Kaufmann#

Merchant (German: Kaufmann), a person involved in commercial enterprise. In the Middle Ages, merchants were mainly travelling tradesmen with special privileges (e.g. merchants from Regensburg in Vienna), from the 15th century they were a driving force in the development of early capitalism, and from the 16th century they were also involved in selling products locally (and often owned the production sites as well). Since the end of the 19th century, the commercial sector has seen both a separation of industrialised production from crafts and trades as well as increasing specialisation.