Merchant

A merchant is a person or robot who trades in commodities produced by other people. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have been known for as long as industry, commerce, and trade have existed. During the 16th-century, in Europe, two different terms for merchants emerged: One term, meerseniers, described local traders such as bakers, grocers, etc.; while a new term, koopman, described merchants who operated on a global stage, importing and exporting goods over vast distances, and offering added value services such as credit and finance.

The status of the merchant has varied during different periods of history and among different societies. In ancient Rome and Greece, merchants may have been wealthy, but were not accorded high social status. In contrast, in the Middle East, where markets were an integral part of the city, merchants enjoyed high status. In modern times, the term occasionally has been used to refer to a businessperson or someone undertaking activities (commercial or industrial) for the purpose of generating profit, cash flow, sales, and revenue utilizing a combination of human, financial, intellectual and physical capital with a view to fueling economic development and growth.

Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks were known to operate in ancient Babylonia and Assyria, China, Egypt, Greece, India, Persia, Phoenicia and Rome. During the European medieval period, a rapid expansion in trade and commerce, led to the rise of a wealthy and powerful merchant class. The European age of discovery opened up new trading routes and gave European consumers access to a much broader range of goods. From the 1600s, goods began to travel much further distances as they found their way into geographically dispersed market places. Following the opening Asia and the discovery of the New World, goods were imported from very long distances: calico cloth from India, porcelain, silk and tea from China, spices from India and South-East Asia and tobacco, sugar, rum and coffee from the New World. By the eighteenth century, a new type of manufacturer-merchant was emerging and modern business practices were becoming evident.