This article is about the 13th to 17th century trade association. For the modern business association, seeHanseatic Parliament. For the intra-EU political group, seeNew Hanseatic League.
TheHanseatic League[a] was amedieval commercial and defensive network of merchantguilds andmarket towns inCentral andNorthern Europe. Growing from a fewNorth German towns in the late 12th century, the League expanded between the 13th and 15th centuries and ultimately encompassed nearly 200 settlements across eight modern-day countries, ranging fromTallinn inEstonia in the east, Bergen (Bjørgvin) in Norway to the North to theNetherlands in the west, and extended inland as far asCologne,the Prussian regions andKraków,Poland.
The League began as a collection of loosely associated groups of German traders and towns aiming to expand their commercial interests, including protection against robbery. Over time, these arrangements evolved into the League, offering traders toll privileges and protection on affiliated territory and trade routes. Economic interdependence and familial connections among merchant families led to deeper political integration and the reduction of trade barriers. This gradual process involved standardizing trade regulations among Hanseatic Cities.
During its time, the Hanseatic Leaguedominated maritime trade in theNorth andBaltic Seas. It established a network of trading posts in numerous towns and cities, notably theKontors inLondon (known as theSteelyard),Bruges,Bergen, andNovgorod, which becameextraterritorial entities that enjoyed considerable legal autonomy. Hanseatic merchants, commonly referred to as Hansards, operated private companies and were known for their access to commodities, and enjoyed privileges and protections abroad. The League's economic power enabled it to impose blockades and even wage war against kingdoms and principalities.
Even at its peak, the Hanseatic League remained a loosely aligned confederation ofcity-states. It lacked a permanent administrative body, a treasury, and a standing military force. In the 14th century, the Hanseatic League instated an irregular negotiatingdiet that operated based ondeliberation andconsensus. By the mid-16th century, these weak connections left the Hanseatic League vulnerable, and it gradually unraveled as members merged into other realms or departed, ultimately disintegrating in 1669.
The League used a variety of vessel types for shipping across the seas and navigating rivers. The most emblematic type was thecog. Expressing diversity in construction, it was depicted on Hanseatic seals and coats of arms. By the end of the Middle Ages, the cog was replaced by types like thehulk, which later gave way to largercarvel ships.
Hanse is theOld High German word for a band or troop.[4] This word was applied to bands of merchants traveling between the Hanseatic cities.[5]Hanse inMiddle Low German came to mean a society of merchants or a trader guild.[6] Claims that it originally meantAn-See, or "on the sea", are incorrect.[7]: 145
Exploratory trading ventures, raids, and piracy occurred throughout the Baltic Sea. The sailors ofGotland sailed up rivers as far away asNovgorod,[8] which was amajor Rus trade centre. Scandinavians led the Baltic trade before the League, establishing major trading hubs atBirka,Haithabu, andSchleswig by the 9th century CE. The later Hanseatic ports betweenMecklenburg andKönigsberg (present-dayKaliningrad) originally formed part of the Scandinavian-led Baltic trade system.[9]
The Hanseatic League was never formally founded, so it lacks a date of foundation.[10]: 2 Historians traditionally traced its origins to the rebuilding of the north German town ofLübeck in 1159 by the powerfulHenry the Lion,Duke of Saxony andBavaria, after he had captured the area fromAdolf II,Count of Schauenburg andHolstein. More recent scholarship has deemphasized Lübeck, viewing it as one of several regional trading centers,[11] and presenting the League as the combination of a north German trading system oriented on the Baltic and a Rhinelandic trading system targeting England and Flanders.[12]
German cities speedily dominatedtrade in the Baltic during the 13th century, and Lübeck became a central node in the seaborne trade that linked the areas around theNorth andBaltic seas. Lübeck hegemony peaked during the 15th century.[13]
Well before the termHanse appeared in a document in 1267,[14] in different cities began to formguilds, orhansas, with the intention of trading with overseas towns, especially in the economically less-developed eastern Baltic. This area could supply timber,wax,amber,resins, and furs, along withrye and wheat brought on barges from the hinterland to port markets. Merchant guilds formed in hometowns and destination ports as medieval corporations (universitates mercatorum),[15]: 42–43 and despite competition increasingly cooperated to coalesce into the Hanseatic network of merchant guilds. The dominant language of trade wasMiddle Low German, which had a significant impact on the languages spoken in the area, particularly the largerScandinavian languages,[16]: 1222–1233 [17]: 1933–1934 Estonian,[18]: 288 andLatvian.[19]: 230–231
Visby, on the island of Gotland, functioned as the leading center in the Baltic before the Hansa. Sailing east, Visby merchants established a trading post atNovgorod calledGutagard (also known asGotenhof) in 1080.[20] In 1120, Gotland gained autonomy from Sweden and admitted traders from its southern and western regions.[15]: 26 Thereafter, under a treaty with the Visby Hansa, northern German merchants made regular stops at Gotland.[21] In the first half of the 13th century, they established their own trading station orKontor in Novgorod, known as thePeterhof, up theriver Volkhov.[22]
TheHolstentor of Lübeck, built in 1464, is the only historic gate of the city still standing today.
Lübeck soon became a base for merchants fromSaxony andWestphalia trading eastward and northward; for them, because of its shorter and easier access route and better legal protections, it was more attractive thanSchleswig.[15]: 27 It became a transshipment port for trade between the North Sea and the Baltics. Lübeck also granted extensive trade privileges to Russian and Scandinavian traders.[15]: 27–28 It was the main supply port for theNorthern Crusades, improving its standing with various Popes. Lübeck gainedimperial privileges to become afree imperial city in 1226, underValdemar II of Denmark during the Danish dominion, as hadHamburg in 1189. Also in this period Wismar, Rostock, Stralsund, and Danzig received city charters.[15]: 50–52
Hansa societies worked to remove trade restrictions for their members. The earliest documentary mention (although without a name) of a specific German commercial federation dates between 1173 and 1175 (commonly misdated to 1157) in London. That year, the merchants of the Hansa inCologne convincedKing Henry II of England to exempt them from all tolls in London[23] and to grant protection to merchants and goods throughout England.[24]: 14–17
The Hanseatic League left a significant cultural and architectural heritage. It is especially renowned for itsBrick Gothic monuments, such asStralsund's St. Nikolai Church and its City Hall, shown here. The old town of Stralsund, together withWismar, is aUNESCO World Heritage Site.
