What did mercantilists believe was necessary for a country to become wealthy and powerful?

Mercantilists believed that to become wealthy and powerful, a country needed to accumulate precious metals, particularly gold and silver, through a favorable balance of trade. They argued that nations should export more than they import, thereby generating trade surpluses. Additionally, mercantilists promoted government intervention in the economy, including tariffs and subsidies, to protect domestic industries and enhance national strength. Overall, they viewed wealth as a zero-sum game, where one nation's gain was another's loss.