A recreation of a typical trading post for trade with the
Plains Indians.
A
trading post is a place or establishment where the
trading of
goods takes place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, is known as a
trade route.
Trading posts were also places for people to meet and exchange the
news of the world or simply the news from their home country (many of the world's trading posts were located in places which were popular destinations for emigration) in a time when not even
newspapers existed.
Trading posts in general were of great importance to the history of
currency. Almost right from the start of
trading post history, the need occurred to have something as a payment medium. Soon trade tokens and eventually
coins were produced from precious metals like
gold,
silver and
copper for the use of buying and selling goods instead of simply exchanging them. After the introduction of
money, the first
banks occurred in
Genoa and
Venice almost immediately.
European
colonialism traces its roots to ancient
Carthage. Originally a trading settlement of
Phoenician colonists, Carthage grew into a vast economic and political power throughout the
Mediterranean, accumulating wealth and influence through its economic (trading) prowess. Almost every city of importance of the world once started its history as a trading post:
Venice,
New York,
Shanghai,
Singapore,
Hong Kong,
Naples,
Rotterdam etc.
The
annexation of trading posts along ancient trade routes took place in the 16th and 17th century by European powers like the
Dutch and
English. It began with the capture of
Ceuta (a terminus of the
trans-Saharan trade route) by the Portuguese in 1415. They went on to establish further enclaves as they explored the coasts of Africa, Arabia, India and South East Asia in search of the source of the lucrative
spice trade. Trading posts were also very common in the early settlements of
Canada and the
United States for the trade of such things as
fur. They were also used in many camps across America as places to buy snacks, items and souvenirs.
The
Hudson's Bay Company set up trading posts around
Hudson Bay during the fur trade. Goods were traded for
beaver pelts amongst the Europeans and the Indians. In the
United States in the early 19th century, trading posts used by
Native Americans were licensed by the federal government and called "
factories". Tribes were to concede substantial territory to the United States in order to access the "factories" as happened at
Fort Clark in the
Treaty of Fort Clark in which the
Osage Nation conceded most of
Missouri in order to access the trading post.
Other uses could be trading furs, and or bever pelts
cs:Faktorienl:Handelspostpt:Entrepostoru:Факторияsimple:Trading post
