History Main / MerchantCity

* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'': The Free City of Marienburg in the Wasteland to the north of the Empire (the Wasteland used to be known as the Westerlands, but ever sine Marienburg bought its independence and refused to return the Imperials have taken to demeaning its importance in every way they can). Its location on the mouth of the primary river leading inland into the northern Old World gives it a controlling position for trade moving between inland nations and ones along the rest of the Old World's coasts -- anyone who doesn't wish to make an overland trip across monster-infested forests and mountain ranges must go through Marienburg. It's also one of the very few ports where Elves will trade. This makes Marienburg fantastically wealthy, and has led to it being ruled by a number of powerful merchant families.%%There is also the far more upmarket High Elf version in Lothern and the Arabyan version in the Spice Port of Copher.

* UsefulNotes/SaoPaulo for Brazil. Its growth to the 4th largest metropolis in the world today began rather similarly to San Francisco's, in that it was the staging point for the many seekers of wealth in the otherwise-hard-to-access interior of Brazil which merchants would help supply before they headed out, including several gold rushes. Plantations in the nearby lowlands also provided additional wealth and demand for labor (initially slave until 1888), first in sugar and then later in coffee. Today, Sao Paulo is known as the city that does the work in Brazil (UsefulNotes/RioDeJaniero is where you party); high-end luxury brands looking to enter the Brazilian market usually start in the Jardins district.

* UsefulNotes/SaoPaulo for Brazil. High-end luxury brands looking to enter the Brazilian market usually start in the Jardins district.

* UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco owes much of its explosive growth as a city in the 19th century to its location at the mouth of the Bay that bears its name (or rather the city bears the bay's name - it was formerly called Yerba Buena after a local plant). Its position as one of the best harbors on the Pacific coast of North America made it a natural choice for traders to head for -- Spanish, British, American, even Russian (the city's Russian Hill neighborhood is named after the small graveyard of deceased Russian fur traders located at said hill's top). The 1848 GoldRush brought forth the gold that would (eventually) make the city rich and the FortyNiner wave seeking their wealth, either passing through to get to the gold fields just across the Bay or the more business-savvy who sought their profits serving those miners like Levi Strauss' denim jeans and Wells Fargo bank. The Transcontinental Railroad didn't ''quite'' reach all the way to the city, but Oakland is right across the Bay so it was close enough for the railroad tycoons who settled in San Francisco, particularly Nob Hill, and the city opened what became the Pacific Stock Exchange in 1887. Even as Los Angeles eventually overtook it in population over the course of the 20th century, San Francisco still remains the financial center of the western United States, exemplified by the Federal Reserve Bank twelfth district covering everything west of the Rockies being headquartered here and being a major source of venture capital for many a Silicon Valley startup.

* Liverpool in the heyday of the cotton trade, much less so these days.

* UsefulNotes/Djibouti City is an important trading spot due its location at the southern end of the Red Sea and relative stability and security near the most heavily trafficked sea lanes in the world and subsequently among the most vulnerable to piracy and other attacks. It also serves as otherwise-landlocked Ethiopia's main access to sea trade and world markets. Its status as a TruceZone that hosts military personnel from many of the world's powers, including rivals like both the US and China, is mainly in the service of continuing to secure the sea lanes that keep it afloat economically.

!!Examples! Examples! That's what we've got! Examples! Examples! Nice and hot!:

!!Examples:

* ''VideoGame/Civilization'': ''V'' and ''VI'' introduces independent city-states that can be interacted with by major players classified by type, one of which is Mercantile, after famous ones throughout history. Get on their good side and they'll give bonuses to you without the need to conquer them outright, such as sending out shipments of luxury goods to increase major nations' [[MoraleMechanic Happiness]], including unique goods that can't be obtained any other way. The player can also choose to focus cities on trade by building Wonders such as the Great Lighthouse, Petra, and the East India Company, or turn their entire nation into a ProudMerchantRace by taking specific focuses on commerce.

* ''VideoGame/CivilizationV'': Mercantile city-states are named after famous examples from history. Get on their good side and they'll send out shipments of luxury goods to increase major nations' [[MoraleMechanic Happiness]], including unique goods that can't be obtained any other way. The player can also choose to focus cities on trade by building Wonders such as the Great Lighthouse, Petra, and the East India Company, or turn their entire nation into a ProudMerchantRace by taking up the Commerce and Navigation policy trees.

* UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco owes much of its explosive growth as a city in the 19th century to its location at the mouth of the Bay that bears its name (or rather the city bears the bay's name - it was formerly called Yerba Buena after a local plant). Its position as one of the best harbors on the Pacific coast of North America made it a natural choice for traders to head for -- Spanish, British, American, even Russian (the city's Russian Hill neighborhood is named after the small graveyard of deceased Russian fur traders located at said hill's top). The 1848 GoldRush brought forth the gold that would (eventually) make the city rich and the FortyNiner wave seeking their wealth, either passing through to get to the gold fields just across the Bay or the more business-savvy who sought their profits serving those miners like Levi Strauss' denim jeans and Wells Fargo bank. The Transcontinental Railroad didn't ''quite'' reach all the way to the city, but Oakland is right across the Bay so it was close enough for the railroad tycoons who settled in San Francisco, particularly Nob Hill, and the city opened what became the Pacific Stock Exchange in 1887. Even as Los Angeles eventually overtook it over the course of the 20th century, San Francisco still remains the financial center of the western United States, exemplified by the Federal Reserve Bank twelfth district covering everything west of the Rockies being headquartered here, and being a major source of venture capital for many a Silicon Valley startup.

* Mogadishu rose to become one of the most prominent merchant centers on the Horn of Africa during the Sultanate era (roughly the 10th through 16th Centuries), being situated on the Indian Ocean and conducting trade along the Arabian Sea - its zenith of prominence is around the 12th to 14th Centuries. The writings of the Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta, who visited the city in 1331, noted that it was already "an exceedingly large city" that exported many goods like silk to Egypt.

* The Mississipian mounds of Cahokia near present-day UsefulNotes/StLouis are considered the largest pre-Columbian urban center to have ever existed north of Mexico, with archaeologists estimating its peak population to be as high as 40,000 in the 13th century (which would put it on par with London in the same time period). Among the sites there is evidence of trade in copper, chert (a stone useful for making hoes for farming) and seashells with tribes as far north as the Great Lakes and as far south as the Gulf Coast.

* UsefulNotes/{{London}} specialises in merchant ''banking'' these days, but is still a busy port.

* Novgorod, in UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}, before UsefulNotes/IvanTheTerrible burned it down.

* The British East India company developed Mumbai (on the western side of the subcontinent) and Kolkata (on the eastern side) as the main ports of entry for their dealings (however defined) in India.

Some large merchant cities may have entire neighborhoods dedicated to particular goods, such as foods, textiles or spices. Merchant cities are on a SlidingScaleOfShinyVersusGritty. While merchant cities trading gems and silks may be wealthy, opulent and filled with BlueBlood elite, a merchant city that specializes in the trade of less valuable raw resources such as timber or wheat may have more humble, middle-class buildings and inhabitants.

As a port city, it will often be filled with warehouses (including some {{Abandoned Warehouse}}s), which provide locations for heroes and villains to plot intrigues and move and store secret cargoes. Some large merchant cities may have entire neighborhoods dedicated to particular goods, such as foods, textiles or spices.

As a port city, it will often be filled with warehouses (including some {{Abandoned Warehouse}}s), which provide locations for heroes and villains to plot intrigues and move and store secret cargoes.

{{Obstructive Bureaucrat}}s and CityGuards hover to check papers, enforce rules, and collect taxes, but [[EveryManHasHisPrice some wily operators know how to use a wad of money to get them waved through]] inspections. As a port city, it may have a section on the WrongSideOfTheTracks that’s become a WretchedHive of rogues and pickpockets, so watch your back (and your wallet).

Access to large amounts of financial capital is usually needed in order to support the high-risk/high-reward ventures often undertaken by an IntrepidMerchant, so there will be plenty of banks and wealthy investors. If not ruled by a merchant guild, these trade organizations will play a key role in governing the city, ensuring that the city provides the infrastructure needed to support trade.

{{Obstructive Bureaucrat}}s and CityGuards hover to check papers, enforce rules, and collect taxes, but often a wad of money makes them wave you through. As a port city, it may have a section on the WrongSideOfTheTracks that’s become a WretchedHive of rogues and pickpockets, so watch your back (and your wallet).

** ''TabletopGame/{{Planescape}}'': Although the sourcebooks don't really focus on it, it's clear that Sigil itself is one -- hosting portals to literally anywhere means that it's THE crossroads of the multiverse. The Golden Lords are periodically mentioned as some of the most fantastically rich individuals on the planes, mostly by taking advantage of Sigil's opportunities. However, since the game is focused on the ideological conflict of the factions as well as Sigil's potential as a jumping-off point for adventure, the mercantile side of the city went largely unexplored by the writers except as what would support adventurers.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'': The Imperial City is literally at the centre of the world, so it's the logical place for merchants from all (D)irections to bring their goods. And before the Imperial City, there was Meru, home to nearly all the mansions and tributes given to the kings of creation. Rules-wise, everything bought in one of these places is one dot cheaper than it would otherwise be.