Over the 13th century, older and wealthier long-distance traders increasingly chose to settle in their hometowns as trade leaders, transitioning from their previous roles as landowners. The growing number of settled merchants afforded long-distance traders greater influence over town policies. Coupled with an increased presence in theministerial class, this elevated the status of merchants and enabled them to expand to and assert dominance over more cities.[15]: 44, 47–50 [29]: 27–28 This decentralized arrangement was fostered by slow travel speeds: moving from Reval to Lübeck took between 4 weeks and, in winter, 4 months.[30]: 202
Foundation of the alliance betweenLübeck andHamburg in the part about ship law (Van schiprechte) in the Hamburg city right from 1497
In 1241, Lübeck, which had access to the Baltic and North seas' fishing grounds, formed an alliance—a precursor to the League—with the trade city of Hamburg, which controlled access to thesalt-trade routes fromLüneburg. These cities gained control over most of thesalt-fish trade, especially theScania Market;Cologne joined them in theDiet of 1260. The towns raised their armies, with each guild required to providelevies when needed. The Hanseatic cities aided one another, and commercial ships often served to carry soldiers and their arms. The network of alliances grew to include a flexible roster of 70 to 170 cities.[31]
In the West, cities of theRhineland such as Cologne enjoyed trading privileges inFlanders and England.[12] In 1266,King Henry III of England granted the Lübeck and Hamburg Hansa a charter for operations inEngland, initially causing competition with the Westphalians. But the Cologne Hansa and the Wendish Hansa joined in 1282 to form the Hanseatic colony in London, although they didn't completely merge until the 15th century. Novgorod was blockaded in 1268 and 1277/1278.[15]: 58–59 Nonetheless, Westphalian traders continued to dominate trade in London and alsoIpswich andColchester, while Baltic and Wendish traders concentrated betweenKing's Lynn andNewcastle upon Tyne.[15]: 36 Much of the drive for cooperation came from the fragmented nature of existing territorial governments, which did not provide security for trade. Over the next 50 years, the merchant Hansa solidified with formal agreements for co-operation covering the west and easttrade routes.[citation needed] Cities from the east modern-day Low Countries, but also Utrecht, Holland, Zealand, Brabant, Namur, and modern Limburg joined in participation over the thirteenth century.[32]: 111 This network of Hanseatic trading guilds became called theKaufmannshanse in historiography.
In addition to the majorKontors, individual ports with Hanseatic trading outposts or factories had a representative merchant and warehouse. Often they were not permanently manned. InScania, Denmark, around 30 Hanseatic seasonal factories produced salted herring, these were calledvitten and were granted legal autonomy to the extent that Burkhardt argues that they resembled a fifth kontor and would be seen as such if not for their early decline.[34]: 157–158 In England, factories inBoston (the outpost was also called Stalhof),Bristol, Bishop's Lynn (laterKing's Lynn, which featured the sole remaining Hanseatic warehouse in England),Hull,Ipswich,Newcastle upon Tyne,Norwich,Scarborough, Yarmouth (nowGreat Yarmouth), andYork, many of which were important for the Baltic trade and became centers of the textile industry in the late 14th century. Hansards and textile manufacturers coordinated to make fabrics meet local demand and fashion in the traders' hometowns. Outposts inLisbon,Bordeaux,Bourgneuf,La Rochelle andNantes offered the cheaper Bay salt. Ships that plied this trade sailed in thesalt fleet. Trading posts operated in Flanders, Denmark-Norway, the Baltic interior, Upper Germany, Iceland, and Venice.[34]: 158–160
Hanseatic trade was not exclusively maritime, or even over water. Most Hanseatic towns did not have immediate access to the sea and many were linked to partners by river trade or even land trade. These formed an integrated network, while many smaller Hanseatic towns had their main trading activity in subregional trade. Internal Hanseatic trade was the Hanse's quantitatively largest and most important business.[34]: 153, 161 Trade over rivers and land was not tied to specific Hanseatic privileges, but seaports such asBremen, Hamburg andRiga dominated trade on their rivers. This was not possible for theRhine where trade retained an open character. Digging canals for trade was uncommon, although theStecknitz Canal was built between Lübeck andLauenburg from 1391 to 1398.[35]: 145–147, 158–159
Imports and exports, 18 Mar 1368 – 10 Mar 1369 (in thousands of Port Lübeck marks)
Imports
Origin, Destination
Exports
Total
%
150
London/Hamburg
38
188
34.4
44
Livonian towns:
51
95
17.4
10
Riga
14
34
Reval (Tallinn)
14.3
-
Pernau
22.7
49.4
Scania
32.6
82
15
52
Gotland, Sweden
29.4
81.4
14.9
19
Prussian towns:
29.5
48.5
8.9
16
Danzig
22.8
3
Elbing
6.6
17.2
Wendish & Pomeranian towns:
25.2
42.4
7.8
5.5
Stettin
7
4
Stralsund
7.5
2.2
Rostock
4.6
5.5
Wismar
6.1
4.3
Bergen
–
4.3
0.8
3
Small Baltic ports
1.2
4.2
0.8
338.9
Total
206.9
545.8
100
Starting with trade in coarse woolen fabrics, the Hanseatic League increased both commerce and industry in northern Germany. As trade increased, finer woolen and linen fabrics, and even silks, were manufactured in northern Germany. The same refinement of products out of the cottage industry occurred in other fields, e.g. etching, wood carving, armor production, engraving of metals, andwood-turning.
