An entrepôt (English: /ˈɑːntrəpoʊ/AHN-trə-poh; French:[ɑ̃tʁəpo]) or transshipment port is a port, city, or
trading post where merchandise may be
imported, stored, or traded, usually to be
exported again. Such cities often sprang up and such ports and trading posts often developed into commercial cities due to the growth and expansion of long-distance trade.[1] These places played a critical role in trade during the
days of wind-powered shipping. In modern times
customs areas have largely made entrepôts obsolete, but the term is still used to refer to
duty-free ports with a high volume of
re-export trade. Entrepôt also means 'warehouse' in modern French, and is derived from the Latin roots inter 'between' + positum 'position', literally 'that which is placed between'.[2]
Entrepôts had an important role in the
early modern period, when
mercantileshipping flourished between
Europe and its
colonial empires in the
Americas and
Asia. For example, the spice trade to Europe, which necessitated long trade routes, featured a much higher
market price than the original buying price. Traders often did not want to travel the whole route, and thus used the entrepôts on the way to sell their goods. This could conceivably lead to more attractive profits for those who were suited to traveling the entire route. The 17th-century
Amsterdam Entrepôt is an early modern example.[3]
^Organized Markets in Pre-industrial EuropeArchived 8 March 2008 at the
Wayback Machine (draft chapter of The Origins of Western Economic Success: Commerce, Finance, and Government in Pre-Industrial Europe) – Kohn, Meir, Department of Economics, Dartmouth College, Hanover, 12 July 2003, p. 3