The British and French empires of the time used their settlement colonies for their natural resources, which represent the engine for the empire development and growth. Commerce was the way people earned a living, and famous mercantilist economists elaborated specific scientific documents- like Adam Smith - 'The Wealth of Nations'- in 1776. The invisible hand represents the way a market assures.

The Protestant Reformation occurred in the 16th century as a way to reform the Catholic Church in Western Europe. Many ordinary citizens in those countries considered the church doctrine to be false and duplicitary, often recurring to teaching and selling of indulgences (which were a temporarily 'remission of temporal punishment due to sins which have already been forgiven' the Catholic Encyclopaedia - W.H. Kent). Religious leaders of the time, like Luther and John Calvin enabled reforms that criticize purgatory, the authority of the church, and mostly the pope, to...
[ View Full Essay]