By the mid-eighteenth century,a distinct colonial merchant class came into existence in part because of

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The distinct colonial merchant class came into existence because of the illegal colonial trade in markets outside of the British Empire. The British Navigation Acts restricted colonial trade to only British ships and ports, creating a monopoly on colonial trade for British merchants. As a result, colonists began to engage in illicit trade with other countries, which led to the rise of a colonial merchant class. The development of a substantial colonial manufacturing industry and new access by non-British ships to the colonial carrying trade did not play as significant of a role in the formation of this class.

By the Mid-Eighteenth Century,a Distinct Colonial Merchant Class Came into Existence