Final answer:
During the expansion of the colonies, Britain focused on increasing its power through trade, extending imperial control, and adopting mercantilist policies to bind the colonies to the mother country, all of which was instrumental in becoming a global superpower.
Step-by-step explanation:
When the colonies were expanding, Britain was engaged in the task of bolstering and extending its empire through various means. This period, particularly in the mid-1700s, saw Britain transform into a global superpower with a strong commercial and military presence, significantly due to the Seven Years' War which consolidated its power against European rivals. During the eighteenth century, British North American colonists were subject to economic, social, and political changes as the British adopted mercantilist policies, which strove to bind the colonies closer to the mother country. The British Empire set up an economic and political system designed to increase the nation's wealth through commercial ties with the New World, underpinned by the passage of the Navigation Acts and the creation of the Board of Trade. Additionally, the monarchy sought to extend greater political control over the colonies, which, alongside trade benefits, eventually led to a rise in colonial resistance.