WordNet
mercantile system
n. an economic system (Europe in 18th C) to increase a nation's wealth by government regulation of all of the nation's commercial interests [syn: mercantilism]
Usage examples of "mercantile system".
The days of the Mercantile System, when the state had regulated the industrial life of the entire community, were coming to an end.
The store was on its feet within one year, expanding in two, opening branches in three, and its descendants, a great mercantile system, now dominate a large part of the area.
But as it stands, they're bottled up in a cold-decked mercantile system.