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Hanseatic League, Hansa, Also Hanseatic(German Deutsche Hanse or Düdesche Hanse , other-in.-German. Hansa - literally "group", "union", lat. Hansa Teutonica) - a political and economic union that united almost 300 trading cities of northwestern Europe from the middle of the 12th to the middle of the 17th centuries. The date of the Hanseatic origin cannot be precisely determined, as it is not based on a specific document. The Hanseatic League developed gradually as trade expanded along the shores of the Baltic and North Seas.

The reason for the formation of the Hanseatic League was the growth of the population of the territories north of the Elbe as a result of migration, the emergence of new cities and independent communes and the consequent increase in the demand for goods and the growth of trade.

The Hanseatic League began to take shape in the 12th century as a union of merchants, then as a union of merchant guilds, and towards the end of the 13th century as a union of cities.

The Hanseatic League included cities with autonomous city government (“city council”, town hall) and their own laws.

In order to work out the general rules and laws of the Hanseatic League, representatives of the cities met regularly at congresses in Lübeck. Hanseatic merchants and companies enjoyed certain rights and privileges.

In non-Hanse cities, there were representative offices of the Hanse - offices. Such foreign Hanseatic offices were located in Bergen, London and Bruges. At the easternmost end of the Hanseatic trading system, an office was founded in Novgorod (Peterhof), where European goods (wine, fabrics) were sold and hemp, wax, honey, wood, skins and furs were purchased. In 1494, by order of Grand Duke Ivan III, this office was abolished, all its buildings (including the stone church of St. Peter the Apostle) were completely destroyed.

Story

The growth of trade, raids and piracy in the Baltic had happened before (see the Vikings) - for example, sailors from the island of Gotland entered the rivers and ascended as far as Novgorod - but the scale of international economic relations in the Baltic Sea remained insignificant until the rise of the Hansa.

German cities quickly achieved a dominant position in Baltic Sea trade over the next century, and Lübeck became the center of all maritime trade that linked countries around the Baltic and North Seas.

Base


Prior to the Hansa, Visby was the main center of trade in the Baltic. For 100 years, German ships sailed to Novgorod under the Gotlandian flag. Merchants from Visby founded an office in Novgorod. The cities of Danzig (Gdansk), Elbląg, Torun, Revel, Riga and Derpt lived under Lübeck law. For local residents and trading guests, this meant that their questions legal protection came under the jurisdiction of Lübeck as the final court of appeal.
The Hanseatic communities worked to obtain special trading privileges for their members. For example, merchants from the Hanseatic League of Cologne were able to persuade King Henry II of England to grant them (in 1157) special trading privileges and market rights, which exempted them from all London duties and allowed them to trade at fairs throughout England. Lübeck, the "Queen of the Hansa" where merchants transhipped goods between the North and Baltic Seas, was granted the status of an Imperial Free City in 1227, the only city with this status east of the Elbe.

Lübeck, having access to fishing grounds in the Baltic and North Seas, made an alliance with Hamburg in 1242, with its access to the salt trade routes from Lüneburg. The allied cities gained control of much of the salted fish trade, especially at the Skåne fair; by decision of the 1261 congress, Cologne joined them. In 1266, the English King Henry III granted the Lübeck and Hamburg Hanse the right to trade in England, and in 1282 the Hanse of Cologne joined them, forming the most powerful Hanseatic colony in London. The reasons for this cooperation were the feudal fragmentation in what was then Germany and the inability of the authorities to ensure the security of trade. Over the next 50 years, the Hansa itself established written relations of confederation and cooperation along the eastern and western trade routes. In 1356, a general congress was held in Lübeck (German. Hansetag), which adopted the constituent documents and formed the management structure of the Hansa.

The strengthening of the Hansa was facilitated by the adoption in 1299 of an agreement, according to which, representatives of the port cities of the union - Rostock, Hamburg, Wismar, Lüneburg and Stralsund decided that "from now on they will not serve the sailboat of that merchant who is not part of the Hansa." This stimulated an influx of new members of the Hansa, whose number increased to 80 by 1367.

Extension


Lübeck's location on the Baltic provided access to trade with Russia and Scandinavia, creating direct competition for the Scandinavians, who until then controlled most of the Baltic trade routes. The agreement with the Hansa of the city of Visby put an end to competition: under this agreement, Lübeck merchants also received access to inland Russian port Novgorod (the center of the Novgorod Republic), where they built a trading post or office .

The Hansa was a decentralized organization. Congresses of the Hanseatic Cities ( Hansetag) gathered from time to time in Lübeck since 1356, but many cities refused to send representatives and the decisions of the Congresses did not oblige individual cities to anything. Over time, the network of cities has grown to changeable list from 70 to 170 cities.

The Union was able to establish additional offices in Bruges (in Flanders, now in Belgium), in Bergen (Norway) and in London (England). These trading posts became significant enclaves. The London Office, founded in 1320, stood west of London Bridge near Upper Thames Street. It has grown considerably to become over time a walled community with its own warehouses, weighing house, church, offices and residences, reflecting the importance and scale of the activities carried out. This trading post was called steel yard(English) steelyard, German der Stahlhof), the first mention under this name was in 1422.

