An entrepôt (; ) 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. 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 'between' + 'position', literally 'that which is placed between.' Entrepôts had an important role in the early modern period, when mercantile shipping flourished between Europe and its colonial empires in the Americas and Asia. For example, the spice trade to Europe, which necessitated long trade routes, led to 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 excellent early modern example. Examples Examples of specific entrepôts at various periods include: Africa Alexandria, Ptolemaic Egypt Boma, Democratic Republic of the Congo Cap-Vert, Senegal Cape of Good Hope, South Africa Djibouti City, Djibouti Port Said, Egypt Suez, Egypt Tangier, Morocco Tin Can Island Port, Nigeria Zanzibar Americas Baltimore, Maryland, US Castries, St. Lucia Colón, Panama Fort Orange, (New Netherland), Albany, New York, US New Orleans, Louisiana, US Saint Paul, Minnesota, US Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil Asia Aden, Yemen Balikpapan, Indonesia Basra, Iraq Batavia, Dutch East Indies / Jakarta, modern-day Indonesia Beirut, Ottoman Empire, modern-day Lebanon Busan, South Korea Dubai, UAE Chonburi, Thailand Hong Kong Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Macao Makassar, Indonesia Malacca, Malacca Sultanate and Portuguese Malacca, modern-day Malaysia Manila, Philippines Naha, Ryūkyū Kingdom, modern-day Japan Osaka, Japan Palembang, Srivijaya, modern-day Indonesia Port of Keelung, Taiwan Port of Kaohsiung, Taiwan Port Klang, Malaysia Kollam/Quilon, India Salalah, Oman Shanghai, China Singapore Tianjin, China Tokyo, Japan Surabaya, Indonesia Bangkok, Thailand Weihaiwei, China Europe Amsterdam, Netherlands Barcelona, Spain Cádiz, Spain Constantinople / Istanbul, modern-day Turkey Copenhagen, Denmark Gioia Tauro, Italy