What would have happened if mercantalist economic ideas never really got off the ground in Europe?
The biggest impact I can think of right away is on overseas colonization. The idea pretty much to have a bunch of overseas colonies with which you monopolize trade, but you don't necessarily do anything else with them. With no mercanalist ideas, there would be less impetus to obtain overseas colonial empires, but tighter control over the colonies that existed. The Spanish would be affected the least.
Would this have nay impact on the development of economic theory?