Food, markets, and people: Selling perishables in urban markets in pre-industrial Holland and England

Food markets played a central role in the economies of pre-industrial European cities. First, they provided most of the basic foodstuffs for the urban population, such as meat, fish, vegetables and fruits. Second, in these cities food markets traditionally formed a focal point of exchange between local and foreign traders, and between traders and consumers of a wide variety of backgrounds. Third, food markets provided work for a large and diverse group of workers, ranging from those engaged in sales activities, such as stallholders and hawkers, to officials, such as rent collectors and market overseers, and manual labourers, such as porters and street cleaners.