The league primarily traded beeswax, furs, timber, resin (or tar), flax, honey, wheat, and rye from the east toFlanders and England with cloth, in particularbroadcloth, (and, increasingly,manufactured goods) going in the other direction. Metal ore (principally copper and iron) and herring came south from Sweden, while the Carpathians were another important source of copper and iron, often sold inThorn. Lubeck had a vital role in the salt trade; salt was acquired in Lüneburg or shipped from France and Portugal and sold on Central European markets, taken to Scania to salt herring, or exported to Russia.Stockfish was traded from Bergen in exchange for grain; Hanseatic grain inflows allowed more permanent settlements further north in Norway. The league also traded beer, with beer from Hanseatic towns the most valued, and Wendish cities like Lübeck, Hamburg, Wismar, and Rostock developed export breweries for hopped beer.[36]: 45–61 [37]: 35–36 [38]: 72 [39]: 141 [30]: 207–233
The Hanseatic League, at first the merchant hansas and eventually its cities, relied on power to secure protection and gain and preserve privileges. Bandits and pirates were persistent problems; during wars, these could be joined byprivateers. Traders could be arrested abroad and their goods could be confiscated.[12] The league sought to codify protection; internal treaties established mutual defense and external treaties codified privileges.[15]: 53
Many locals, merchant and noble alike, envied the League's power and tried to diminish it. For example, in London, local merchants exerted continuing pressure for the revocation of privileges.[33]: 96–98 Most foreign cities confined Hanseatic traders to specific trading areas and their trading posts.[34]: 128, 143 The refusal of the Hansa to offer reciprocal arrangements to their counterparts exacerbated the tension.[40]: 105–111
League merchants used their economic power to pressure cities and rulers. They called embargoes, redirected trade away from towns, and boycotted entire countries. Blockades were erected against Novgorod in 1268 and 1277/1278.[15]: 58 Bruges was pressured by temporarily moving the Hanseatic emporium to Aardenburg from 1280 to 1282,[15]: 58 [41]: 19–21 from 1307 or 1308 to 1310[41]: 20–21 and in 1350,[29]: 29 toDordt in 1358 and 1388, and toAntwerp in 1436.[33]: 68, 80, 92 Boycotts against Norway in 1284[29]: 28 and Flanders in 1358 nearly caused famines.[33]: 68 They sometimes resorted to military action. Several Hanseatic cities maintained their warships and in times of need, repurposed merchant ships. Military action against political powers often involved anad hoc coalition of stakeholders, called an alliance (tohopesate).[29]: 32, 39–40 [33]: 93–95
Kõpu Lighthouse in Hiiumaa
As an essential part of protecting their investments, League members trainedpilots and erected lighthouses,[42] includingKõpu Lighthouse.[43][12] Lübeck erected in 1202 what may be northern Europe's first proper lighthouse inFalsterbo. By 1600 at least 15 lighthouses had been erected along the German and Scandinavian coasts, making it the best-lighted coast in the world, largely thanks to the Hansa.[44]
The weakening of imperial power and imperial protection under the lateHohenstaufen dynasty forced the League to institutionalize a cooperating network of cities with a fluid structure, called theStädtehanse,[29]: 27 but it never became a formal organization and theKaufmannshanse continued to exist.[29]: 28–29 This development was delayed by the conquest of Wendish cities by the Danish kingEric VI Menved or by their feudal overlords between 1306 and 1319 and the restriction of their autonomy.[15]: 60–61 Assemblies of the Hanse towns met irregularly in Lübeck for aHansetag [de] (Hanseatic Diet) – starting either around 1300,[15]: 59 or possibly 1356.[33]: 66 Many towns chose not to attend nor to send representatives, and decisions were not binding on individual cities if their delegates were not included in the recesses; representatives would sometimes leave the Diet prematurely to give their towns an excuse not to ratify decisions.[29]: 36–39 [b] Only a few Hanseatic cities werefree imperial cities or enjoyed comparable autonomy and liberties, but many temporarily escaped domination by local nobility.[45]
Town Hall of Reval (nowTallinn, Estonia)Military situation in Denmark (1370) after foreign invasions.
Between 1361 and 1370, League members fought againstDenmark in theDanish-Hanseatic War. Though initially unsuccessful with a Wendish offensive, towns from Prussia and the Netherlands, and eventually joined by Wendish towns, allied in theConfederation of Cologne in 1368, sackedCopenhagen andHelsingborg, and forcedValdemar IV, King of Denmark, and his son-in-lawHaakon VI, King of Norway, to grant tax exemptions and influence overØresund fortresses for 15 years in thepeace treaty of Stralsund in 1370. It extended privileges in Scania to the League, including Holland and Zeeland. The treaty marked the height of Hanseatic influence; for this period the League was called a "Northern Europeangreat power". The Confederation lasted until 1385, while the Øresund fortresses were returned to Denmark that year.[33]: 64, 70–73
After Valdemar's heir Olav died, a succession dispute erupted over Denmark and Norway betweenAlbert of Mecklenburg, King of Sweden andMargaret I, Queen of Denmark. This was further complicated when Swedish nobles rebelled against Albert and invited Margaret. Albert was taken prisoner in 1389, but hiredprivateers in 1392, the socalledVictual Brothers, who took Bornholm and Visby in his name. They and their descendants threatened maritime trade between 1392 and the 1430s. Under the 1395 release agreement for Albert,Stockholm was ruled from 1395 to 1398 by a consortium of 7 Hanseatic cities, and enjoyed full Hanseatic trading privileges. It went to Margaret in 1398.[33]: 76–77
The Victual Brothers controlled Gotland in 1398. It was conquered by the Teutonic Order with support from the Prussian towns and its privileges were restored. The grandmaster of the Teutonic Order was often seen as the head of the Hanse (caput Hansae), both abroad and by some League members.[33]: 77–78 [29]: 31–32
Over the 15th century, the League became further institutionalized. This was in part a response to challenges in governance and competition with rivals, but also reflected changes in trade. A slow shift occurred from loose participation to formal recognition/revocation.[32]: 113–115 Another general trend was Hanseatic cities' increased legislation of their kontors abroad. Only the Bergen kontor grew more independent in this period.[34]: 136
TheNovgorod Republic c. 1400. Novgorod created a vast territorial empire and controlled much of thefur trade with Europe. The city was one of the maintrading posts of the Hanseatic League.
In Novgorod, after extended conflict since the 1380s, the League regained its trade privileges in 1392, agreeing to Russian trade privileges for Livonia and Gotland.[33]: 78–83
In 1424, all German traders of thePetershof kontor in Novgorod were imprisoned and 36 of them died. Although rare, arrests and seizures in Novgorod were particularly violent.[46]: 182 In response, and due to the ongoing war between Novgorod and theLivonian Order, the League blockaded Novgorod and abandoned thePeterhof from 1443 to 1448.[47]: 82
Afterextended conflicts with the League from the 1370s, English traders gained trade privileges inthe Prussian region via the treaties of Marienburg (the first in 1388, the last in 1409).[33]: 78–83 Their influence increased, while the importance of Hanseatic trade in England decreased over the 15th century.[33]: 98
Over the 15th century, tensions between the Prussian region and the "Wendish" cities (Lübeck and its eastern neighbours) increased. Lübeck was dependent on its role as center of the Hansa; Prussia's main interest, on the other hand, was the export of bulk products such as grain and timber to England, theLow Countries and later on Spain and Italy.[citation needed]
Until 1394,Holland andZeeland actively participated in the Hansa, but in 1395, their feudal obligations toAlbert I, Duke of Bavaria prevented further cooperation. Consequently, their Hanseatic ties weakened, and their economic focus shifted. Between 1417 and 1432, this economic reorientation became even more pronounced as Holland and Zeeland gradually became part of theBurgundian State.