Cities that were members of the Hansa

Members of the Hansa different time there were more than 200 cities

Cities that traded with the Hansa

The largest offices were located in Bruges, Bergen, London and Novgorod.

Every year in one of the cities of New Hansa, the international festival "Hanseatic Days of Modern Times" takes place.

Currently, the German cities of Bremen, Hamburg, Lübeck, Greifswald, Rostock, Stralsund, Wismar, Anklam, Demmin, Salzwedel retain the title " Hanseatic …"(For example, Hamburg is fully called:" Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg "- German. Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg, Bremen - "the Hanseatic city of Bremen - German. Hansestadt Bremen" etc.). Accordingly, state car license plates in these cities begin with "additional" latin letter H… - HB(i.e. "Hansestadt Bremen"), HH("Hansestadt Hamburg"), HL(Lübeck), HGW(Greifswald), HRO(Rostock), HST(Stralsund), HWI(Wismar).

see also

Bibliography

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Notes

Links

  • Hansa / Khoroshkevich A. L. // Great Soviet Encyclopedia: [in 30 volumes] / ch. ed. A. M. Prokhorov. - 3rd ed. - M. : Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969-1978.
  • Dossier Deutsche Welle
  • A subsection in the Annales library.
  • Forsten G. V.// Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
Ancient world

Middle Ages
new time
Hypothetical

An excerpt characterizing the Hansa

“The count has not left, he is here, and there will be an order about you,” said the chief of police. – Went! he said to the coachman. The crowd stopped, crowding around those who had heard what the authorities said, and looking at the departing droshky.
The police chief at this time looked around in fright, said something to the coachman, and his horses went faster.
- Cheating, guys! Lead to yourself! shouted the voice of the tall fellow. - Don't let go, guys! Let him submit a report! Hold on! shouted the voices, and the people ran after the droshky.
The crowd behind the police chief with a noisy conversation headed for the Lubyanka.
“Well, gentlemen and merchants have left, and that’s why we’re disappearing?” Well, we are dogs, eh! – was heard more often in the crowd.

