Figure 1.--The Hanseatic League was a mercantile association of medieval German cities. The Baltic was its first major area of o[peratioins and the cities of the modern Bltic states were laregekly formed as a result of the Legue's operations. This is why Baltic cities had until Workd War II important German popultions and cultural identities.

The Hanseatic League was a mercantile association of medieval German cities. It was not a clearly delineated orgnization with cities joining and withdrawing from the League and participating to various degrees. The Leagues origins are not well understood. The name of the League appears to come from the German word Hansa which mean a company or group of merchants merchants trading in foreign countries. The League is strongly associated with the German push eastward into the Baltic and Slavic areas. These were areas populated by peoples without major urban centers. The Germans as he Romans built military and administrative posts which developed into towns and trading centers. Many important cities in the Baltic today originated with the Teutonic Knights and other Germans pushing easts. The population of these coties was heavily German while the much larger rural popuilation was heavily sergs of Baltic or Slavic origins. Merchant guilds formed in these towns began to form relationships with guilds in other towns. One reason that it was German towns which formed this League was that, unlike other European countries, was not developing a strong centralized state that could protect their unterests. In addition German merchants were involved in the German push east and found themselves in towns surrounded by large non-German populations.

Definition

The Hanseatic League was a mercantile association of medieval German merchants. It is not precisely accurate to describe it as a league of cities. The association was with the merchant guilds in the cities. Of course these guilds largely controlled the cities. The League was not a clearly delineated with cities joining and withdrawing from the League and participating to various degrees.

Origins

The Leagues origins are not well understood. The name of the League appears to come from the German word Hansa which mean a company or group of merchants merchants trading in foreign countries.

Chronology

While the chronological begins of the League ate obscure, the formal beginnings can be dated by the treaty signed by Lübeck and Hamburg centered on salt (1241). The peak of the League's power can probanly be dated with Treaty of Stralsund (1370) which gave the League a virtual monopoly in Scandinavia. The League began to decline with the military victory of the Dutch (1441). Afterwards the League gradually declined as Europe's nation states became increasingly centalized and powerful. While no single unified nation state emerged in Germany, the Germany princes in the 16th century did exeret increasing centralized control within their domains. The growing commercial power of the Engish and Dutch and the power of their fleets was another imortant factor. The last Hanseatic Assembly was convened in 1669. There was nevee any formal dissolution of the League.

Salt

Lübeck is a Germn city locted on the Western Baltic coast. As a result, fishermen from the city had access to Baltic and North fishing grounds. The City formed an alliance with Hamburg, another German trading city, but on the other side of the Danish penisula on the North Sea (1241). Hamburgh controlled access to all important salt-trade routes from Lüneburg--the Old Salt Road. This was the begiining of what cane to be called the Hanseatic League and was first centered on salt which was vital to the fishery. Fish could only be sold loclly. Salt was a way of preserving the fish meaning large qubtities could be lbded bd sold beyoiund the local maket. The two allied cities gained control over most of the salt-fish trade in northern Europe, especially the Scania Market. The important German city of Cologne joined them in the Diet of 1260.

German Association

The League is strongly associated with the German push eastward in the Baltic and Slavic areas. These were areas populated by peoples without major urban centers. The Germans as he Romans built military and administrative posts which developed into towns and trading centers. Many important cities in the Baltic today originated with the Teutonic Knights and other Germans pushing easts. The population of these cities was heavily German while the much larger rural popuilation was heavily sergs of Baltic or Slavic origins. Merchant guilds formed in these towns began to form relationships with guilds in other towns. One reason that it was German towns which formed this League was that, unlike other European countries, was not developing a strong centralized state that could protect their unterests. In addition German merchants were involved in the German push east and found themselves in towns surrounded by large non-German populations.

Members

The merchant guild in Visby played an especially important role. The Visby merchants established a branch in the far east at Novgorod deep in Russia. German merchants also established trading posts to the west. London was an important trading center and merchants from Cologne were granted trading privliges by the English, privliges which were eventually granted to other German merchants. A Hansa of German merchants thus formed in London. The heart of the League was a treaty signed by Lübeck and Hamburg (1241). These two cities were located on opposite sides of the Jutland Peninsula (Denmark). Lübeck fishermen landed substantial quantities of herring in the Baltic Sea fishery off Scania. They needed large quantities of salt to preseve the fish to make it a trade item. Hamburg had poorer fisheries but had access to important salt mines. Such relationships tied other Midevil cities together. When addituinal mostly German cities joined the association between Lübeck and Hamburg the League began to take shape. Cologne was one of the most weakthy cities in Germany and when they joined the League many other German cities followed. Danzig was the most easterly important German city and after Danzig joined, the largely German port cities being established in Baltic and Slavic lands also joined the League. Lübeck emerged as the leading city. The League was always primarily an assiciation of German cities, but Dutch cities in the west and Polish cities in the east also joined. Ports and inland towns from Holland to Poland entered the league, but the north German cities remained the principal members. There were also branches founded in foreign cities like Bruges and Bergen. The number of participating towns varied over time. At its peak in the 14th centuries over 160 cities were participating.

