Because of their belief in Mercantilism, though, England did not want to trade away its wealth in order to acquire supplies from other nations. They felt that money was finite and that if one country got rich that another nation would in effect become poor. Money equaled power. By trading away their money for supplies they were in essence giving up some of their power. What they needed was some new land on which they could produce the products needed by England and not have to deal with other countries. America was the answer.