market town

…number of markets increased, and market towns began to appear alongside the former Gallo-Roman cities, which survived as fortresses and population centres and served as the basis for religious organization and political administration.

Small market towns rather than villages are common. Built by the English and Scottish planters or by the landlords of the 18th century, they have a foreign touch of orderliness and urbanity. Many are grouped around a “diamond” (meeting place), which is used as a marketplace.…