On the evening of September 1, after his meeting with Kutuzov, Count Rastopchin, upset and offended that he was not invited to the military council, that Kutuzov did not pay any attention to his proposal to take part in the defense of the capital, and surprised by the new look that opened to him in the camp , in which the question of the calmness of the capital and its patriotic mood turned out to be not only secondary, but completely unnecessary and insignificant - upset, offended and surprised by all this, Count Rostopchin returned to Moscow. After supper, the count, without undressing, lay down on the couch and at one o'clock was awakened by a courier who brought him a letter from Kutuzov. The letter said that since the troops were retreating to the Ryazan road beyond Moscow, would it please the count to send police officials to lead the troops through the city. This news was not news to Rostopchin. Not only from yesterday’s meeting with Kutuzov on Poklonnaya Gora, but also from the Battle of Borodino itself, when all the generals who came to Moscow unanimously said that it was impossible to give another battle, and when, with the permission of the count, state property and up to half of the inhabitants were already taken out every night. we left, - Count Rostopchin knew that Moscow would be abandoned; but nevertheless this news, reported in the form of a simple note with an order from Kutuzov and received at night, during the first dream, surprised and annoyed the count.
Subsequently, explaining his activities during this time, Count Rostopchin wrote several times in his notes that he then had two important goals: De maintenir la tranquillite a Moscou et d "en faire partir les habitants. [Keep calm in Moscow and expel from If we admit this dual purpose, any action of Rostopchin turns out to be irreproachable. Why weren’t the Moscow shrines, weapons, cartridges, gunpowder, grain supplies taken out, why were thousands of residents deceived by the fact that Moscow would not be surrendered, and ruined? in order to keep calm in the capital, answers the explanation of Count Rostopchin. Why were piles of unnecessary papers taken out of government offices and Leppich's ball and other objects? - In order to leave the city empty, the explanation of Count Rostopchin answers. One has only to assume that something threatened people's peace, and every action becomes justified.
All the horrors of terror were based only on concern for the people's peace.
What was the basis of Count Rostopchin's fear of public peace in Moscow in 1812? What reason was there to suppose a tendency to rebellion in the city? Residents were leaving, the troops, retreating, filled Moscow. Why should the people revolt as a result of this?
Not only in Moscow, but throughout Russia, when the enemy entered, there was nothing resembling indignation. On the 1st and 2nd of September, more than ten thousand people remained in Moscow, and, apart from the crowd that had gathered in the courtyard of the commander-in-chief and attracted by him, there was nothing. It is obvious that even less one should have expected unrest among the people if, after the Battle of Borodino, when the abandonment of Moscow became obvious, or at least probably, if then, instead of disturbing the people with the distribution of weapons and posters, Rostopchin took measures to the removal of all sacred things, gunpowder, charges and money, and would directly announce to the people that the city was being abandoned.
Rostopchin, an ardent, sanguine person who always revolved in higher circles administration, although with a patriotic feeling, did not have the slightest idea about the people he thought to govern. From the very beginning of the enemy's entry into Smolensk, Rastopchin in his imagination formed for himself the role of the leader of the people's feelings - the heart of Russia. It not only seemed to him (as it seems to every administrator) that he controlled the external actions of the inhabitants of Moscow, but it seemed to him that he directed their mood through his appeals and posters, written in that jarring language, which in its midst despises the people and whom he does not understands when he hears it from above. Rastopchin liked the beautiful role of the leader of popular feeling so much, he got used to it so much that the need to get out of this role, the need to leave Moscow without any heroic effect took him by surprise, and he suddenly lost the ground on which he stood from under his feet, in resolutely did not know what to do. Although he knew, he did not believe with all his heart until the last minute in leaving Moscow and did nothing to this end. Residents moved out against his will. If government offices were taken out, then only at the request of officials, with whom the count reluctantly agreed. He himself was busy only with the role that he had made for himself. As is often the case with people endowed with ardent imagination, he had known for a long time that Moscow would be abandoned, but he knew only by reasoning, but he did not believe in it with all his heart, he was not transported by his imagination to this new position.
All his activity, diligent and energetic (how useful it was and reflected on the people is another question), all his activity was aimed only at arousing in the inhabitants the feeling that he himself experienced - patriotic hatred for the French and confidence in itself.
But when the event took on its real, historical dimensions, when it turned out to be insufficient to express one’s hatred for the French in words alone, when it was impossible even to express this hatred in a battle, when self-confidence turned out to be useless in relation to one question of Moscow, when the entire population, as one person , throwing their property, flowed out of Moscow, showing by this negative action the full strength of their popular feeling - then the role chosen by Rostopchin suddenly turned out to be meaningless. He suddenly felt lonely, weak and ridiculous, without ground under his feet.
Upon awakening from sleep, having received a cold and commanding note from Kutuzov, Rostopchin felt the more annoyed the more he felt guilty. In Moscow, everything that was exactly entrusted to him remained, everything that was state-owned that he was supposed to take out. It was not possible to take everything out.
“Who is to blame for this, who allowed this to happen? he thought. “Of course not me. I had everything ready, I held Moscow like this! And here's what they've done! Bastards, traitors!” - he thought, not properly defining who these scoundrels and traitors were, but feeling the need to hate these traitors, who were to blame for the false and ridiculous position in which he was.
All that night, Count Rastopchin gave orders, for which people from all parts of Moscow came to him. Those close to him had never seen the count so gloomy and irritated.
“Your Excellency, they came from the patrimonial department, from the director for orders ... From the consistory, from the senate, from the university, from the orphanage, the vicar sent ... asks ... About the fire brigade, what do you order? A warden from a prison... a warden from a yellow house...” - they reported to the count all night without ceasing.
To all these questions, the count gave short and angry answers, showing that his orders were no longer needed, that all the work he had diligently prepared was now spoiled by someone and that this someone would bear full responsibility for everything that would happen now.
“Well, tell this fool,” he replied to a request from the patrimonial department, “to stay on guard for his papers. What are you asking nonsense about the fire brigade? There are horses - let them go to Vladimir. Don't leave the French.
- Your Excellency, the warden from the lunatic asylum has arrived, as you order?
- How do I order? Let everyone go, that's all ... And release the crazy in the city. When we have crazy armies in command, this is what God ordered.
When asked about the stocks who were sitting in the pit, the count angrily shouted at the caretaker:
“Well, shall I give you two battalions of an escort, which is not there?” Let them go and that's it!
- Your Excellency, there are political ones: Meshkov, Vereshchagin.
- Vereshchagin! Hasn't he been hanged yet? shouted Rostopchin. - Bring him to me.

