 What is the primary purpose of the article?
By their nature cities along coasts and rivers developed so they could be open to trade with each other. It could point us towards new relationships between progressive city dwellers in a world that otherwise seems to be putting the brakes on modernity. "So it is not unrealistic to think of cities as discrete entities that compete and collaborate with each other, independently from the states to which they belong." It was a huge – and hugely ambitious – undertaking in the days when communications consisted of ink and paper and the only viable method of travel was by ship. In some ways it was an exercise in what we today call 'soft diplomacy'.
 To propose a model for international commerce in nation-states with divided populations
 To share a historical account of 14th century commerce practices and why they were replaced  To propose a model for international commerce in nation-states with divided populations  To lament and decry Britain's misguided decision to abandon the European Union  To entertain readers with an ironic predicament that has resulted from western globalization