The city of Lübeck faced financial troubles in 1403, leading dissenting craftsmen to establish a supervising committee in 1405. This triggered a governmental crisis in 1408 when the committee rebelled and established a new town council. Similar revolts broke out in Wismar and Rostock, with new town councils established in 1410. The crisis was ended in 1418 by a compromise.[33]: 83–88 [undue weight? –discuss]
Eric of Pomerania succeeded Margaret in 1412 and sought to expand intoSchleswig andHolstein levying tolls at the Øresund. Hanseatic cities were divided initially; Lübeck tried to appease Eric while Hamburg supported the Schauenburg counts against him. This led to theDanish-Hanseatic War (1426-1435) and theBombardment of Copenhagen (1428). The Treaty of Vordingborg renewed the League's commercial privileges in 1435, but the Øresund tolls continued.
Eric of Pomerania was subsequently deposed and in 1438 Lübeck took control of the Øresund toll, which caused tensions withHolland andZeeland.[33]: 89–91 [49]: 265 [50][51]: 171 The Sound tolls,[c] and a later attempt of Lübeck to exclude the English and Dutch merchants from Scania harmed the Scanian herring trade when the excluded regions began to develop their own herring industries.[34]: 157–158
In theDutch–Hanseatic War (1438–1441), a privateer war mostly waged by Wendish towns, the merchants ofAmsterdam sought and eventually won free access to the Baltic. Although the blockade of the grain trade hurt Holland and Zeeland more than Hanseatic cities, it was against Prussian interest to maintain it.[33]: 91
Poland in turn was heavily supported by theHoly Roman Empire through family connections and by military assistance under theHabsburgs.Kraków, then the Polish capital, had a loose association with the Hansa.[52]: 93 The lack of customs borders on the RiverVistula after 1466 helped to gradually increase Polish grain exports, transported down theVistula, from 10,000 short tons (9,100 t) per year, in the late 15th century, to over 200,000 short tons (180,000 t) in the 17th century.[53] The Hansa-dominated maritimegrain trade made Poland one of the main areas of its activity, helping Danzig to become the Hansa's largest city. Polish kings soon began to reduce the towns' political freedoms.[48]: 36
Beginning in the mid-15th century, theGriffin dukes ofPomerania were in constant conflict over control of the Pomeranian Hanseatic towns. While not successful at first,Bogislav X eventually subjugatedStettin andKöslin, curtailing the region's economy and independence.[48]: 35
View of theHarbour Crane [de;pl] in the port city ofGdańsk (Danzig), today in PolandHanseatic museum inBergen, Norway
A major Hansa economic advantage was its control of the shipbuilding market, mainly in Lübeck and Danzig. The League sold ships throughout Europe.[citation needed]
When Flanders and Holland became part of theDuchy of Burgundy, Burgund Dutch and Prussian cities increasingly excluded Lübeck from their grain trade in the 15th and 16th century. Burgund Dutch demand for Prussian and Livonian grain grew in the late 15th century. These trade interests differed from Wendish interests, threatening political unity, but also showed a trade where the Hanseatic system was impractical.[30]: 198, 215–216 Hollandish freight costs were much lower than the Hansa's, and the Hansa were excluded as middlemen.[citation needed] After naval wars between Burgundy and the Hanseatic fleets, Amsterdam gained the position of leading port for Polish and Baltic grain from the late 15th century onwards.[citation needed]
Nuremberg inFranconia developed an overland route to sell formerly Hansa-monopolised products fromFrankfurt via Nuremberg andLeipzig to Poland and Russia, trading Flemish cloth andFrench wine in exchange for grain and furs from the east. The Hansa profited from the Nuremberg trade by allowing Nurembergers to settle in Hanseatic towns, which the Franconians exploited by taking over trade with Sweden as well. The Nuremberger merchant Albrecht Moldenhauer was influential in developing the trade with Sweden and Norway, and his sons Wolf and Burghard Moldenhauer established themselves in Bergen and Stockholm, becoming leaders of the local Hanseatic activities.
KingEdward IV of England reconfirmed the league's privileges in theTreaty of Utrecht despite the latent hostility, in part thanks to the significant financial contribution the League made to theYorkist side duringthe Wars of the Roses of 1455–1487.[54]: 308–309 TsarIvan III of Russia closed the HanseaticKontor at Novgorod in 1494 and deported its merchants to Moscow, in an attempt to reduce Hanseatic influence on Russian trade.[55]: 145 At the time, only 49 traders were at the Peterhof.[56]: 99 The fur trade was redirected to Leipzig, taking out the Hansards;[36]: 54 while the Hanseatic trade with Russia moved to Riga, Reval, and Pleskau.[56]: 100 When the Peterhof reopened in 1514, Novgorod was no longer a trade hub.[54]: 182, 312 In the same period, the burghers of Bergen tried to develop an independent intermediate trade with the northern population, against the Hansards' obstruction.[39]: 144 The League's mere existence and its privileges and monopolies created economic and social tensions that often spilled onto rivalries between League members.
The development of transatlantic trade after the discovery of the Americas caused the remaining contours to decline, especially in Bruges, because it centered on other ports. It also changed business practice to short-term contracts and obsoleted the Hanseatic model of privileged guaranteed trade.[34]: 154
The trends of local feudal lords asserting control over towns and suppressing their autonomy, and of foreign rulers repressing Hanseatic traders continued in the next century.
In theSwedish War of Liberation 1521–1523, the Hanseatic League was successful in opposition to an economic conflict it had over the trade, mining, and metal industry inBergslagen[57] (the main mining area of Sweden in the 16th century) withJakob Fugger (industrialist in the mining and metal industry) and his unfriendly business take-over attempt. Fugger allied with his financially dependent popeLeo X,Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, andChristian II of Denmark/Norway. Both sides made costly investments in support ofmercenaries to win the war. After the war,Gustav Vasa's Sweden andFrederick I'sDenmark pursued independent policies and didn't support Lübeck's effort against Dutch trade.[40]: 113
The Hanseatic towns ofGuelders were obstructed in the 1530s byCharles II, Duke of Guelders. Charles, a strict Catholic, objected toLutheranism, in his words "Lutheran heresy", of Lübeck and other north German cities. This frustrated but did not end the towns' Hanseatic trade and a small resurgence came later.[58]
Later in the 16th century, Denmark-Norway took control of much of the Baltic. Sweden had regained control over its own trade, theKontor in Novgorod had closed, and theKontor in Bruges had become effectively moribund because theZwin inlet was closing up.[34]: 132 Finally, the growing political authority of the German princes constrained the independence of Hanse towns.