By nine o'clock in the morning, when the troops had already moved through Moscow, no one else came to ask the count's orders. All those who could ride rode by themselves; those who remained decided for themselves what they had to do.
The count ordered the horses to be brought in to go to Sokolniki, and, frowning, yellow and silent, he sat with his hands folded in his office.
In a calm, not turbulent time, it seems to each administrator that it is only through his efforts that the entire population under his control is moving, and in this consciousness of his necessity, each administrator feels the main reward for his labors and efforts. It is clear that as long as the historical sea is calm, it should seem to the ruler-administrator, with his fragile boat resting against the ship of the people with his pole and moving himself, that the ship against which he rests is moving with his efforts. But as soon as a storm rises, the sea is agitated and the ship itself moves, then delusion is impossible. The ship moves on its own huge, independent course, the pole does not reach the moving ship, and the ruler suddenly passes from the position of a ruler, a source of strength, into an insignificant, useless and weak person.
Rostopchin felt this, and this irritated him. The police chief, who was stopped by the crowd, together with the adjutant, who had come to report that the horses were ready, entered the count. Both were pale, and the police chief, reporting on the execution of his order, reported that a huge crowd of people stood in the yard of the count, who wanted to see him.
Rostopchin, without answering a word, got up and with quick steps went to his luxurious bright living room, went to the balcony door, took hold of the handle, left it and went to the window, from which the whole crowd was visible. A tall fellow stood in the front rows and with a stern face, waving his hand, said something. The bloody blacksmith stood beside him with a gloomy look. Through the closed windows a murmur of voices could be heard.
Is the crew ready? - said Rostopchin, moving away from the window.
“Ready, Your Excellency,” said the adjutant.
Rostopchin again went to the balcony door.
- What do they want? he asked the police chief.
- Your Excellency, they say that they were going to go to the French on your orders, they were shouting something about treason. But a wild crowd, Your Excellency. I forcibly left. Your Excellency, I dare to suggest...
“If you please go, I know what to do without you,” Rostopchin shouted angrily. He stood at the balcony door, looking out at the crowd. “This is what they did to Russia! That's what they did to me!" thought Rostopchin, feeling uncontrollable anger rising in his soul against someone to whom one could attribute the cause of everything that had happened. As is often the case with hot people, anger already possessed him, but he was still looking for an object for him. “La voila la populace, la lie du peuple,” he thought, looking at the crowd, “la plebe qu” ils ont soulevee par leur sottise. whom they raised by their stupidity! They need a sacrifice."] It occurred to him, looking at the tall fellow waving his hand. And for that very reason it occurred to him that he himself needed this sacrifice, this object for his anger.
Is the crew ready? he asked again.
“Ready, Your Excellency. What do you want about Vereshchagin? He is waiting at the porch, answered the adjutant.
- A! cried Rostopchin, as if struck by some unexpected memory.
And, quickly opening the door, he stepped out with resolute steps onto the balcony. The conversation suddenly ceased, hats and caps were removed, and all eyes went up to the count who came out.
- Hello guys! said the count quickly and loudly. - Thank you for coming. I'll come out to you now, but first of all we need to deal with the villain. We need to punish the villain who killed Moscow. Wait for me! - And the count just as quickly returned to the chambers, slamming the door hard.
A murmur of approval ran through the crowd. “He, then, will control the useh of the villains! And you say a Frenchman ... he will untie the whole distance for you! people said, as if reproaching each other for their lack of faith.
A few minutes later an officer hurried out of the front door, ordered something, and the dragoons stretched out. The crowd moved greedily from the balcony to the porch. Coming out on the porch with angry quick steps, Rostopchin hastily looked around him, as if looking for someone.
- Where is he? - said the count, and at the same moment as he said this, he saw from around the corner of the house coming out between two dragoons a young man with a long, thin neck, with his head half-shaven and overgrown. This young man was dressed in what used to be a dapper, blue-clothed, shabby fox sheepskin coat and in dirty, first-hand prisoner's trousers, stuffed into uncleaned, worn-out thin boots. Shackles hung heavily on thin, weak legs, making it difficult for the young man's hesitant gait.
- A! - said Rostopchin, hastily turning his eyes away from the young man in the fox coat and pointing to the bottom step of the porch. - Put it here! - The young man, jangling with shackles, heavily stepped onto the indicated step, holding the pressing collar of the sheepskin coat with his finger, turned twice long neck and, sighing, he folded his thin, non-working hands in front of his stomach with a submissive gesture.
There was silence for a few seconds as the young man settled himself on the step. Only in the back rows of people squeezing to one place, groaning, groans, jolts and the clatter of rearranged legs were heard.

The purpose of this work is to tell about the features of the era in which merchant communities developed, to highlight the history of the emergence of the Hanseatic Trade Union, as a special phenomenon in the life of Medieval Europe. Having taken shape in the 12th century as a merchant union, at the end of the 13th century the Hansa was already a union of cities. This union dominated trade in the Baltic and North Seas for a long time.

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Introduction

Features of European trade in the XI-XIII centuries

The emergence and development of the Hanseatic trade union

Cities that were members of the Hanseatic Trade Union or had representations of the Hansa

Relations between the Hanseatic Trade Union and Novgorod

New Hansa

Conclusion

List of used sources and literature

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this work is to tell about the features of the era in which merchant communities developed, to highlight the history of the emergence of the Hanseatic Trade Union, as a special phenomenon in the life of Medieval Europe. Having taken shape in the 12th century as a merchant union, at the end of the 13th century the Hansa was already a union of cities.This union dominated trade in the Baltic and North Seas for a long time.

We are faced with the following tasks:

  • Describe the features of European trade in the XI-XIII centuries
  • Tell about the origin and development of the Hanseatic trade union
  • Indicate the cities that were members of the Hanseatic Trade Union or had representations of the Hansa
  • Describe the relationship between the Hanseatic Trade Union and Novgorod
  • Tell about the so-called "New Hansa", the prospects for its development.

The relevance of studying this issue is beyond doubt. Some European economists and political scientists suggest that the 21st century will be the era of the commercial and industrial consolidation of Europe, in the light of this information, it seems necessary to talk about such an impressive experience of the Hanseatic merchants in the field of international trade. It is also interesting that many German cities still retain the title "Hanseatic" in their names.

To write the work were involved various sources, including educational literature and historical publications on the topic, articles, as well as Internet resources.

The practical significance of the work lies in the fact that it contains comprehensive information on the topic, gives us an idea about the features of trade in the Middle Ages and introduces the history of the Hanseatic trade union.

FEATURES OF EUROPEAN TRADE

IN THE XI-XIII CENTURIES

First, it should be noted that since the 11th century, the cities of medieval Europe have been trying to free themselves from seigneurial power.

