A History of the Market
Discover > Farm to Table Eating in Texas > A History of the Market
I was overwhelmed, sweaty, and disoriented. Everywhere there was shouting, hawking, people thrusting strange-looking fruits at me and pointing aggressively, saying numbers to indicate a price I didn't understand. I was 13, pimply, uncomfortable, a little afraid, and completely our of my element (to be fair, that's teenage life on any given day). We were in Bangkok, Thailand, at the famous floating market - sitting in an incredibly narrow longboat that felt like it would tip over if you made a single false move. I was nervous, shy, and completely amazed by this seemingly performative experience.
I understood food then in a different way to the packaged, glossily sterile supermarket food that I was accustomed to. It was alive. Vibrant, dirty, from the ground; true honest, delicious, colourful, and worth paying for. Although I probably didn't fully appreciate how lucky I was in that moment (...being a teenager), when I look back at it now, it is so clearly cemented; such a perfect visual memory that I can almost recall the faces of the women selling their wares.
That experience taught me a lot about food, culture, and how different people's daily rituals across the world can be. Since then, I've had many more life-defining food moments such as this, seeking them out and appreciating them far more as an adult. One of the more recent experiences I had was visiting the souks in Marrakech just a few years ago. Let me tell you: it is hot, extreme, and confusing. Everywhere there are people calling you over - first in English, then French, and possibly Arabic, if they're feeling lucky. The old adage of haggling is hard to do when you're not used to it. And, although you're still walking away with a way better deal than you'd have got at home, you still feel cheated (I chalk this one up to my own arrogance).
Nonetheless, it's a thrilling experience. It feels like stepping back - you can picture the smoke dousing the light streaks from the slatted coverings between the roofs up ahead, the searing sun peaking through the slits between cloth; this could be just as it was, centuries ago. It's heady, oppressive, yet scintillating and enticing. Piles of gloriously bright powders, the thick oiliness of spices wafting as you pass - each inhale feels like a drink of syrupy impulses. It sounds romantic (it is), but it's also very much a contemporary picture of markets that have survived the ages.
Inspired by these incredible experiences and memories, in this article I'll take you along to explore the history of markets, how they spread across the world, examining what shaped them to the markets we now know and love.
The Origin Story
Many believe that some form of market has existed since humans have had a need for trade. However, the origins of the markets we picture today originated from Persia. A land filled with spices, precious jewels, artisanal wares, beautiful silks, and other luxurious goods. As trade expanded throughout the world, the rise of the regular marketplaces rose with it.
We begin our journey in Persia, because it was the vital crossing point for trade from Asia to modern-day Europe, and beyond. Traders would travel along these vast distances, from city to city, and along the way would hawk their wares within the Persian Empire. These temporary trading outposts became known as the caravanserai. Located outside the city gates, the caravanserai would trade their sumptuous wares to the city-dwellers for a few days, weeks, then move along to the next city. As the name suggests, the caravanserai were largely nomadic traders that would set their caravans up along the Silk Route. This is what served as the catalyst and gave way to the first bazaars.
In the blistering heat of the sun, many of the caravanserai would be trading from their tents, giving much needed protection to not only themselves, but also their customers. As these markets developed and became an epicentre of social and economic life in Persia, from about 3000 BCE, zoning policies confined the trading to certain parts of the city. This created the social and economic conditions for the emergence of the bazaar. It also made it possible to cover the lanes or areas of trade with some form of cloth, which created the much needed protection from the worst of the elements. As trade increased, and the variety and quality of wares sold increased along with the burgeoning empire and its wealth, these bazaars became increasingly regulated. This was done in order to minimize risks of consumers being tricked weight or pricing scams. By regulating these markets, the people of a city would feel more confident and assured in purchasing from the traders, feeling sure they had not been cheated.
From Caravan Tents to Bazaars
Eventually, in the ancient cities of modern-day Iran, there existed three types of bazaars: periodic, urban, and local. On of the oldest such bazaars still takes place in Tabriz, in what is now northern Iran. To this day, it bisects the entire city, running from one city gate to the other and making it one of the longest continuous marketplaces in the world, a staggering 1.5 kilometres. This just goes to show how central these markets had become to daily life, and the lasting influence it has had on modern life.
As this practice became more common further along the Silk Route, the Mediterranean and the Aegean saw a similar incorporation of these markets by the Bronze Age. In ancient Greece, the agora would normally be situated on the outskirts of a city, much like the caravanserai, but was usually close to a forum where large events (like those of the gladiators) would be held. Here, the people of the city (usually from the poorer classes) would come to aggressively haggle for their wares. The agora developed to become an incredibly important aspect of daily social life where people would arrive to hear the news, listen to debates, and whisper the local gossip.
The reach of the early bazaars followed on to India, across the Arabian Peninsula. It's thought that these markets may have arrived to India at around the same time as the religion of Islam did. Following the traditions established along the Arabian Peninsula, India initially began to establish seasonal, temporary markets. These were primarily managed regionally but, following the foundation of the Mughal Empire in northern India during the 16th century, the markets became increasingly integrated to the cities in the north. This had the effect of the markets being more organized, and usually would be covered from the sweltering heat as the bazaars had been.
From there Africans developed souks, which benefited greatly from the increasing foreign trade. The oldest souk in the world is located in Fez, Morocco and is still operational - with few differences to how it may have looked all those centuries ago.
