Hanseatic League | Definition, History, & Facts

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border-right-sm border-left-sm open"> <div class="drawer d-flex flex-column open"> <div class="left-rail-section-content"> <div class="topic-left-rail-header text-truncate bg-gray-50 position-relative text-right d-flex align-items-center"> <div class="tlr-title px-20 py-15 text-left"> <em class="material-icons text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hanseatic-League">Hanseatic League</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <ul class="list-unstyled my-0" data-level="h1"><li data-target="#ref1"><div class="pl-25"><a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="/topic/Hanseatic-League">Introduction</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref334034"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Hanseatic-League#ref334034">Western trade (to 1200)</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref334035"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Hanseatic-League#ref334035">Merging of the associations</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref334036"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Hanseatic-League/The-League-at-its-outset">The League at its outset</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref334037"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Hanseatic-League/The-League-at-its-outset#ref334037">Political organization to oppose competitors</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref334038"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Hanseatic-League/The-League-at-its-outset#ref334038">Danish War (1368–70)</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref334039"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Hanseatic-League/The-league-in-its-final-form">The league in its final form</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref334040"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Hanseatic-League/The-league-in-its-final-form#ref334040">Decline (15th–17th centuries)</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li></ul> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hanseatic-League/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/Hanseatic-League">Quick Facts & Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="tlr-media-slider pb-10 mb-30"> <a class="section-header link-gray-900 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mb-10 mx-10" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hanseatic-League/images-videos">Images</a> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 "> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex overflow-hidden text-nowrap ml-15"> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/81/139881-050-8792A6CB/port-Hanseatic-manuscript-illumination-Hamburg-City-Charter.jpg" data-href="/media/1/254543/207408" 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manuscript illumination from the Hamburg City Charter of 1497.</span></span> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <span class="link-blue">(more)</span> </button> </span> </div> </figcaption> </figure> </div><div class="topic-header"> <div class="d-flex align-items-top justify-content-between"> <div class="d-flex flex-column"> <div> <div> <h1>Hanseatic League</h1></div> </div> <div class="topic-identifier font-16 font-md-20">German trading organization</div> </div> </div> <div class="d-none d-sm-flex flex-row"> <div class="mr-10 mb-15"> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="d-none d-sm-block md-topic-tools qa-action-buttons mb-15" data-topic-id="254543"> <button class="js-tooltip btn btn-sm btn-outline-blue border pr-10 border-2" > <em class="material-icons md-icon ml-n10 my-n5 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Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). </div> <div class="type-menu"> <label for="feedback-type" class="label mb-10">Feedback Type</label> <select id="feedback-type" class="form-select mb-30" name="feedbackTypeId" required> <option value="" selected="selected">Select a type (Required)</option> <option value="1">Factual Correction</option> <option value="2">Spelling/Grammar Correction</option> <option value="3">Link Correction</option> <option value="4">Additional Information</option> <option value="5">Other</option> </select> </div> <label for="feedback" class="label mb-10">Your Feedback</label> <textarea id="feedback" class="form-control mb-30" name="feedback" maxlength="3000" rows="7" required></textarea> <button class="btn btn-blue" type="submit">Submit Feedback</button> </form> <div class="success-messaging d-none mt-30"> <div class="title">Thank you for your feedback</div> <p>Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="md-websites-modal size-lg d-none"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif pb-15 border-bottom font-weight-bold"> External Websites </div> <div class="pb-20"> <ul class="list-unstyled mt-20 lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1254991.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">ERIC Institute of Education Sciences - The Hanseatic League and Education - A Neglected Chapter in European and German History</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://mises.org/mises-wire/hanseatic-league-empire-commerce" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Mises Institute - The Hanseatic League: An “Empire” of Commerce</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.hanse.org/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Official Site of the Hansa</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.monash.edu/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/3341025/Eras-Edition-24,-no.1-Lilienfeld-3.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Monash University - City of London v. Strangers: The Fall of the Hanse in England, and the Rise of State-Sponsored Trade</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/london-forgotten-hanseatic-city-hanseatic-league" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Gresham College - London - The Forgotten Hanseatic City: The Hanseatic League</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/de_hansa.