What was the impact of mercantilism on the European colonization of North America?

Mercantilism was an economic philosophy that predated capitalism. Under this system, European governments in the 1600s and 1700s tried to claim as much of the New World as possible; they believed that the world economy was a zero-sum game. In other words, resources that other countries claimed detracted from own their accumulation of goods. The goal of many countries was to amass as much bullion (gold and silver) as possible.
Mercantilism affected the European colonization of North America because European nations, including France, the Netherlands, Spain, and England, tried to claim as many natural resources as possible. In particular, the Spanish tried to accumulate as much gold as possible while enslaving the Native Americans they found. Many European countries were not interested in developing industries in the New World, as they only saw their territories as a means of beating out other nations to claim resources to add to their own coffers. 

Mercantilism impacted the European colonization of North America significantly. Under the principles of the mercantile system, a country established colonies so it can benefit from its colonies. The European countries manufactured many products. In order to manufacture these products, these countries needed raw materials. By having colonies, the European countries were able to get raw materials from their colonies cheaper than they would have been able to if they bought them from other countries.
The European countries would then use these raw materials to make finished products. These products would be sold to the colonies. By having colonies, the European countries would have a guaranteed market for their products. This would allow the European countries to make a lot of money, as they would sell these products to their colonies. As the European countries established more colonies and did more trading, they became more powerful and wealthy. Thus, there were significant incentives for the European countries to establish colonies. The mercantile system greatly impacted the European colonization of North America.
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Mercantilism was a theory of political economy that was prominent in Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Basically, it argued that a nation's power was fundamentally based on its wealth, and that the government ought to regulate the economy in ways that increased the wealth of the state. This theory influenced colonization in a number of ways. First, it promoted the establishment of colonies on the ground that they could produce revenue for the state. Second, it led European nations to place trade regulations on their colonies. For example, English colonies, at least in theory, were banned by a series of laws known as Navigation Acts from trading with other European nations. Third, it caused many colonies to develop economies that were geared toward satisfying demands for certain items. Colonies specialized in certain staple crops, like sugar, tobacco, or rice, and they consumed manufactured goods from the "mother country." Above all, the theory of mercantilism encouraged the development of an Atlantic economy that involved Europe, West Africa, and the Americas. People, goods, and money flowed around the Atlantic, facilitating the growth of colonies. At the same time, this system required a tremendous amount of capital and especially human labor. So while the system of mercantilism facilitated economic growth in Europe and the Americas, it did so on the backs of millions of enslaved people brought from West Africa.