Mercantilism vs free enterprise

Mercantilism is an economic concept whereby countries seek to protect their markets from foreign firms or governments so that the country will export more goods than imports. The goal of mercantilism was initially to create as much wealth in gold and silver to fund militaries through the sale of goods through exports. Free enterprise is largely the opposite of this concept in that the government seeks to allow the market to operate on its own without government intervention or protection. Free enterprise is based on Adam Smith's notions of capitalism and the ability for free trade and non-government intervention to allow economies to grow and develop.