Some used weapons and organized an uprising, others tried to buy off the seigneur.

One way or another, in the course of this movement for independence, peculiar city-states, city-communes were formed, the power in which passed into the hands of the City Council.

The political importance of such cities is growing. In addition, in the XII-XIII centuries, a new estate began to form - the burghers, which had personal freedom, the right to property and participation in solving urban issues.

However, despite a number of privileges, the inhabitants of the city were strictly subordinate to the City Council, life inside the city was built on a corporate basis, and this applied to everyone: artisans, merchants, etc.

It is fair to say that starting from the XII century, a successful merchant is already a wandering merchant, he spends less and less time in his native city. His presence is required by business in other cities, the purchase of new goods, fairs. And, although the merchant of that era is good with the sword, he never sets out on the road alone, without his people. A lot of difficulties awaited him: the roads or whether they were in a terrible state, the bridges were destroyed. River and sea ​​travel also could not be called safe: to run aground, crash on coastal stones or rocks - there were many opportunities to lose cargo or even die. In addition, both land and water routes were full of merchant goods and money wishing to profit.

And in this case, the merchants had to be very resourceful in order to avoid danger. As already mentioned, the merchants took detachments of armed servants with them, but this measure sometimes played a cruel joke on them: a huge caravan inspired the idea that a very expensive product was being transported and attracted unnecessary interest to it, both just robbers from the main road and the lord whose lands this caravan had to cross. The seigneur provided the merchant with his escort for a certain fee, which provided security along the entire route, but if the merchant refused these services, then the seigneur simply robbed him.

The peculiarities of European law of the era under consideration complicated the matter no less. According to the laws of that time, any goods that touched the seigneur's possessions automatically became his property, so the items brought ashore after a shipwreck belonged to the owner of this shore, like, in fact, a ship that had run aground, goods that had fallen out of a cart from endless shaking on the roads also passed into the ownership of the local lord.

Endless customs brought no less trouble.

Thus, we see that the merchants were in dire need of help, in certain privileges, which they could only receive in cities that had become independent and began to pursue their own trade policy.

Strangers were treated with suspicion, assuming that a merchant from another city certainly wants to deceive the locals, while, given the characteristics of the era, there was no difference between a merchant from another country or just from a neighboring city, they were equally considered strangers. The city created a system of protective measures, the main purpose of which was to prevent a foreign merchant from profiting where his own, local could profit. Everything was used: a ban on trading in certain places and on certain days, high duties and much more.

A little later, many cities began to conclude mutually beneficial agreements with each other in order to facilitate trade for certain categories of merchants. At the same time, within the framework hometown the merchant was obliged to reckon with certain rules, for example, the city dictated the cost of the goods, which was reflected in the rule of "fair price". The city did not allow the emergence of large trading companies.

In the 11th-13th centuries, merchants united in guilds. This, on the one hand, helped them with travel full of dangers, on the other hand, gave them some privileges in trade within the city itself. The guild controlled trade in the city, keeping outsiders out. At the same time, the guild was not just an economic community, it was a kind of brotherhood, whose members helped each other in everyday hardships, however, they punished members of the guild for violating professional ethics very strictly on behalf of the elected authorities.

Such merchant unions arose everywhere in the Middle Ages.

ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT

HANSEA TRADING UNION

Hansa (German Hanse , Old-Upper-German Hansa, literally “group”, “union”) is a kind of synonym for the concept of a guild or workshop, that is, a merchant community.

The Hanseatic Trade Union was formed in the 12th century as a union of merchants, and later took shape as a union of cities.

Hansa is an association of merchants from different cities, and this is unusual, because before merchant unions united only merchants of one city, cutting off strangers. The path of entry into the Hansa was also special. So, in the London Hansa, in addition to the mandatory entry fee, there were two more requirements for the candidate. Firstly, he had to belong to the merchant community of his native city, and secondly, for a year and one day he should not have been considered an artisan (Craftsmen were not allowed, because they were afraid of their competition. Of the so-called free masters, merchants wanted to make only ministers).

The process of formation of the Hanseatic trade union was quite long. The Hanseatic League was first mentioned in documents in 1358. The London Hansa was formed, which lasted until the 15th century, and merchant associations arose on the continent around Cologne and Lübeck, at the end of the 13th century both German Hanses merged. The center of this association was at first the territory on the banks of the Thames, called the Steel Yard, which included warehouses, barns, inns, etc. respecting English law.

The Hansa was vast. So, first, the Saxon and northern lands recognized the dominant position of Lübeck, the Westphalian and Prussian - Cologne, and the inhabitants of Gotland and Livonia - the city of Visby, the capital of the island of Gotland.

The island of Gotland played a significant role in the formation and development of the Hanseatic League, being in an exceptionally pasture position in the Baltic Sea, it lay in the path of all ships, which helped develop trade in this region. So, it is the Gotland merchants who will create an office in Veliky Novgorod.

However, it was the city of Lübeck that was considered the “Queen of the Hanse”, and goods from the North and Baltic Seas were transshipped exclusively here. According to some reports, at least 20 ships left Lübeck for Bergen a year. Significant number!