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">CRW Flags - Flag of Hanseatic League and Cities</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-europe/hanseatic-league-0013886" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Ancient Origins - The Hanseatic League: Dominating the Baltic Maritime Trade</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/A2MFANtn3Z/hanseatic_league" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">BBC News - Hanseatic League</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.wga.hu/tours/gothic/history/hansa.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Web Gallery of Art - Hanseatic League</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="md-websites-ebk-title">Britannica Websites</div> <div class="md-websites-ebk-subtitle">Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.</div> <ul class="list-unstyled bps-topic-web-sites lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Hanseatic-League/274769" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hanseatic League - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="toc-header-marker"></div> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 js-header-ai-ask-button d-none btn-sm btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 mr-0 mr-lg-10 ml-5 ml-sm-10 ml-lg-0 p-10"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> <div class="caption alternate-titles">Also known as: Hansa, Hanse</div> <div class="md-byline module-spacing "> <div class="font-serif font-12"> <span class="written-by text-gray-700"> Written by </span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/contributor/Arthur-Boyd-Hibbert/9763238" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">Arthur Boyd Hibbert</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">Lecturer in history, Cambridge University.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Arthur Boyd Hibbert</span></div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2024-11-06T00:00:00CST" >Nov 6, 2024</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hanseatic-League/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="qf-title font-weight-bold font-14 mb-10 text-center"> Quick Facts</div> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Also called: </dt> <dd>Hansa</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>German: </dt> <dd>Hanse</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Date: </dt> <dd><i>c. </i> 1175 - 1669</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Areas Of Involvement: </dt> <dd><a href="/topic/trade">trade</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>On the Web: </dt> <dd><a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1254991.pdf" target="_blank">ERIC Institute of Education Sciences - The Hanseatic League and Education - A Neglected Chapter in European and German History</a> (Nov. 06, 2024)</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/Hanseatic-League"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref267884"></span>Hanseatic League</strong>, organization founded by north German towns and German merchant <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="communities" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/communities" data-type="MW">communities</a> abroad to protect their mutual trading interests. The league dominated commercial activity in northern Europe from the 13th to the 15th century. (<em>Hanse</em> was a <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="medieval" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/medieval" data-type="MW">medieval</a> German word for “guild,” or “association,” derived from a Gothic word for “troop,” or “company.”)</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The origins of the league are to be found in groupings of traders and groupings of trading towns in two main areas: in the east, where German merchants won a monopoly of the Baltic trade, and in the west, where <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Rhineland" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Rhineland</a> merchants (especially from <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Cologne-Germany" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Cologne</a> [Köln]) were active in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Low-Countries" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Low Countries</a> and in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/England" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">England</a>. The league came into being when those various associations coalesced, a process encouraged by the natural interdependence of trade in these regions and largely initiated and controlled by those towns, notably <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Lubeck" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Lübeck</a>, which had a central position and a <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="vital" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/vital" data-type="EB">vital</a> interest in trade between the Baltic and northwestern Europe.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Northern German mastery of trade in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Baltic-Sea" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Baltic Sea</a> was achieved with striking speed and completeness in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. After its capture by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-III-duke-of-Bavaria-and-Saxony" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Henry III</a> (the Lion) in 1158, <span id="ref267885"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Lubeck" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Lübeck</a> became the main base for Westphalian and Saxon merchants expanding northward and eastward. <span id="ref267886"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Visby" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Visby</a>, on the Swedish island of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Gotland" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Gotland</a>, was soon established as a major transshipment centre for trade in the Baltic and with <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Veliky-Novgorod" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Novgorod</a> (now Veliky Novgorod), which was the chief mart for the Russian trade. From Visby, German merchants helped establish important towns on the east coast of the Baltic: <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Riga" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Riga</a>, Reval (now <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Tallinn" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Tallinn</a>), Danzig (now <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Gdansk" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Gdańsk</a>), and Dorpat (now <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Tartu" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Tartu</a>). Thus, by the early 13th century Germans had a near <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="monopoly" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/monopoly" data-type="EB">monopoly</a> of long-distance trade in the Baltic.