Which of the enlightenment ideals—rationalism, empiricism, progressivism, or cosmopolitanism—do you think was most important to its spread?

describe mercantilism in your own words. was it a just economic policy? were the foundations of mercantilist theory sound?

I believe that the enlightenment ideal that was most important to spread was empiricism. Empiricism is a theory that defends that knowledge comes primarily from sensory experience. Empiricism influenced sciences and led to the actual scientific methods we know today.Mercantilism was not just an economic policy, it was a principle that was taken by most of the European countries that demanded that those countries accumulated the largest possible share of wealth so they could be considered more influential. Mercantilism not just had economical effects but also influenced the creation of colonies in the new world and influenced trade which led to cultural exchange and expansion. Also led to military rivalry.