Final answer:
The economic policy focused on amassing wealth in gold and silver through controlled trade and colonization is mercantilism, which helped spur the Industrial Revolution and emphasized the financial interests of the mother country over free trade.
Step-by-step explanation:
The economic policy by which nations tried to gather as much gold and silver as possible by controlling trade and establishing colonies is known as mercantilism.
Governments during the mercantilist period sought to protect their markets and maximize wealth by accumulating precious metals and relying on restrictive practices like high tariffs, monopolies, and bans on certain goods.
Notably, mercantilism contributed to the expansion of manufacturing and technological advancements, which ultimately paved the way for the Industrial Revolution.
In the pursuit of wealth, mercantilist governments extended their reach by establishing colonies to serve as sources of raw materials and markets for their finished goods.
This system discouraged free trade and instead placed heavy emphasis on regulation to benefit the mother country's economy, often at the expense of the colonies.