History Main / ProudMerchantRace

** The ''Retaliation'' expansion to the ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' multiplayer added volus characters. The ancillary text explains that, while they are the least effective race in combat, they can afford to buy the very best tech and biotic equipment that the galaxy can offer, allowing them to [[CrimefightingWithCash fight side by side with krogan battlemasters and asari justicars]]. They tend to do very poorly in direct combat roles, but [[LethalJokeCharacter they are godlike as support characters]].

** The Goblins in the same game are a beastman example. Goblin NPCs are almost always traders in some form or fashion, while pretty much every other beastman race are perpetually hostile fighters. '''Especially''' the Orcs.

* Koreans in the Korean serial [[TheEpic epic]] ''Emperor of the Sea''.

* ''Videogame/EndlessSpace'' has several merchant races. The decadent, aggressive [[TheEmpire United Empire]] is completely unmatched in [[PracticalCurrency Dust]] generation, and they're just as likely to declare war on you as they are to make you their lifelong trading partner. The ancient and friendly [[StarfishAlien Amoeba]] receive bonuses to both happiness and Dust when allied with other nations, allowing them to rack up huge profits while at peace. The Pilgrims can trade with ''anyone'' they aren't at war with, giving them a steady source of income to fund their explosive expansion via HomeworldEvacuation.

* Two available personalities for AI empires in ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'' can fit this trope, [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Ruthless Capitalists]] and [[HonestCorporateExecutive Peaceful Traders]]. Both have the [[MegaCorp Corporate Dominion civic]], but Ruthless Capitalists tend to be Militaristic while Peaceful Traders tend to be Pacifistic and Xenophilic. Naturally, the player can get in on this as well, with corresponding Megacorporation and Trade League government types.
** When it comes to actual species, thrifty and/or Numistic Adminiatration traits makes pops better at generating trade Value from pop jobs, so you can have a ProudMerchantRace working these jobs in an otherwise not proud merchant empire.

->'''Rom:''' Maybe we are dead. Maybe this is [[{{Heaven}} the Divine Treasury]].

->'''Nog:''' [[FireAndBrimstoneHell The Vault of Eternal Destitution?]]

* The volus from the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' series. Because of their uselessness in combat they have become a Proud Merchant Race. Their mercantile inclination is so strong that, according to the codex, warfare was never even institutionalized by the Vol state (Although by ME 3 they have developed a small Navy).

* ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'' has the Phoenicians. We meet one of them in ''Asterix the Gladiator'' and ''Asterix and the Black Gold''. Ekonomikrisis tries to run his ship like a business, and only grants Asterix and Obelix passage on board because he plans to sell them as slaves. When they encountered the Pirates, Ekonomikrisis worries "They might kill us, enslave us, or even worse, steal our merchandise!" When the Gauls save the day he enthuses "You have saved that which is dearest to our hearts--''our cargo!''"

** Corellia is described as falling on most of the major galactic trade routes, making it an economic powerhouse and a center of shipping and starship manufacturing (which means that, consequently, [[BadassArmy Badass Navies]] had a large number of Corellians). Trade and business is held in such high regard that Corellia has several seats in its Corellian Council (the legislature responsible for selecting its executive, the Diktat) reserved for corporate representatives. Also, their fleet and defense force is trained primarily to stave off piracy and minimize profit loss, and apparently does a pretty good job (at least until the Empire starts stacking its government with {{Black Shirt}}s and TheSyndicate). It should come at no surprise that Corellia is an {{Expy}} of the United States, and Coronet City in particular is an {{Expy}} of NYC, both of which are known for Proud Merchants. Their NeverTellMeTheOdds attitude is also befitting for those in the high risk game of intergalactic business.

** Sullust is another example, with the MegaCorp [=SoroSuub=] being the single largest employer of Sullastans and dominating the world. [=SoroSuub=] was also the dominant member of the Commerce Guild, which joined the Separatists, and Sullust followed. With the end of the Clone Wars, [=SoroSuub=] threw in with the Empire and took control of Sullust outright. Not coincidentally, the Empire was their main clients. Many Sullustans were very upset at this, and became Rebels. After the Battle of Endor, a coup overthrew [=SoroSuub=], which was thus convinced to back the New Republic. The corporation retained a lot of power (the New Republic had just as much use for their products as the Empire did), though it had to relinquish outright control of the government.

* Orions tend to fill this role in the Literature/StarTrekNovelVerse, when they're not being SpacePirates.

