The famous but largely unchronicled Hanseatic League (or simple "the
Hanse/Hansa") was a Tuetonic German commercial and defensive federation
of merchant guilds based in harbor towns along the North Sea and Baltic
coasts of what are now Germany and her neighbors, which eventually
dominated maritime trade in Northern Europe and spread its influence
much further afield. The League was formed to protect the economic and
political interests of member cities throughout a vast and complex
trading network. While most members remained basically subject to the
local rulers who profited from their prosperity, in a sense the League
might be seen as foreshadowing today's ambiguous relationship between
global corporations and political nation states.
The League continued to operate well into the 17th century, but its
golden age was between c. 1200 and c. 1500; thereafter it failed to take
full advantage of the wave of maritime exploration to the west, south
and east of Europe. During its 300 years of dominance the League's large
ships - called "cogs" - were at the forefront of maritime technology,
were early users of cannon, and were manned by strong fighting crews to
defend them from pirates in both open-sea and river warfare. The home
cities raised their own armies for mutual defence, and their riches both
allowed them, and required them, to invest in fortifications and
gunpowder weapons, since as very attractive targets they were subjected
to sieges at various times.
