owner would be the equivalent of what (from #2 above)? The American

colonies

7. Is there another example you can think of today that is similar to the idea of mercantilism? Answers will

vary.

121

Mercantilism Through The Triangular Trade Answer Key Page 2