* The Rain Wild Traders in the ''Literature/RealmOfTheElderlings'' series. Barely anyone knows they even exist, yet it is they who are the source of most of Bingtown's wealth, as the Bingtown Traders have to buy their exotic goods to be able to sell them elsewhere. They are also the ones who build and sell the liveships, and only trader families in possession of a liveship can even navigate the Rain Wild River and reach the coveted merchandise. The Rain Wild Traders are a sort of homebound {{Intrepid Merchant}}s, exploring and plundering the AdvancedAncientAcropolis buried beneath their own city of Trehaug. They are also not quite human anymore due the their constant proximity to the buried Elderling city.

** "Literature/TheGeneralFoundation": The Foundation had enjoyed a booming economy and expansion in the forty years since Master Trader Hober Mallow had a single ship and crew under his command. Now his illegitimate son, Sennett Forell, has a fleet of trading ships that answer to him, and works with a cabal of similarly powerful executives.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

*** Of course, Rule of Acquisition Number 34: War is Good for Business does allow Ferengi to sell the methods of the above mentioned means to such atrocities, as long as they do not partake in them.

** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' introduces the Karemma, merchants who are members of the Dominion. A couple of episodes showed Quark and some Karemma doing trade deals. Unlike Ferengi, they believe in being completely honest in their deals. Oddly, this gets exaggerated to using fixed prices based on manufacturing costs; in other words, they are traders with no concept of market forces or basic economics. Somewhat understandable since the operate under the Dominion, where all aspects of life, including economics, are tightly monitored and controlled. Hilariously, this would make them a "Proud Planned Economy Race".

** The Third Imperium claims to be this as well, and has some merit for the claim. However, much of its economy is too regulated and bureaucratized to give it the true glamour of a ProudMerchantRace--more like an ''efficient'' one.

* Mercadians in ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', to the point of Mongers, who have abilities anyone can activate. (These can still be useful: Squallmonger, which damages flying creatures, is great if your opponents are the only ones with flying creatures.) It also gave mercenaries mechanics, and had more mercenaries than any previous set. Yeah, capitalism was a big theme in Mercadia.

** After the destruction of the Korx society, the Iridium Corporation replace the Korx as the dominant economic power. The remaining Korx drop all pretense of a corporate entity and became a criminal cartel. Needless to say the Iridium Corp is more benign if overly enterprising folks and very much akin to Venice in patronage and trade. It's said that altruism is seen as unusual by the Iridium but it's not looked down upon, and their current High Arbiter is known for his generosity.

** Also, despite their greedy image, in the third game we learn that the Book of Plenix--one of the Volus' greatest religious/ethical treatises--nonetheless demands charity and selflessness during times of great hardship and war.

** The Goblins in the same game are a beastman example. Goblin NPCs are almost always traders in some form or fashion, while pretty much every other beastman race are perpetually hostile fighters. ***Especially*** the Orcs.

** They do, however, withhold one particular piece of information that has been confirmed by WordOfGod. They don't like to advertize that they were formerly known as the Mael-Num and that they were nearly obliterated by the Kohr-Ah at the start of the Doctrinal War. Though even then they stick to their principles--the information ''is'' technically for sale (you can ask them a question which would reveal this), just priced so that it is literally impossible for anyone to actually afford buying the information.

** Ethereals are ''inter-dimensional'' examples. Like with Goblins, different operations have different morals: the Consortium seems to be roughly equally morally to the Steamwheedle Cartel (though they've been known to involve themselves in smuggling) and players can earn reputation with them, but some are basically SpacePirates. Some are also conquerors and an an organization founded to oppose said conquerors.

* The Hanseatic League in ''VideoGame/{{Patrician}} III''. As a by-the-way the term means "League of merchant's guilds." Or in other words it almost literally means [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything Trade Federation!]]
** One other possible translation of Hansa is League. Or group, cluster, entourage or crowd. This can be implied by that other, more modern, famous Hansa: the Lufthansa. Yes, the North German traders were so dominant in their time and region that their organization ended up being called simply the League, no descriptors.
* The Bentusi from ''VideoGame/{{Homeworld}}''. They sell you some technologies that eventually help you reclaim Hiigara. This later turns out to be an attempt to fight their enemies without operating openly. In the Cataclysm expansion we learn that the technology they keep for themselves is orders of magnitude more advanced than anything any of the other races use and they only sold you enough to even the odds; giving you the plans for their ''fighters'' is enough to tip the balance in the final battle.

** The Gerudo, originally introduced as DesertBandits, are depicted this way in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]''. Their capital is [[MerchantCity a thriving city with multiple stalls for merchants to sell their wares]] (most other towns only have one or two stores), and there's a nearby oasis with even more stores. That's not to say that they've completely abandoned their past as warriors though, since they're one of only two races in the game with a standing military.