The league attempted to deal with some of these issues: it created the post ofsyndic in 1556 and electedHeinrich Sudermann to the position, who worked to protect and extend the diplomatic agreements of the member towns. In 1557 and 1579, revised agreements spelled out the duties of towns and some progress was made. TheBrugesKontor moved toAntwerp in 1520[34]: 140–154 and the Hansa attempted to pioneer new routes. However, the league proved unable to prevent the growing mercantile competition.
In 1567, a Hanseatic League agreement reconfirmed previous obligations and rights of league members, such as common protection and defense against enemies.[59] The Prussian Quartier cities of Thorn, Elbing,Königsberg and Riga and Dorpat also signed. When pressed by the King ofPoland–Lithuania, Danzig remained neutral and would not allow ships running for Poland into its territory. They had to anchor somewhere else, such as atPautzke (Puck).
The AntwerpKontor, moribund after thefall of the city, closed in 1593. In 1597 QueenElizabeth I of England expelled the League from London, and the Steelyard closed and sequestered in 1598. The Kontor returned in 1606 under her successor,James I, but it could not recover.[54]: 341–343 The BergenKontor continued until 1754; of all theKontore, only its buildings, theBryggen, survive.
Not all states tried to suppress their cities' former Hanseatic links; the Dutch Republic encouraged its eastern former members to maintain ties with the remaining Hanseatic League. The States-General relied on those cities in diplomacy at the time of theKalmar War.[32]: 123
TheThirty Years' War was destructive for the Hanseatic League and members suffered heavily from both the imperials, the Danes and the Swedes. In the beginning, Saxon and Wendish faced attacks because of the desire ofChristian IV of Denmark to control the Elbe and Weser. Pomerania had a major population decline. Sweden tookBremen-Verden (excluding the city of Bremen),Swedish Pomerania (including Stralsund, Greifswald, Rostock) andSwedish Wismar, preventing their cities from participating in the League, and controlled the Oder, Weser, and Elbe, and could levy tolls on their traffic.[40]: 114–116 The league became increasingly irrelevant despite its inclusion in thePeace of Westphalia.[29]: 43
In 1666, theSteelyard burned in theGreat Fire of London. The Kontor-manager sent a letter to Lübeck appealing for immediate financial assistance for a reconstruction. Hamburg, Bremen, and Lübeck called for a Hanseatic Day in 1669. Only a few cities participated and those who came were reluctant to contribute financially to the reconstruction. It was the last formal meeting, unbeknownst to any of the parties. This date is often taken in retrospect as the effective end date of the Hansa, but the League never formally disbanded. It silently disintegrated.[60]: 192 [10]: 2
The Hanseatic League, however, lived on in the public mind.Leopold I even requested Lübeck to call a Tagfahrt to rally support for him against the Turks.[60]: 192
Lübeck, Hamburg, and Bremen continued to attempt common diplomacy, although interests had diverged by thePeace of Ryswick.[60]: 192 Nonetheless, the Hanseatic Republics were able to jointly perform some diplomacy, such as ajoint delegation to the United States in 1827, led byVincent Rumpff; later the United States established a consulate to theHanseatic and Free Cities from 1857 to 1862.[61] Britain maintaineddiplomats to the Hanseatic Cities until theunification of Germany in 1871. The three cities also had a common "Hanseatic" representation in Berlin until 1920.[60]: 192
Three kontors remained as, often unused, Hanseatic property after the League's demise, as thePeterhof had closed in the 16th century.Bryggen was sold to Norwegian owners in 1754. The Steelyard in London and theOostershuis in Antwerp were long impossible to sell. The Steelyard was finally sold in 1852 and the Oostershuis, closed in 1593, was sold in 1862.[60]: 192 [54]: 341–343
Hamburg, Bremen, and Lübeck remained as the only members until the League's formal end in 1862, on the eve of the 1867 founding of theNorth German Confederation and the 1871 founding of theGerman Empire underKaiser Wilhelm I. Despite its collapse, they cherished the link to the Hanseatic League. UntilGerman reunification, these three cities were the only ones that retained the words "Hanseatic City" in their official German names. Hamburg and Bremen continue to style themselves officially as "free Hanseatic cities", with Lübeck named "Hanseatic City". For Lübeck in particular, this anachronistic tie to a glorious past remained important in the 20th century. In 1937, theNazi Party revoked its imperial immediacy through theGreater Hamburg Act.[62] Since 1990, 24 other German cities have adopted this title.[63]
The Hanseatic League was a complex, loose-jointed constellation of protagonists pursuing their interests, which coincided in a shared program of economic domination in the Baltic region, and a by no means a monolithic organization or a 'state within a state'.[64]: 37–38 It gradually grew from a network of merchant guilds into a more formal association of cities, but never formed into alegal person.[56]: 91
League members wereLow German-speaking, except forDinant. Not all towns with Low German merchant communities were members (e.g.,Emden, Memel (todayKlaipėda), Viborg (todayVyborg), andNarva). However, Hansards also came from settlements withoutGerman town law—the premise for league membership was birth to German parents, subjection to German law, and commercial education. The league served to advance and defend its members' common interests: commercial ambitions such as enhancement of trade, and political ambitions such as ensuring maximum independence from the territorial rulers.[65]: 10–11
League decisions and actions were taken via a consensus-based procedure. If an issue arose, members were invited to participate in a central meeting, theTagfahrt (Hanseatic Diet, "meeting ride", sometimes also referred to asHansetag), that may have begun around 1300,[15]: 59 and were formalized since 1358 (or possibly 1356).[33]: 66–67 The member communities then chose envoys (Ratssendeboten) to represent their local consensus on the issue at the Diet. Not every community sent an envoy; delegates were often entitled to represent multiple communities. Consensus-building on local andTagfahrt levels followed the Low Saxon tradition ofEinung, where consensus was defined as the absence of protest: after a discussion, the proposals that gained sufficient support were dictated to the scribe and passed as bindingRezess if the attendees did not object; those favoring alternative proposals unlikely to get sufficient support remained silent during this procedure. If consensus could not be established on a certain issue, it was found instead in the appointment of league members empowered to work out a compromise.[65]: 70–72
The League was characterised by legal pluralism and the diets could not issue laws. But the cities cooperated to achieve limited trade regulation, such as measures against fraud, or worked together on a regional level. Attempts to harmonize maritime law yielded a series of ordinances in the 15th and 16th centuries. The most extensive maritime ordinance was theShip Ordinance and Sea Law of 1614, but it may not have been enforced.[66]: 31, 37–38
