Final answer:
The most widespread and important economic activity in colonial America was agriculture, with particular regional focuses such as whaling in New England, grain production in the middle colonies, and tobacco and rice in the Southern colonies. These activities shaped the economic landscape under the mercantilism system.
Step-by-step explanation:
The most widespread and important economic activity in colonial America was agriculture, including farming and other related activities. Different colonies had different agricultural focuses based on their environment and available resources. In the New England colonies, the harsh climate and rocky soil meant that many farmers grew crops primarily for self-sufficiency rather than for market. However, these colonies also engaged in whaling and fishing for the export market and became leaders in shipbuilding.
The middle colonies were known for producing grains such as wheat, rye, oats, barley, buckwheat, and corn, as well as a variety of vegetables, flax, and hemp. Livestock was also raised in this region. These colonies later became leaders in iron manufacturing. In the Chesapeake colonies, tobacco production was dominant, but crops like wheat, corn, flax, hemp, and apples were also cultivated.
The Southern colonies like North Carolina utilized their forests for tar, pitch, and timber, crucial for shipbuilding. Southern colonies also engaged in the export of rice, indigo, and salt pork. Agriculture in these colonies was very profitable under the mercantilism system, which allowed the colonies to thrive by supplying raw materials to the mother country.
Overall, agriculture remained at the heart of the colonial economies, and despite some regional diversification into manufacturing and other economic activities like mining, agriculture was the essential mainstay, shaping the social, political, and economic landscape of the colonial period