# The Colonies — The Wealth of Nations character guide

> The Colonies in The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the colonies, Their, themselves, their

**First appearance:** 0057-vii-of-colonies

## Snapshot

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

## Who they are

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.

## In the story

### [V: Of the Different Employment of Capitals](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wealth_of_nations_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wealth_of_nations_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wealth_of_nations_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wealth_of_nations_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wealth_of_nations_se/chapters/iv-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wealth_of_nations_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wealth_of_nations_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wealth_of_nations_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wealth_of_nations_se/chapters/viii-conclusion-of-the-mercantile-system)

American and West Indian colonies established as captive markets for British goods.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wealth_of_nations_se/characters/the_colonies
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wealth_of_nations_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wealth_of_nations_se/characters