** The Khajiit, a race of CatFolk who are known as skilled traders. [[FantasticDrug Among]] [[StickyFingers other]] [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass things.]] They draw heavily from the Roma as part of their CultureChopSuey, and are known throughout Tamriel for their cross-continental traveling caravans.

** The Arabs can send caravans over longer distances than other civs, and can use them to exert religious influence more effectively. They also [[ArabOilSheikh generate twice as much oil]] and their unique building, the bazaar, doubles their ability to produce luxury resources, which can give them a lot of leverage when trading/negotiating with other civs.

** Venice cannot use settlers to expand, but they can control twice as many trade routes at once as the other civs and can use their unique unit, the merchant of Venice, to bribe city states into allying with them.

* Humans in ''VideoGame/SpaceRangers'' managed to make the economy of the entire arm of the Milky Way to revolve around themselves, this includes worldwide adoption of the Earth's [[WeWillSpendCreditsInTheFuture credits]] and the fiscal year. In the sequel, they came up with and run business centers, which are simultaneously trading posts, banks, insurance firms and more. Humans don't really wear [[PlanetOfHats a hat]] and mercilessly exploit everyone else's hats for profit and diplomacy, but are otherwise honest merchants.

* ''VideoGame/NoMansSky'': The Gek are a highly mercantile/trading race that believe themselves to be the first and master race in the galaxy. They are greedy and plutocratic, with many of their titles tied to trading / industrial related terms. Most of the initial encounters with the lifeform require units (currency). Encounters with their Obelisks will mostly require players to choose a pragmatic approach (putting lifeforms down out of misery, exterminating distant entities etc). You can find trade charm items throughout the game that are linked to the Gek.
* Two available personalities for AI empires in ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'' can fit this trope, [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Ruthless Capitalists]] and [[HonestCorporateExecutive Peaceful Traders]]. Both have the [[MegaCorp Corporate Dominion civic]], but Ruthless Capitalists tend to be Militaristic while Peaceful Traders tend to be Pacifistic and Xenophilic. Naturally the player can get in on this as well, with corresponding Megacorporation and Trade League government types.

* The Manillo from the ''Franchise/BreathOfFire'' series are a race of humanoid fishes capable of breathing on land are the ones who play this role on the games. Despite their reputation as a clan of notoriously greedy traders who boast that they will one day control the world's commerce, they do have lines they won't cross: Goby from ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireI'' lost his shop license and his sphere that allowed him to transform into a Big Fish over selling fake Happiness Jars. This really put a dent on his business opportunities and made him a pariah in his clan.

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** Corellia is described as falling on most of the major galactic trade routes, making it an economic powerhouse and a center of shipping and starship manufacturing (which means that, consequently, [[BadassNavy Badass Navies]] had a large number of Corellians). Trade and business is held in such high regard that Corellia has several seats in its Corellian Council (the legislature responsible for selecting its executive, the Diktat) reserved for corporate representatives. Also, their fleet and defense force is trained primarily to stave off piracy and minimize profit loss, and apparently does a pretty good job (at least until the Empire starts stacking its government with {{Black Shirt}}s and TheSyndicate). It should come at no surprise that Corellia is an {{Expy}} of the United States, and Coronet City in particular is an {{Expy}} of NYC, both of which are known for Proud Merchants. Their NeverTellMeTheOdds attitude is also befitting for those in the high risk game of intergalactic business.

* The Thaylens in ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' are a culture noted for producing lots of traders, merchants, and other businessmen, and who run the whole gamut of this trope- some are presented sympathetically, while others are amoral slave traders. It all varies based on individuals, just like in RealLife.

* The Mesklinites in Hal Clement's ''Literature/AMatterOfGravity''.

--->''"They have built up a filthy trading community that curls its tentacles about the systems further than their toy ships dare reach. For parsecs, their Traders - which is what their agents call themselves - penetrate."'' -- '''General Bel Riose'''

* According to the book "Land and Sea" by german philosopher Carl Schmitt, this is a common development for civilisations living close to large bodies of water.

** One other possible translation of Hansa is League. Or group, cluster, entourage or crowd. This can be implied by that other, more modern, famous Hansa: the Lufthansa. Yes, the North German traders were so dominant in their time and region that their organisation ended up being called simply the League, no descriptors.

* Nopon in the ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'' series are a society largely driven by fair trade. Despite being rather unintimidating balls of fur (one is [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments briefly used as a volleyball]]) often shown to be afraid of the local wildlife, many are [[IntrepidMerchant Intrepid Merchants]], found in odd spots all over Bionis, [[VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX Mira]], and [[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2 Alrest]], often with domesticated animals far larger than themselves in tow. In ''Xenoblade Chronicles 2'', they have their own MerchantCity and organization in the form of the Argentum Trade Guild. Sidequests often emphasize the social aspects of the business - Nopon know other races consider them adorable and harmless, and even the more honest ones have few qualms about exploiting that reputation to get potential customers on their side.