</p><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="200490" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/07/177907-050-9724FADA/Marienkirche-rooftops-Germany-Lubeck.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/254543/200490"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/07/177907-050-9724FADA/Marienkirche-rooftops-Germany-Lubeck.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/07/177907-050-9724FADA/Marienkirche-rooftops-Germany-Lubeck.jpg?w=300" alt="Marienkirche in Lübeck, Germany" data-width="800" data-height="533" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/07/177907-050-9724FADA/Marienkirche-rooftops-Germany-Lubeck.jpg" data-href="/media/1/254543/200490">Marienkirche in Lübeck, Germany</a><span>The Marienkirche (13th–14th century) towering above the rooftops of Lübeck, Germany.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">The dominance achieved by German traders came about largely as a result of cooperation that took two forms: (1) Merchants far from their various hometowns but with a common interest in some particular branch of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/international-trade" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">foreign trade</a> tended increasingly to form Hanses with each other; (2) German towns formed loose unions. Those towns and their policies were dominated by great merchant families, and those families were linked by kinship and by mutual interest. So it is not surprising that from the beginning of the 13th century there appeared associations of cities that increased in size and intimacy and had as their fundamental purpose the removal of obstacles to trade. As early as 1210 Lübeck and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Hamburg-Germany" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Hamburg</a> agreed that a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/common-law" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">common law</a> obtain between them in certain matters, and that rapprochement led in 1241 to a formal alliance to secure common action against robbers and pirates. This was only one of several such agreements, in which Lübeck was usually prominent, like that of 1259 between Lübeck, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Rostock-Germany" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Rostock</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Wismar" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Wismar</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Stralsund" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Stralsund</a>; their principal objectives were always the suppression of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/piracy-international-law" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">piracy</a> and other threats to trade.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker h2"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref334034"><h2 class="h1">Western trade (to 1200)</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In the meantime, merchants from Cologne and other towns in the Rhineland had acquired trading privileges in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Flanders-medieval-principality-and-historical-region-Europe" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Flanders</a> and in England. In <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/London" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">London</a> they enjoyed special royal protection by the end of the 10th century, and with the expansion of their economic importance in England during the 12th century, there was a corresponding growth of the power privileges of the Hanse of Cologne merchants resident in the capital. Two landmarks were the charter of privileges granted by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-II-king-of-England" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Henry II</a> in 1157 and the rights granted by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Richard-I-duke-of-Normandy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Richard I</a> in 1194 in return for financial aid. The situation in Flanders is not as satisfactorily documented, but probably an association of Cologne merchants regularly <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="constituted" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/constituted" data-type="MW">constituted</a> at <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Brugge" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Brugge</a> by the middle of the century to participate in a vast complex of trade that found a natural focus in the Low Countries.</p><div class="module-spacing"> </div><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker h3"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref334035"><h2 class="h1">Merging of the associations</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="200977" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/30/177930-050-4CAD663B/wall-town-centre-Sweden-Visby.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/254543/200977"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/30/177930-050-4CAD663B/wall-town-centre-Sweden-Visby.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/30/177930-050-4CAD663B/wall-town-centre-Sweden-Visby.jpg?w=300" alt="Visby, Sweden" data-width="800" data-height="520" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/30/177930-050-4CAD663B/wall-town-centre-Sweden-Visby.jpg" data-href="/media/1/254543/200977">Visby, Sweden</a><span>A medieval wall surrounding the town center of Visby, Sweden.