A HanseaticKontor was a settlement of Hansards organized in the mid-14th century as a private corporation that had its treasury, court, legislation, and seal. They operated like an earlystock exchange.[67]: 443–446 Kontors were first established to provide security, but also served to secure privileges and engage in diplomacy.[34]: 128–130, 134–135 The quality of goods was also examined at Kontors, increasing trade efficiency, and they served as bases to develop connections with local rulers and as sources of economic and political information.[56]: 91 [d] Most contours were also physical locations containing buildings that were integrated and segregated from city life to different degrees. Thekontor of Bruges was an exception in this regard; it acquired buildings only as of the 15th century.[34]: 131–133 Like the guilds, theKontore were usually led byÄltermänner ("eldermen", or Englishaldermen). TheStalhof, a special case, had a Hanseatic and an English alderman. InNovgorod the aldermen were replaced by ahofknecht in the 15th century.[54]: 100–101 The contours statutes were read aloud to the present merchants once a year.[34]: 131–133
In 1347 theKontor of Bruges modified its statute to ensure an equal representation of League members. To that end, member communities from different regions were pooled into three circles (Drittel ("third [part]"): theWendish andSaxon Drittel, theWestphalian andPrussian Drittel as well as theGotlandian,Livonian andSwedish Drittel). Merchants from eachDrittel chose two aldermen and six members of the Eighteen Men Council (Achtzehnmännerrat) to administer theKontor for a set period.[56]: 91, 101 [34]: 138–139
In 1356, during a Hanseatic meeting in preparation for the first (or one of the first)Tagfahrt, the League confirmed this statute. All trader settlements including theKontors were subordinated to the Diet's decisions around this time, and their envoys received the right to attend and speak at Diets, albeit without voting power.[56]: 91 [e]
The league gradually divided the organization into three constituent parts calledDrittel (Germanthirds), as shown in the table below.[65]: 62–63 [68]: 55 [69][70]: 62–64
TheHansetag was the only central institution of the Hanseatic League. However, with the division intoDrittel, the members of the respective subdivisions frequently held aDritteltage ("Drittel meeting") to work out common positions which could then be presented at aHansetag. On a more local level, league members also met, and while such regional meetings never crystalized into a Hanseatic institution, they gradually gained importance in the process of preparing and implementing the Diet's decisions.[71]: 55–57
From 1554, the division intoDrittel was modified to reduce the circles' heterogeneity, to enhance the collaboration of the members on a regional level and thus to make the League's decision-making process more efficient.[72]: 217 The number of circles rose to four, so they were calledQuartiere (quarters):[68]
This division was however not adopted by theKontore, who, for their purposes (likeÄltermänner elections), grouped League members in different ways (e.g., the division adopted by theStalhof in London in 1554 grouped members intoDritteln, whereby Lübeck merchants represented the Wendish, Pomeranian Saxon, and several Westphalian towns, Cologne merchants represented theCleves,Mark,Berg and Dutch towns, while Danzig merchants represented the Prussian and Livonian towns).[75]: 38–92
The most used type, and the most emblematic, was thecog. The cog was a multi-purposeclinker-built ship with a carvel bottom, a stern rudder, and asquare rigged mast. Most cogs were privately owned and were also used as warships. Cogs were built in various sizes and specifications and were used on both the seas and rivers. They could be outfitted with castles starting from the thirteenth century. The cog was depicted on many seals and several coats of arms of Hanseatic cities, likeStralsund,Elbląg andWismar. Several shipwrecks have been found. The most notable wreck is theBremen cog.[37]: 35–36 It could carry a cargo of about 125 tons.[76]: 20
Modern, faithful painting of theAdler von Lübeck – the world's largest ship in its time
Thehulk began to replace the cog by 1400 and cogs lost their dominance to them around 1450.[77]: 264
The hulk was a bulkier ship that could carry larger cargo; Elbl estimates they could carry up to 500 tons by the 15th century. It could be clinker or carvel-built.[77]: 264 [78]: 64 No archeological evidence of a hulk has been found.
In 1464, Danzig acquired a French carvel ship through a legal dispute and renamed it thePeter von Danzig. It was 40 m long and had three masts, one of the largest ships of its time. Danzig adopted carvel construction around 1470.[55]: 44 Other cities shifted to carvels starting from this time. An example is theJesus of Lübeck, later sold to England for use as a warship and slave ship.[79]
The galleonlike carvel warshipAdler von Lübeck was constructed by Lübeck for military use againstSweden during theNorthern Seven Years' War (1563–70). Launched in 1566, it was never put to military use after theTreaty of Stettin. It was the biggest ship of its day at 78 m long and had four masts, including abonaventure mizzen. It served as a merchant ship until it was damaged in 1581 on a return voyage from Lisbon and broken up in 1588.[55]: 43–44 [80]
Rügen was a fief of theDanish crown to 1325. Stralsund joined the 10-year Rostock Peace Treaty in 1283, which was the predecessor of the federation of Wendish towns (1293 onwards). From 1339 to the 17th century, Stralsund was a member of theVierstädtebund with Greifswald, Demmin and Anklam.
Joined the 10-year Rostock Peace Treaty in 1283, which was the predecessor of the federation of Wendish towns (1293 onwards). From 1339 to the 17th century, Demmin was a member of theVierstädtebund with Stralsund, Greifswald and Anklam.
Joined the 10-year Rostock Peace Treaty in 1283, which was the predecessor of the federation of Wendish towns (1293 onwards). From 1339 to the 17th century, Greifswald was a member of theVierstädtebund with Stralsund, Demmin and Anklam.
Joined the 10-year Rostock Peace Treaty in 1283, which was the predecessor of the federation of Wendish towns (1293 onwards). From 1339 to the 17th century, Anklam was a member of theVierstädtebund with Stralsund, Greifswald and Demmin.
Joined the 10-year Rostock Peace Treaty in 1283, which was the predecessor of the federation of Wendish towns (1293 onwards); since the 14th century gradually adopted the role of a chief city for the Pomeranian Hanse towns to its east
In 1285 atKalmar, the League agreed withMagnus III, King of Sweden, thatGotland be joined with Sweden.[citation needed] In 1470, Visby's status was rescinded by the League, with Lübeck razing the city's churches in May 1525.
In 1488 the Hanseatic cities of the Altmark region rebelled against a beer tax against Elector of Brandenburg John Cicero. They lost and were punished by being forced to leave the Hanseatic League. Salzwedel and Stendal managed to stay in the Hanseatic League until 1518.
