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Rise Hanse

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Hanseatic League – Middle Ages Trading

In the later Middle Ages there was an alliance of trading guilds that controlled all of the business over Northern Europe and the Baltic Sea region. This was the Hanseatic League.

Hansa is a German term for “guilds. The Baltic Sea area had always been the subject of piracy, raids and unorganized trade but the scale of these ventures never reached an international scope. The Hanseatic League changed all that. In 1158-59 the German town of Lubeck, now the second largest city in northern Germany, was rebuilt by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, after he had captured it from Adolf the Second of Holstein. This would one day be the cornerstone of the league.

Henry the Lion was one of the most powerful princes in his time (b. 1129- d. 1195) and is known as the founder of Munich and Lubeck. Lubeck became a central point for all sea trade coming in and out of the Baltic and most of the cities surrounding the Baltic Sea recognized this and enjoyed their own success from joining into an alliance. This helped all German cities achieve a level of dominance in trade over that area, in the 12th to 15th centuries. Traders from Saxony and Westphalia could use Lubeck as a point to spread east and north.

There had been guilds appearing in the Baltic area before the Hanseatic League. They had the intention of trading with overseas areas that were ripe for trade and profit. At first the Swedish city of Visby was the central point for guilds in the Baltic area. With an over abundance of merchants joining the guilds, the German traders began to have their own trading stations. They eventually formed what were called Hanse and began acquiring special trade privileges with royalty and other cities. The location of their main port of Lubeck gave them easy trade with Russia and Scandinavia.

The Hanseatic League was a result as Lubeck formed alliances with Hamburg, and other cities. The league was fluid and there was no one “manager” of it. Over the years it wavered back and forth from 70 to 170 members. The large league made it harder for any independent traders to get business in the areas of Northern Europe and the Baltic. Visby eventually succumbed and ended up in the Hanseatic League itself.

The Hanseatic League was so powerful they sent men to fight in wars and financed many battles. The league became too powerful and influential, hurting free trade and was eventually kicked out of England in 1597. As well, the city of Visby, on the Swedish island of Gotland decided to go against the alliance and become independent again. In the early 1500’s this came to wars between Lubeck and Visby, in which Visby was nearly destroyed. All of this weighed heavy on the league’s finances. The rise of the Swedish empire over the Baltic area eventually brought an end to the Hanseatic League, and it never could regain the power it once had.

About the Author

Mark Jordan is a research and writer living in Pennsylvania. Other informative sites can be seen at Medieval Info, Cool Medieval Videos and Cruel Medieval Prisons