The Wealth of Nations · Character

The Colonies

The American settlements as a collective economic experiment, hugging coastlines and rivers, forever straining against the mercantile leash of the mother country.

supporting

Also known as the colonies, Their, themselves, their

First appearance: vii of colonies

As a supporting figure in The Wealth of Nations, The Colonies is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

American colonies are cited as an example of rapid progress due to heavy investment in agriculture, with their export and coasting trade carried on by British capital.

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Smith treats the colonies not as a political cause but as a living laboratory: their plantations follow the seacoast and navigable rivers, their inland markets stay thin, and their whole pattern of settlement reveals how geography and navigation dictate the pace of opulence. They are also a running grievance — a place where European nations imagine they will find gold and instead find tobacco, fish, and fur, and where the mercantile system's restrictions chafe against natural growth. Their story in the early books is the story of how wealth actually accumulates when land is abundant and labor scarce, a counterpoint to the cramped economies of Europe.

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Character Web

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Other

Character groups

Domestic and colonial entities
Ancient authorities and examples
European national examples

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Rising action.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

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The Colonies appears across 9 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

V: Of the Different Employment of Capitals
American colonies are cited as an example of rapid progress due to heavy investment in agriculture, with their export and coasting trade carried on by British capital.
I: Of the Natural Progress of Opulence
North American and West Indian colonies, used as examples of rapid progress aided by foreign capital.
Chapter III: Of the Extraordinary Restraints Upon the Importation of Goods of Almost All Kinds, from Those Countries with Which the Balance Is Supposed to Be Disadvantageous
Referenced as North American colonies whose trade with Great Britain demonstrates that a negative trade balance can coexist with increasing wealth.
II: Of the Unreasonableness of Those Extraordinary Restraints Upon Other Principles
Referenced as North American colonies, whose trade is less advantageous than trade with France due to longer return times.
Of Drawbacks
The North American and West Indian colonies, which had special drawback rules and a monopoly on certain goods.
VI: Of Treaties of Commerce
Referenced indirectly as part of the broader trade system; Smith discusses the Portugal trade's role in supplying gold for British commerce.
II: Causes of the Prosperity of New Colonies
Discussed as entities that advance rapidly due to abundant land and high wages, with English colonies favored for their moderate taxes and free trade.
III: Of the Advantages Which Europe Has Derived from the Discovery of America, and from That of a Passage to the East Indies by the Cape of Good Hope
The American colonies, whose cultivators were confined by law to trade only with England, and whose produce was partially restricted to certain markets.
VIII: Conclusion of the Mercantile System
American and West Indian colonies established as captive markets for British goods.

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