ABSTRACT
As England had planned, the colonies did fall into the expected pattern of providing raw materials for the mother country. Even before the colonies were founded, Europeans were obtaining fish, furs, and timber from the North American continent. Later, tobacco, rice, indigo, and sugar were added to the list of colonial staples. Farmers and artisans hoped to acquire English tools and implements. Colonial historians used to refer to the so-called triangular trade routes. Much of the improvement in land transportation was connected with the growth of a mail service. Colonial trade was economically significant and varied. One need not wade through a morass of trade figures to realize that large merchants and planters profited directly, and countless other colonists profited indirectly, from the far-flung foreign and extensive domestic trade. It is therefore not surprising that commerce made the English colonies an integral and crucial part of the 'Atlantic World'.