** Ankh-Morporkian humans. Their [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAqCbOJc6RU national anthem]] includes the line "Let others boast of martial dash, for we have bravely fought with cash!". Its title? ''"We Can Rule You Wholesale"''. Many a barbarian army has invaded Ankh-Morpork, and a few months later they still aren't sure how their weapons got repossessed or why they're just another ethnic minority in the city with their own graffiti and food shops.

*** In a fairly rare occurrence, the Ferengi got a social message in there as well. At one point, Quark mentions that the Ferengi never had mass atrocities or significant wars in their past because of their focus on commerce (Rule of Acquisition Number 35: Peace is good for business). In another instance, Quark points out that human's fascination with "doing it themselves" and "not taking shortcuts" means that they take longer to do things they could just buy, which prevents them from spending time on other important things.

** Sullust is another example, with the MegaCorp [=SoroSuub=] being the single largest employer of Sullastans and dominating the world. [=SoroSuub=] was also the dominant member of the Commerce Guild, which joined the Separatists, and Sullust followed. With the end of the Clone Wars, [=SoroSuub=] threw in with the Empire and took control of Sullust outright. Not coincidentally, the Empire was their main clients. Many Sullustans were very upset at this, and became Rebels. After the Battle of Endor, a coup overthrew [=SoroSuub=], which was thus convinced to back the New Republic. The corporation retained a lot of power, though it had to relinquish outright control of the government.

* The Literature/{{Foundation}} develops into and as this over the course of ''Foundation'' and ''Foundation and Empire''. After the area closest to Terminus is brought under a firm religious hegemony, the Foundation begins to use trade fuelled by its technological superiority (almost everyone else has lost atomic power, and even the ones that didn't haven't developed atomic and miniaturisation technology further) as a way to spread the [[PathOfInspiration created religion]] to get more worlds under their influence. The trading eventually gains a life of its own, and after one particular trader manages to leverage his economic influence into becoming the first Merchant Prince of the Foundation the Foundation focuses solely on economic hegemony, gradually expanding its influence towards the borders of the old Empire. After Bel Riose' war the Foundation proper eventually falls into a dictatorship, but associated colonies self-identifying as Traders keep up the old mercantile traditions, with civil war looming until the Mule comes in and smashes both.

* The Teladi in the ''[[VideoGame/{{X}} X-Universe]]'' series have their entire species [[OneNationUnderCopyright organized like a]] MegaCorp. This even extends into their combat vessels, which are built using tech purchased from other races and all have [[UsedFuture boxy, utilitarian architecture]] and larger-than-average cargo bays. They're also so profit-obsessed that [[DarthWiki/MostAnnoyingSound the word makes it into every third sentence]], [[SssssnakeTalk with a very pronounced emphasssisssss on the letter ssssss]]. Though [[AllThereInTheManual the encyclopedia]] says that this is mostly only true of space-living Teladi. Planet-living Teladi exhibit much more variation in personality and outlook.

* The Teladi in the ''[[VideoGame/{{X}} X-Universe]]'' series have their entire species [[OneNationUnderCopyright organized like a]] MegaCorp. This even extends into their combat vessels, which are built using tech purchased from other races and all have [[UsedFuture boxy, utilitarian architecture]] and larger-than-average cargo bays. They're also so profit-obsessed that [[MostAnnoyingSound the word makes it into every third sentence]], [[SssssnakeTalk with a very pronounced emphasssisssss on the letter ssssss]]. Though [[AllThereInTheManual the encyclopedia]] says that this is mostly only true of space-living Teladi. Planet-living Teladi exhibit much more variation in personality and outlook.

* Orions tend to fill this role in the Franchise/StarTrekNovelVerse, when they're not being SpacePirates.

** Darokin and Minrothad in the Known World (Mystara) setting have this as their hats as well, the former via land caravans and the latter by sea.

* Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse and FranchiseStarWarsLegends

* Dwarves in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}''; sometimes seen as (positive) Space Jews.

* The Dark Elves of the old ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic'' setting (as shown in ''VIII'') are to all appearances governed by the Merchant's Guild of Alvar. Their traders range across the entirety of Jadame (or at least the parts of Jadame visited), and they look out for trading opportunities even in world-threatening crisis (though they're savvy enough to place priority on saving the world, even if it means a hit to trade).

* The Mogay in the first ''VideoGame/{{Grandia}}''.