Ports and their function

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4 types of ports (from the Routledge Handbook of Maritime Trade Around Europ 1300 - 1600e ):


1. Maritime port which links a region producing scarce (and valuable) commodities to an overseas market,

2. Port of call located en route between trading entities, cities, and markets,

3. Port which connects a region to a major interrealm market,

4. Major port which redistributes major realm commerce, serving as a metropolitan market with major internal markets.

As one might expect, piracy remains a problem.

[Deleted]

Yarrrr

[tkdco2]

What about ports for naval vessels?

[jeffb]

May 14, 2022 4:37:24 GMT -6 tkdco2 said:

What about ports for naval vessels?

That would fall under all of these, but especially #2

Military and Goods go hand in hand. The merchant ships need protection. The merchants supplied the Military/brought them goods.

[Deleted]

3) should read 'intercontinental' instead of 'interrealm;' I was thinking about a specific homebrew campaign. An example is Alexandria, which captures Arab trade on the Indian Ocean by way of Eygpt.

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"Natural endowments, circumstances of geography, prevailing wind patterns, the actions of governments, the kinds of goods produced in the hinterland," these additional factors also determine port importance and size. - Routledge Handbook, ch.2

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More from Routledge - A port will have a merchant's quarter, which houses foreign merchants. They will be grouped by nationality or ethnicities. Their trading settlement is extraterritorial, meaning the merchants here will have legal capacities to govern themselves within the quarter. Importantly, each merchant quarter seeks the following from the host city:

1) A hospitable place to live,
2) Consistent regulations for mediation,
3) Competent courts which apply known maritime law,
4) Provisions for trade,
5) And, the intermediary work of interpreters, brokers, and hostellers.

Related, sovereigns neither have the competence or wherewithal to control maritime trade. Instead, as much as possible they go after a piece of the action by way of tolls, taxes, and credits.

Naturally, in the merchant's quarter, even under the most or best privileges, conflicts and rivalries mark the day's business.

[grodog]

Sounds like an interesting book, thanks for the recommendation @doublejig2

Allan.

[Deleted]

May 14, 2022 4:37:24 GMT -6 tkdco2 said:

What about ports for naval vessels?

Don't forget privateers!

[Deleted]

One interesting development is that as with the Merchants Quarter regards overland trade, so too the Harbor District in a port city is an excellent place to gather information about foreign cities and realms, because foreign merchants conducting commerce in the city have the best up to date information about these places - something adventurers might make use of in planning expeditions as they explore a city.