Hanseatic League

The mastery of trade in the 12th and early years of the 13th centuries is one that was obtained so fast (Halliday 1). Firstly, Lubeck was captured back in the year 1158 by Henry the Lion. After its capture, it became a major platform for trade amongst the merchants of Westphalia and Saxon (Halliday 1). Their activities quickly started expanding to the north and the east. This is how the Hanseatic League was formed. This league is said to have continued up to approximately 300 years. While trading outside Germany, the German merchants had deemed it fit to form associations, also known as the hanses. The key objective for the formation of the hanses was so that merchants would be provided with some form of protection from robbers, as well as pirates. As time went by, the Hanseatic League became stronger and stronger and even more and better regularized (Halliday 1).

In order to provide even better protection to merchants, the Hanseatic League decided to construct lighthouses and also trained pilots (Encyclopedia Britannica). However, its main objective was to create a German monopoly overseas, in as far as trading was concerned (Encyclopedia Britannica). The league also created its own trademark by trading on items such as tar, honey, grain, timber, and furs. They bought these products from Russia and Poland then traded them off to England and Flanders. This league is said to have ruled in a very aggressive nature, and for this reason, it faced so much opposition from the foreign merchants. For instance, in order to provide protection to some of its commercial privileges, it bribed the foreign political leaders.  There are also a number of instances where the league took part with planned warfare. However, due to its lack of centralized power, the Hanseatic League declined (Encyclopedia Britannica).

Works Cited

Encyclopedia Britannica. "Hanseatic League (German trading organization)." Encyclopedia Britannica. N.p., 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 17 Sept. 2014.

Halliday, Stephen. "The First Common Market? The Hanseatic League | History Today." History Today | The World's Best History Magazine. N.p., 2009. Web. 17 Sept. 2014.