The final flowering of the so-called "German Hansa" occurred in the XIV century, when it subjugated the entire northern European direction of trade.

The Hanseatic Trade Union created trading colonies, so the Hanseatic merchants often enjoyed greater rights in a foreign land than local merchants, and even more so other foreign merchants.

Why was Hansa so strong? The answer lies in the state of feudal fragmentation in Germany. The authorities were unable to ensure the safety of trade. Cities entered into alliances, seeing benefits in this cooperation. And it was in the union of cities, centers of trade that the strength of the Hanseatic League lay. Military and trade alliances were formed between the member cities of the Hansa. The amounts of fees were negotiated, the legal protection of merchants, which reached its apogee in the formation of the so-called Lübeck law, debt collection, mutual support in private wars, etc. The Hanseatic trade union sought to obtain all sorts of privileges for its merchants. So, Cologne merchants were released by Henry II from all London duties and freely traded at English fairs.

Formally, the Hansa was in many ways stronger than some European monarchs. However, they resorted to war extremely reluctantly, because it threatened their main interest - trade!

However, as is often the case, the strength of the Hansa also gave rise to weaknesses. For example, it was pointed out that the merchant's inheritance should be divided among all his heirs, which prevented the accumulation of capital and its further investment in the business. By limiting the intervention of artisans in trade, the merchant class caused more and more dissatisfaction. National feeling also grew in many countries where the local merchants were dissatisfied with the strengthening of the Hanseatic monopoly. And the fragmentation of Germany, which at first played into the hands, now aggravated the state of affairs: the absence of a strong political center and its support greatly affected the position of the Hanseatic Trade Union.

Failures, one after another, pursued the Hanseatic merchants. In 1478, the office in Novgorod was destroyed by Ivan III, who captured the city. The herring catch in the Baltic Sea has decreased. In 1530, a quarter of the population of Germany died from the plague. In 1598, by order of Elizabeth I, the Steel Yard was destroyed. The city of Bruges was cut off from the sea, as the harbor was covered with silt. Thirty Years' War changed the map of Europe. The Netherlands and England actively developed the industry, looking for ways to implement it without intermediary services. In connection with the discovery and development of America, trade routes began to shift to the West.

The last general Hanseatic congress took place in 1669.

CITIES THAT WERE MEMBERS OF THE HANSEA TRADE UNION OR HAVE REPRESENTATIONS OF THE HANSE

The number of cities that were part of the Hanseatic League was not constant. At various times, about 200 cities were part of this union. Congresses of the Hanseatic cities periodically took place in Lübeck. The decisions of these congresses were not binding on individual cities, and many did not attend them at all.

Among the members of the Hansa are such well-known cities as Amsterdam, Hannover, Cologne, Bremen, Hamburg, Berlin, Frankfurt, Danzig (Gdansk), Koenigsberg (Kaliningrad), Memel (Klaipeda), Riga, Pernov (Pärnu), Yuriev (Tartu) , Stockholm, Narva and many other cities.

In addition, many cities had large Hanseatic representations on their territory, the richest offices were located in London, Bruges, Bergen, Novgorod.

RELATIONS OF THE HANSEA TRADING UNION

AND NOVGOROD

Novgorod was one of the main trading partners of the Hansa. Both parties - both Novgorod and the Hanseatic League were interested in cooperation.

The writer B. Kiselyov most accurately formulated the idea of ​​cooperation between Novgorod and the Hansa, noting that Peter I cut a window to Europe where the doors were wide open in the time of Novgorod.

At the end of the 13th - beginning of the 14th centuries, Novgorod and Lubeck concluded a number of mutually beneficial trade agreements. Interestingly, at the beginning of the 14th century, the struggle for the exclusive right to trade with Novgorod, along with Lübeck, was led by Visby, which once claimed the role of a center-forming force in the emerging union of German cities.

However, concluding an agreement with Novgorod in 1361, the Hanseatic Trade Union emphasized that decisions made in Novgorod would only be valid if they were supported by other cities, namely: Lubeck, Visby, Riga, Revel, Derpt.

The main questions concerning the Novgorod court were taken together - by the merchants of Lübeck and the merchants of Visby. There was a very strict charter of the Hanseatic court of St. Peter in Novgorod.

The behavior of merchants, the peculiarities of conducting trade, fines, the procedure for placing merchants inside the yard were clearly stipulated, and the duties of the headman of the yard were stipulated. So, the headman had to keep all the privileges and messages of the cities that the Novgorod court received. For the loss of letters, the headman was punished with a fine and the members of the community were deprived of their rights.

Interestingly, the Hanseatic merchants received the highest fine if their actions threatened the established Hanseatic monopoly in trade with Novgorod, thus harming the entire merchant class.

In the second half of the 14th century, relations began to deteriorate between the Hanseatic merchants and Novgorod. Thus, the Master of the Livonian Order, not for the first time, demanded that Lubeck stop all contacts with Novgorod, in connection with his hostile attitude towards Catholicism. And Lubeck agrees, although the merchants do not stop trading, but simply transfer it to the Neva, Vyborg and other lands.

