How did the ideas of the enlightenment and increasing commercial development lead to the rapid increase in the size of the British Empire?

The main way in which the ideas of the Enlightenment and increasing commercial development led to the rapid increase in the size of the British Empire is that Enlightenment thinkers began to think of the world as being something with endless possibilities, and mercantilism and commercialism led to them taking advantage of this through colonization and trade in different areas of the globe.