Contextualizing 16th/17th-Century Challenges, Developments Practice Test

From the mid-1500s through the 1600s, European intellectual life was shaped by the Scientific Revolution, religious controversy, and the authority of universities and churches. New approaches emphasized observation, mathematics, and experimentation, challenging inherited Aristotelian frameworks. These debates occurred alongside efforts by states and churches to police belief and maintain order. Which statement best captures a key feature of the Scientific Revolution’s challenge to traditional authority in this era?

During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, European states expanded overseas trade networks and competed for colonies and maritime dominance. Merchants and governments experimented with policies to accumulate bullion, secure favorable balances of trade, and use chartered companies to organize commerce and colonization. These policies were justified as strengthening the state’s power in an era of frequent war. Which term best describes this set of ideas and practices?