In addition, the reason for the quarrel with the Hanseatic League was also the attack on the Novgorod merchants of the robbers, who transported the stolen goods to Lübeck.

Such disputes between Novgorod and the Hansa more than once led to the confiscation of goods and the mutual arrest of merchants.

In addition, it is known that in 1385 in Novgorod, during a fire, the yards of Hanseatic merchants were plundered by Novgorodians, which inevitably led to increased confrontation.

In 1391, the Niebur peace was concluded, which settled relations between Novgorod and the Hansa.

However, conflicts continued into the 15th century. Novgorodians tightened the rules of trade, criticized the quality of goods.

In 1417, the Hanseatics declared a commercial blockade to Novgorod, and Novgorod, in turn, forbade Novgorodians to visit Pskov and Polotsk, where German merchants could be met. Soon, however, another truce was signed.

In 1425, the German court in Novgorod burned down again. The restoration cost Hanse a lot of money. Fires, it must be said, annoyed the German merchants in Novgorod throughout the 15th century.

The campaign of Ivan 3 against Novgorod in 1478 also affected the position of the Hanseatic merchants.

In 1494 the Hanseatic office in Novgorod was closed.

NEW HANSA

Despite the fact that over time the Hanseatic Trade Union weakened, and then completely ceased to exist, its spirit was still able to revive.

Many cities still honor the memory that they were once part of the Hansa and emphasize this in every possible way. So, the East German city of Rostock has recently regained its old name - the Hanseatic Rostock. Some German cities still retain the title "Hanseatic" in their official names, so Hamburg is fully called: "Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg".

Who knows, perhaps the Baltic, on the shores of which at least fifty million people live, will turn into a special economic region that develops mutually beneficial trade for the Baltic states?

CONCLUSION

As a result of the work on the abstract, we have drawn some conclusions.

Based on the characteristics of European trade in the 11th-13th centuries, merchants were forced to form alliances that, on the one hand, protected merchants and their interests, and on the other hand, imposed their own rules and conditions for trading on them.

The Hanseatic Trade Union is one of the most famous merchant unions, which was formed as an alliance of merchants, but later became very powerful as an alliance of cities. For a long time, this union controlled trade in the Baltic and North Seas.

About 200 states were members of the Hanseatic Trade Union at different times. Among them, mainly, the cities of modern Germany and the Baltic states. The city of Lübeck occupied a central place and played a very important role in the development of the entire union.

One of the largest offices of the Hanseatic League was located in Novgorod. Relations between the Hansa and Novgorod were not even. And, although both parties were interested in cooperation, nevertheless, in 1494 the office was closed.

Despite the fact that the Hanseatic Trade Union officially ceased to exist, many cities resurrected the memory of it in their names.

We believe that the goals set by us at the beginning of the abstracts have been achieved, the tasks have been implemented.

However, it would be interesting to devote a little more time to the study of this issue, for example, to highlight the role, place and contribution of individual Hanseatic cities to the development of the Union. Or pay more attention to the prospects for the development of the New Hansa.

Speaking about the fact that trade is the engine of progress, it's time to ask the question - what kind of progress awaits us?

LIST OF USED SOURCES AND LITERATURE

Literature

  1. Danilov A.A. Kosulina L.G. Brandt M.Yu. “Russia and the world. Antiquity. Middle Ages. New time ": a textbook for educational organizations - M .: Education, 2007.
  2. Dzhivelegov A.K. "Trade in the West in the Middle Ages" / A.K. Dzhivelegov; ed. ed. N.I. Kareva and I.V. Luchitsky.- St. Petersburg: Type. joint-stock company "Brockhaus-Efron", 1904
  3. Rybina E. A. "Novgorod and Hansa" - M .: Manuscript monuments of Ancient Rus', 2009.

Internet resources

  1. http://vivovoco.ibmh.msk.su/VV/PAPERS/HISTORY/ЗHANZA.HTM
  1. http://dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/ruwiki/628515

The German trade union, which for several centuries controlled a significant part of the trade routes of the Baltic, did business with Veliky Novgorod, Riga and London and concluded agreements "on behalf of the entire merchant class of the Roman Empire" with special privileges for all German cities. All this is the Hanseatic League, the history of which will be told today by Ekaterina Astafieva.

From merchant guilds to a powerful union

Historians argue about the exact date of the founding of the Hansa. Some say 1242 is the year Lübeck concluded a treaty with Hamburg, giving the cities control of much of the salted fish trade. Others believe that the union was founded in 1299, when the port cities of Rostock, Hamburg, Wismar, Lüneburg and Stralsund agreed that they would close access to harbors for ships of merchants who were not members of the union.

The word "Hansa" used to mean a guild of merchants.


But most agree that the real date of the creation of the Hansa should be considered 1356 - it was then that a congress was held in Lübeck, at which the management structure of the Hanseatic League was formed.

Hanseatic cities and major trade routes in the XII-XV centuries. ekah

The very word "hansa" before the foundation of the union meant a guild of merchants. It was as a union of merchants that the Hansa was founded. Until now, some cities in Germany have kept references to the Hansa in their names. For example, Hamburg is called the "Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg", Rostock is called the "Hanseatic City of Rostock". Accordingly, the license plates of these cities begin with an additional Latin H - HB for Bremen, HL for Lübeck.