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">From the mid-13th century the cooperation between north German towns became much more extensive and regularized. By 1265 all towns having the “law of <span id="ref267887"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/laws-of-Lubeck" class="md-crosslink ">Lübeck</a>” had agreed on common legislation for the defense of merchants and their goods. Strong in their control of the Baltic trade, Lübeck, Danzig, Riga, and their satellites forced their way into the west. They entered areas where Rhineland merchants had formerly been dominant, secured for themselves the privileges formerly reserved to the Rhinelanders, and finally joined their <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="rivals" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/rivals" data-type="EB">rivals</a> in the creation of common Hanses in London and Brugge. At the same time, the group put the final touches on their control of the Baltic by reducing Visby to subservience with the capture of Gotland in 1293 and by fusing the two great Hanses operating in Gotland into one great union largely dominated by Lübeck. The upshot was that the Hanses in London, Brugge, and the Baltic were united into a single grouping and with the association of German towns itself.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="207410" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/15/83815-050-60EB2788/wharf-reminder-town-Bergen-Norway-importance-part.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/254543/207410"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/15/83815-050-60EB2788/wharf-reminder-town-Bergen-Norway-importance-part.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/15/83815-050-60EB2788/wharf-reminder-town-Bergen-Norway-importance-part.jpg?w=300" alt="Bergen, Norway" data-width="1600" data-height="1361" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/15/83815-050-60EB2788/wharf-reminder-town-Bergen-Norway-importance-part.jpg" data-href="/media/1/254543/207410">Bergen, Norway</a><span>The old wharf of Bergen, Norway, a reminder of the town's importance as part of the Hanseatic League.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">The decisive steps in this critical phase of Hanseatic history were all taken in the last half of the 13th century. The full and privileged entry of Lübeck and Hamburg into the trade of Brugge dates from their <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="initiative" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/initiative" data-type="MW">initiative</a> of 1252 and the agreement of 1253. In London and other English centres, the same two towns first won privileges and organization distinct from those of the Cologne Hanse and then forced union upon the Cologne association, so by 1282 the two were joined in a “German” Hanse. Even before that amalgamation the Lübeck-Hamburg Hanses operating in England and Flanders had united. Finally, in the 1280s, this confederation of German <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="merchants" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/merchants" data-type="EB">merchants</a> trading in the west was closely joined to the association of north German towns that had reached maturity by the 1260s. During that same period the German cities rounded their monopoly of the Baltic trade, linked the towns and the Hanses conducting that trade closely to themselves, and established <em>Kontore</em> (commercial enclaves) in Novgorod and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Bergen-Norway" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Bergen </a>(in Norway). By the close the 13th century, all north German trading associations and towns and their bases for foreign commerce were bound in a single league, including nearly every port from <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Bremen-Germany" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Bremen</a> to Reval. The trade of the Baltic and of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/North-Sea" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">North Sea</a> was in the hands of German merchants, and at the same time, the habits and methods of common action were being strengthened.</p><div class="module-spacing"> <DIV class="marketing-INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION marketing-content" data-marketing-id="INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION"><style> .student-promo-banner-wrapper { container-type: inline-size; margin-bottom: 15px; } @container (min-width: 475px) { .student-promo-banner { flex-direction: row; } .student-promo-banner-img-wrapper { margin-bottom: 0; margin-right: 10px; justify-content: flex-start; } .student-promo-banner-text-wrapper { text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; } .student-promo-banner-button-wrapper { margin-right: 0; } }</style> <div class="student-promo-banner-wrapper"> <div class="student-promo-banner d-flex flex-column align-items-center bg-blue rounded p-20"> <div class="student-promo-banner-img-wrapper mb-20 mr-0 d-flex justify-content-center"> <img class="rounded" style="max-width: 100px; min-width: 80px" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/BlueThistle.webp" /> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-text-wrapper ml-0 mb-10 text-center text-white"> <div class="h2 mb-10">Get Unlimited Access</div> <div class="h4 font-weight-semi-bold">Try Britannica Premium for free and discover more.</div> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-button-wrapper d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center ml-auto mr-auto"> <a class="btn btn-m btn-orange" href="https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=black-friday-2024">Subscribe</a> </div> </div> </div> </DIV></div><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":3,"pageId":254543,"pageLength":1056,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"C","adLeg":"C","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"PAGINATED","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Hanseatic League | Definition, History, & Facts | Britannica