In 1488 the Hanseatic cities of the Altmark region rebelled against a beer tax against Elector of Brandenburg John Cicero. They lost and were punished by being forced to leave the Hanseatic League. Salzwedel and Stendal managed to stay in the Hanseatic League until 1518.
Kraków was the capital of theKingdom of Poland, 1038–1596/1611. It adoptedMagdeburg town law and 5000 Poles and 3500 Germans lived within the city proper in the 15th century; Poles steadily rose in the ranks of guild memberships reaching 41% of guild members in 1500. It was very loosely associated with Hansa, and paid no membership fees, nor sent representatives to League meetings.
Breslau, a part of theDuchy of Breslau and theKingdom of Bohemia, was only loosely connected to the League and paid no membership fees nor did its representatives take part in Hansa meetings
On joining the Hanseatic League, Reval was a Danish fief, but was sold in 1346, with the rest of northern Estonia, to theTeutonic Order. In 1561, Reval became adominion ofSweden.
Main town of the Rhine-Westphalian and Netherlands Circle until after theAnglo-Hanseatic War (1470–74), when the city was prosecuted in 1475 with temporary trade sanctions (German:Verhanst) for some years for having supportedEngland;Dortmund was made main town of the Circle. Cologne also was called "Electorate of Cologne" (German: Kurfürstentum Köln or Kurköln). In June 1669 the last Hanseday was held in the town of Lübeck by the last remaining Hanse members, amongst others Cologne.
Novgorod was one of the principal Kontore of the League and the easternmost. In 1494,Ivan III, Grand Prince of Moscow, closed the Peterhof; it was reopened a few years later, but the League's Russian trade never recovered.
Bryggen was one of the principal Kontore of the League. It was razed by accidental fire in 1476. In 1560, administration of Bryggen was placed under Norwegian administration.
Bruges was one of the principal Kontore of the League until the 15th century, when the seaway to the city silted up; trade from Antwerp benefiting from Bruges's loss.
The Steelyard was one of the principal Kontore of the League.King Edward I granted aCarta Mercatoria in 1303. The Steelyard was destroyed in 1469 andEdward IV exemptedCologne merchants, leading to theAnglo-Hanseatic War (1470–74). TheTreaty of Utrecht, sealing the peace, led to the League purchasing the Steelyard outright in 1475, with Edward having renewed the League's privileges without insisting on reciprocal rights for English merchants in the Baltic. London merchants persuadedElizabeth I to rescind the League's privileges on 13 January 1598; while the Steelyard was re-established byJames I, the advantage never returned. Consulates continued however, providing communication during theNapoleonic Wars, and the Hanseatic interest was only sold in 1853.
Antwerp became a major Kontor of the League, particularly after the seaway to Bruges silted up in the 15th century, leading to its fortunes waning in Antwerp's favour, despite Antwerp's refusal to grant special privileges to the League's merchants. Between 1312 and 1406, Antwerp was amargraviate, independent of Brabant.
Thevitten were significant foreign trading posts of the League in Scania, not cities that were Hanseatic members, they are argued by some to have been similar in status to thekontors,[34]: 157–158 and are listed in the hidden table below.
Academic historiography of the Hanseatic League is considered to begin with Georg Sartorius, who started writing his first work in 1795 and founded the liberal historiographical tradition about the League. The German conservative nationalist historiographical tradition was first published with F.W. Barthold'sGeschichte der Deutschen Hansa of 1853/1854. The conservative view was associated withLittle German ideology and came to predominate from the 1850s until the end of theFirst World War. Hanseatic history was used to justify a stronger German navy and conservative historians drew a link between the League and the rise of Prussia as the leading German state. This climate deeply influenced the historiography of the Baltic trade.[60]: 192–194 [30]: 203–204
Issues of social, cultural and economic history became more important in German research after the First World War. But leading historian Fritz Rörig also promoted aNational Socialist perspective. After theSecond World War the conservative nationalist view was discarded, allowing exchanges between German, Swedish and Norwegian historians on the Hanseatic League's role in Sweden and Norway. Views on the League were strongly negative in the Scandinavian countries, especially Denmark, because of associations with German privilege and supremacy.[123]: 68–69, 74 Philippe Dollinger's bookThe German Hansa became the standard work in the 1960s. At that time, the dominant perspective became Ahasver von Brandt's view of a loosely aligned trading network. Marxist historians in the GDR were split on whether the League was a "late feudal" or "proto-capitalist" phenomenon.[60]: 197–200
From the 19th century, Hanseatic history was often used to promote a national cause in Germany. German liberals built a fictional literature around Jürgen Wullenwever, expressing fierce anti-Danish sentiment. Hanseatic subjects were used to propagate nation building, colonialism, fleet building and warfare, and the League was presented as a bringer of culture and pioneer of German expansion.[60]: 195–196
The preoccupation with a strong navy motivated German painters in the 19th century to paint supposedly Hanseatic ships. They used the traditions of maritime paintings and, not wanting Hanseatic ships to look unimpressive, ignored historical evidence to fictionalise cogs into tall two- or three-masted ships. The depictions were widely reproduced, such as on plates ofNorddeutscher Lloyd. This misleading artistic tradition influenced public perception throughout the 20th century.[60]: 196–197
In the late 19th century, a social-critical view developed, where opponents of the League like thelikedeelers were presented as heroes and liberators from economic oppression. This was popular from the end of the First World War into the 1930s, and survives in theStörtebeker Festival onRügen, founded as the Rügenfestspiele by the GDR.[60]: 196
From the late 1970s, the Europeanness and cooperation of the Hanseatic League came to prominence in popular culture. It is associated with innovation, entrepreneurism and internationalness in economic circles.[60]: 199–203 In this way it often used for tourism, city branding and commercial marketing.[32]: 109 The League's unique governance structure has been identified as a precursor to thesupranational model of theEuropean Union.[124]
Modern transnational organisations named after the Hanseatic League
In 1979,Zwolle invited over 40 cities fromWest Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway with historic links to the Hanseatic League to sign the recesses of 1669, at Zwolle's 750 year city rights' anniversary in August of the next year.[125] In 1980, those cities established a "new Hanse" in Zwolle, namedStädtebund Die Hanse (Union of Cities THE HANSA) in German and reinstituted the Hanseatic diets. This league is open to all former Hanseatic League members and cities that share a Hanseatic heritage.[126]
In 2012, the city league had 187 members. This included twelve Russian cities, most notablyNovgorod, and 21 Polish cities. No Danish cities had joined the Union although several qualify.[60]: 199–200 The "new Hanse" fosters business links, tourism and cultural exchange.[126]
The headquarters of the New Hansa is inLübeck, Germany.[126]
TheNew Hanseatic League was established in February 2018 by finance ministers fromDenmark,Estonia,Finland, Ireland,Latvia,Lithuania, theNetherlands and Sweden through the signing of a foundational document which set out the countries' "shared views and values in the discussion on the architecture of theEMU".[129]
In thePatrician series of trading simulation video games, the player assumes the role of a merchant in any of several cities of the Hanseatic League.[130]
In theSaga of Seven Suns series ofspace opera novels by American writerKevin J. Anderson, the human race has colonized multiple planets in the Spiral Arm, most of which are governed by the powerful Terran Hanseatic League (Hansa).[131]
In theMetro franchise ofpost-apocalyptic novels and video games, a trading alliance of stations called The Commonwealth of the Stations of the Ring Line is also known as the Hanseatic League, usually shortened to Hansa or Hanza.
