9. When the towns were first founded, certain parishes were allotted to each town as what were known as its trading districts, and no one apart from people from that town was allowed to trade there. These districts were later abolished by royal decree so that free markets could be held where local people and outsiders could trade with one another. But this has not been put into practice here, partly because this area is so isolated and partly because the traders here think that the introduction of a cash economy would lead to their ruination.