Free Cities

Most of the Hanseatic cities were under the jurisdiction of a Feudal lord. This meant the city residents were Feudal vassals. Lüebeck was, however, different. It was a "free" city. This meant that was no local Feudal lord. Rather Lübeck was an imperial city and the residents owed their allegiance directly to the Holy Roman emperor. This provided merchants in Lübeck considerable freedom and in part is a factor in explaining the city's central role in the Hannseatic League.

Purposes

The League provided a variety of advantages for the cities involved. There were both political and economic aspects. There was a level of mutual security. Economuc advantages such as exclusive trading rights and trade monopoly. Trade was no simple matter in Medieval Europe. Trading over any distance invovled many jurisdictions. The authorities often errected barriers to trade in the form of fees and tolls. Security was a major concern. Merchants could not travel alone. Rather they would travel in groups. This required a level of organization and was facilitated by developing contacts with guilds in other cities. As the League evolved the primary objective was essentially protectionist. They sought to gain a Hannseatic (essentially German) monopoly in the markets in which they traded.

Military Action

The League did not just wield economic power. The League also deployed military forces. Military actions against against King Waldemar IV of Denmarkforced him to sign the Treaty of Stralsund (1370) granting the League what amounted a trade monopoly in Scandinavia. The League dominated the Baltic Sea, a position strngthened by the number of Baltic ports which joined. The League was dealt a cripling blow when defeated by the Dutch (1441).

Der Drag nach Osten

Germans during the Middle Ages pushed east into lands occupied by the Slavs and Blts. Historians now use the term "Der Drang nach Osten". This term was not used in the Middle Ages. Rather the Germans at the time used the term "Ostsiedlung" or "east colonization". It was the German effort to expand their culture, language, and settlement east. The Germans had been push west by the Huns, Avars, and other nomadic warriors from Central Asia. These pressure from Central Asia subsided and Eastern Europe was settled by Slavs and Balts. With the fall of the Roman Empire, Germanic tribes over ran the West and established medieval kingdoms. These kingdoms, especially the ones in the east began to push east to expand their territory. After the Darl Ages the comonies of Europe began to increase as commerce quickened and agricultural technology increased yields. The result was an expanding population. German at the time was the Holy Roman Empire. Germans from the Rhenish, Flemish, and Saxon territories of Empire eastwards began tomigrate east into the less-densly populated areas of the Baltic and Poland. This population movements were supported by the German nobility and the medieval Church. It was also supported by Slavic kings and nobility. This is because the increased population and the skills of the German settlers meant increased income and taxes. Much of this migration was peaceful. There were also military campaigns launched against the Poles and still pagan Balts. This is sometimes referred to as the Northern Crusades. One of the Baltic tribes attacked was the Prussei (1018-1285) and the future state of Prussia would take on the name of the defeated tribe. The Teutonic Knights played a major role in the conquest of the Balts. Konrad of Masovia invited the Knights to northern Poland. The Teutonic Knights became a Polish vassal (1466). Der Drang nach Osten is a German term that appeared in the 19th century with the rise of German nationalism. It became a centerpiece of NAZism culminating in Germany's World War II invasion of Poland and the Soviet Union.

Weakness

A major weakness of the League was that there was a weak central organization and no established executive. The League did convoke assemblies which convened on an irregular basis at Lübeck. Many cities did not send representatives to these assemblies. The decissions taken at these assemblies were no binding. They had to be approved by each member city. There were also divisions among the Hannseatic cities. Regional groupings emerged that were called "thirds". The important ones were the Rhennish third (centered on the Rhine trade), a Wendish third (Baltic shipping), and the Prussian third (grain trade of the Teutonic Knights). Many Hanneatic cities were jealous of Lübeck which tended to dominate the League.

Created: April 21, 2004
Last updated: 12:42 PM 6/21/2022