^Een opvalled euvel betrof de gewoonte dat gezanten, die voor hen nadelige afspraken niet konden accepteren, vroegtijdig de Hanzedag verlieten. Op deze wijze hoopten zij niet in de notulen, de zogenaamde Hanzerecessen, te worden opgenomen. Het verschafte de stadsbesturen vervolgens de mogelijkheid de daarin opgenomen besluiten niet te ratificeren. [...] Opvallend is dat de Hanzedag, en ook Lübeck en de Wendische steden, niet in staat waren dit fenomeen te sanctioneren en zelfs een gedoogpolitiek ontstond. Terwijl veel historici hierin een essentiële zwakte van de Hanze zien, vat Pichierri dit op als een teken van flexibiliteit. [...] Al met al zijn dit enkele kenmerken van een organisatiestructuur die bij sociologen als een netwerk met losse bindingen te boek staat. De verbindingen tussen de verschillende leden van een dergelijke netwerk waren niet star noch daadwerkelijk verplichtend. [...] Het gebrek aan duurzame samenhand vloeide voort uit de grote autonomie van de steden zoals deze besloten lag in het zogenaamde Einungsrecht. [...] Juist doordat de Hanzevergadering vast bleef houden aan het uitgangspunt dat de gemeenschappelijke wil van alle steden afzonderlijk gerespecteerd moest worden, kon een besluit alleen op grond van algemene instemming genomen worden. [...] Volgens de principes van het Einungsrecht was echter geen enkele stad gedwongen zich aan de wil of aan de besluiten van een woordvoerder, in dit geval de Algemene Hanzedag, te onderwerpen. Aan het einde van de besluitvormingsketen was de instemming van de stedelijke gemeenschap doorslaggevend, ongeacht wat er op hogere niveaus was afgesproken. Het kwam derhalve zeer regelmatig voor dat besluiten die raadszendbode vanuit een minderheidspositie stilzwijgend moesten aanvaarden, achteraf door hun stadsbesturen werden afgewezen.A notable shortcoming concerned the custom that envoys, who could not accept arrangements that were disadvantageous for them, left the Hanseatic Day prematurely. In this way they hoped not to be included in the minutes, the so-called Hanseatic recesses. It then provided the city authorities with the option of not ratifying the decrees contained therein. [...] It is striking that the Hanseatic Day, and also Lübeck and the Wendish cities, were unable to sanction this phenomenon and even a policy of condoning arose. While many historians see this as an essential weakness of the Hanseatic League, Pichierri sees this as a sign of flexibility. [...] All in all, these are some characteristics of an organizational structure that sociologists regard as a network with loose connections. The connections between the various members of such a network were neither rigid nor actually binding. [...] The lack of sustainable cohesion arose from the great autonomy of the cities as it was implied in the so-called Einungsrecht. [...] Precisely because the Hanseatic Assembly continued to adhere to the principle that the common will of all individual cities had to be respected, a decision could only be taken on the basis of general consent. [...] According to the principles of Einungsrecht, however, no city was forced to submit to the will or to the decisions of a spokesman, in this case the General Hansedag. At the end of the decision-making chain, the agreement of the urban community was decisive, regardless of what was agreed at higher levels. It therefore happened very regularly that decisions that council messengers had to accept tacitly from a minority position were subsequently rejected by their city councils (Brand & Egge 2010, pp. 36–39).
^The Sound here is theØresund, the strait between the Danish island of Zealand (Sjælland) and Sweden.
^Door de Kantoren werden er duurzame relaties met de machthebbers ter plaatse opgebouwd. Daaarnaast waren ze ook een onmisbare bron van informatie voor de Hanzesteden over de lokale politiek en handel. Bovendien waren de Kantoren plaatsen waar er controle was op de kwaliteit van goederen in de hanzeatische handel. Dit bevorderde de efficiëntie van deze handel. [...] Het midden van de veertiende eeuw wordt voor Brugge en Bergen als scharnierpunt in het ontstaan van de Kantoren gezien omdat ze toen een vastere organisatie en duidelijke regelgeving kregen. [...] Niettemin waren de Kantoren, in tegenstelling tot de Hanze als geheel, wel degelijk rechtsperonen. Als gevolg daarvan voerden ze eigen zegels, hadden ze een eigen administratie, een gemeenschappelijke kas en de machtsmiddelen om het correct naleven van de regels af te dwingen.The Kontors built lasting relationships with local ruler. In addition, they were also an indispensable source of information for the Hanseatic cities about local politics and trade. Moreover, the Kontors were places where the quality of goods in the Hanseatic trade was monitored. This promoted the efficiency of this trade. [...] The middle of the fourteenth century is seen as a pivotal point in the emergence of the Kontors for Bruges and Bergen, because they were then given a more permanent organization and clear regulations. [...] Nevertheless, unlike the Hanseatic League as a whole, the Kontors were indeed legal persons. As a result, they had their own seals, had their own administration, a common treasury and the means to enforce proper compliance with the rules (Wubs-Mrozewicz 2010, p. 91).
^Rond dezelfde tijd werden ook alle nederzettingen formeel ondergeschikt aan de beslissingen van de Hanzedag. Hun vertegenwoordigers hadden sindsdien het recht om de Hanzevergaderingen bij te wonen en voor de belangen van de Kantoren en hun kooplieden te pleiten. Ze hadden er echter geen stemrecht.Around the same time, all settlements were also formally subordinated to the decisions of the Hanseatic League. Since then their representatives had the right to attend the Hanse meetings and to advocate for the interests of the Offices and their merchants. However, they had no voting rights (Wubs-Mrozewicz 2010, p. 91).
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