Interestingly, at about the exact same time and completely independently, halfway across the world marketplaces were in full development in Mesoamerica. It has only recently been discovered that Mesoamerican market systems likely evolved almost simultaneously as those in ancient Persia and modern-day Europe, and not, as was previously thought, arrived with the conquests. There, a complex system of tiered traders developed. It's now believed that hundreds of years before the Aztec empire, extensive trade networks were already in place. These local markets were called tianguis (and still are today), which were supplied by a pochteca, or a professional merchant, who would travel long distances to find luxury or rare goods to sell at the market, or directly to the nobility.
Back in Northern Europe, during the Viking period, beach markets were developing. These, initially, were solely for the sale of fish - sold straight off the boat by the rogue fishermen. These quickly spread and developed to include exotic wares brought back from the seafarers explorations, for example, carrying with them products from what would be called the 'New World': exotic fruits and vegetables such as corn, tobacco, sugar, rum and coffee.
During the Medieval Period in Europe, these markets and the 'discovery' of the New World gave rise to the merchant classes, and therefore also to a rigorous system of regulation aiming to protect the consumers, and minimize inflation. These merchants became incredibly wealthy and saw the rise of a new social class that had money to spare. These merchants' roles were largely to sell the wares of other producers - they became the peddlers of the product of an artisan, a farmer, or by importing goods from foreign countries. Usually, they would also offer other value-added services that we still use today, such as credit or loans.
Eventually, from about the 12th century, these informal markets in Europe gave way to a chartered, regulated system. This chartered system operated whereby the town in question would request to hold a chartered market from the government, which would protect them and gain them certain privileges - against a fee, of course. Once this charter was issued, it prevented any nearby, rivalling towns from having a market on the same day. Towns quickly began to fund their markets and to formalize them in order to increase their reputation for quality produce and fair prices - thereby encouraging neighbouring citizens to travel and buy from their traders.
Quickly, these marketplaces became the centre of town and city life, allowing for social exchanges, providing necessary work, a new forum for craftsmen and artisans to sell, and creating a sense of community.
Modern-day Markets
Today, marketplaces are still the centre of many cultures around the world. In France, the daily or weekly vegetable markets across the country, are still the source of the best quality produce, for the best price. They have become a stronghold in the French identity and are still frequented religiously by all ages and backgrounds.
In Spain, their marketplaces are called the mercado and are also an essential part of everyday shopping and living. I remember spending a month in Barcelona at the transitioning age of 20, just before (another) big move across a similarly large body of water. I found a little apartment - essentially an old loft crawl space of about 3sq.m. - which happened to be around the corner from one of the larger markets of the city. Upon discovering it, with its weird, multi-colored, undulating roof, I would spend every morning wandering around in the quieter hours after the morning rush. I would marvel at the fish, the fruits, the beautiful cheeses, and incredible variety of cured meats (What wine goes well with cured meats?), selecting carefully what I wanted to have for lunch that day. To me, it was still exotic and novel; to everyone else it was normality.
Marketplaces in many parts of the world form this essential role of ensuring food supply for a population, as well as being the epicentre of social interaction. In Asia, their marketplaces have developed into a split system: a night and a morning market. At the morning market, you will find fresh produce: anything from fruits and vegetables to meats and other perishables. At the night market, usually starting around sundown till late (around midnight), you'll find homewares alongside street food, cooked meals (how long do cooked meals last?), and other non-perishables. This style of market has greatly influenced the current street food and food truck scene in Europe and North America. Inspired by many-a backpacker's gap-year in Southeast Asia or Central/South America where these food stalls are a daily way of life. In places like India, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia, much of the population eats out on a daily basis, due to a lack of cooking space. These foods therefore come cheap, and allow you to taste a variety of cuisines and flavors, all while drinking in the nightlife (and maybe something else) at these specialised markets.
The Market in the U.S.
Curiously, however, the United States' public markets have suffered in the past century. Due in part to the boon of the supermarket, from about when the 60s whirled around, public markets fell out of favor. Only recently have markets regained popularity with the public, though they look quite different these days. Now largely privately owned and regulated, public markets used to be owned and managed by the government, and would feature everything from homewares, car parts, knick-knacks, clothing to, naturally, food. Now, most markets we see today are artisanal markets, ones focusing on vintage clothes, craftsmanship, farmers' markets or selling higher-end artisanal wares. The demographic that frequents these markets is quite different from its predecessor. This has led to a desire to distinguish between the traditional market versus the gentrified market. This points to a disparity between the threshold wealth of the average consumer, as well as their tastes and preferences.
Nonetheless, more people are looking for health, farm-fresh food, as we are increasingly faced with climate uncertainty, burgeoning food security issues, and - most recently - a global pandemic. Increasingly, Americans want to know where their food comes from, to scramble back to an inherent knowledge of food and connection to its caretakers that we previously held and learned through the marketplaces. That's why places like Pike Place in Seattle, West Side Market in Cleveland; the Grand Central Market and Gerardi's Farmer Market in New York have retained their status and are (thankfully, finally) seeing a resurgence. It is the easiest way to understand your food, if you can talk directly to the person who grew it for you.
Markets Forever
Bazaar, souk, market-place - car-boot sale - flea, antique, flower market - pazar - pasar pagi, nagaaram - floating market or fish market - whatever you call your local market place - remember to support your local farmer or producer. By doing so, you're also supporting a thousands of year's old tradition, institution, way of life. Who knows, while there, you might just learn something new.
Do you want to be a farmers market vendor? Learn how to become one by clicking here!
Looking for fresh fish and the like? Check out these 8 Markets To Buy Fresh Seafood From in Texas!