Strong and independent

The association of merchants into an alliance is quite understandable - it was safer to send common caravans, it was cheaper to maintain their own inns-offices, and it was easier to achieve privileges.

Some German cities retained the definition of "Hanseatic"


On the territory of the Holy Roman Empire, German merchants enjoyed the protection of the emperor, but during the years of the struggle for power, the cities themselves had to take care of the safety of trade. Then the first regional unions began to appear. Their important goal was to protect against competitors from Holland and southern Germany.

Lübeck is the capital of the Hansa

During the existence of the Hansa, it included about 200 cities, but only a few of them were in the union more or less permanently. Most were located in the north, on the coasts of the Baltic and North Seas. Lübeck is considered the "capital of the Hansa". In 1227, it received the status of an Imperial Free City. In Lübeck, the Hanseatic Court of Appeal was located, which resolved disputes that often arose between allied merchants. Lübeck allocated a significant part of the money that went to maintain the fleet, and decided on diplomatic missions. Lübeck city law was distributed throughout the Hanseatic League. Gdansk, Riga, Dorpat, Veliky Novgorod - it operated not only in German cities.



During the Hanseatic League, Lübeck was one of the most influential cities

From Hamburg to Cologne

Hamburg and Cologne enjoyed great influence on the territory of the Hansa. Back in the 13th century, these two cities, along with Lübeck, received from Henry III the right to trade in England, establishing a powerful colony in London. Hamburg still diligently maintains the image of a Hanseatic city. But Cologne, founded by the Romans, remembers its Hanseatic past not so often.

Hanseatic offices were located in London, Riga and Novgorod


For some time, Berlin also entered the Hansa, but it had to leave the union in 1452 under pressure from the Brandenburg Margrave. Failed to get rid of the influence of Margrave Stendal and Frankfurt an der Oder. It is interesting that German feudal lords usually had a positive attitude towards the entry of cities into the Hansa - successful trade brought good profits. In addition, cities had to pay for the status of "free" cities. Cities often acted as creditors and issued loans to specific princes. Once, merchants from Cologne issued a loan to the King of England himself, for which they received his crown as collateral.

Trade and war

The Teutonic Order was also among the participants in the Hansa. Regular military conflicts between the order and the Russian principalities had a negative impact on trade. In 1468, the Novgorod office moved to Narva for a while. There were cases when German merchants were taken hostage. In 1472, Sophia Paleolog, the niece of the last emperor of Byzantium, the future wife of Ivan III, arrived in Moscow along the Hanseatic route. Subsequently, he dispersed the Hanseatic office in Novgorod, confiscated goods, and imprisoned the merchants themselves.

Ivan III broke up the Hanseatic office in Novgorod


Trade went from Italy to Russia, from Portugal to Scandinavia. Cloth and salt, furs and wax - all this was in demand on the trade routes of the Hansa. From Cologne all over the world dispersed wine, from Gdansk - grain, from Lüneburg - salt. In London, German merchants bought English wool, which they later sold in Flanders. Furs and wax were supplied from Novgorod and Pskov. Sable was especially valued - at the beginning of the 15th century, 82 ducats could be obtained for a hundred sable skins in Venice. Sable furs could even serve as an independent monetary unit.

The Last Days of the Hansa

TO XVI century The Hansa gradually lost its power, but the union fought to the last for its trading privileges. European princes and kings no longer needed the support and loans of foreign merchants. The German princes no longer wanted to put up with the Hanseatic freemen and forced many cities to leave the union. The absence of own banks also played an important role in the collapse of the Hansa. In addition, the union insisted on a monopoly, which stimulated the development of trade and ports in other lands. All this led to the disappearance of the Hansa.

Hanseatic League, Hansa, Lübeck Hansa or German Hansa are synonymous words, names of the same association. The word "Hanse" comes from the German "Hanse", which means union, union.

Hanseatic League in the XIII-XVII centuries it was an association of free cities of the German Empire and cities inhabited by German citizens. Hanseatic League was created to protect the merchants from the power of the feudal lords and from piracy.

The Hansa was formed in the 12th century as a union of merchants, then as a union of merchant guilds, and already in the 13th century as a union of cities. The first mention of the Hansa dates back to 1358.

Over the next century, German cities rose to a dominant position in the trade on the Baltic Sea, and the city Lübeck became the center of maritime trade, which connected the countries around the Baltic and North Seas.

In different time periods, more than two hundred large and small cities were members of the Hanseatic League, which were mainly located in the basin of the Baltic and North Seas. To cities, former members Hanseatic League, were: Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Wismar, Hamburg, Cologne, Kiel, Wroclaw, Dortmund, Koenigsberg (Kaliningrad), Memel (Klaipeda), Lübeck, Krakow, Riga, Magdeburg, Münster, Rostock, Revel (Tallinn) and others.

To develop common rules and laws, city representatives Hanseatic League regularly met at the congress in Lübeck.

Branches and representative offices of the Hansa also existed in non-Hanse cities, the main of which can rightfully be considered London, Bruges, Bergen and Novgorod. There were also well-known offices in Copenhagen, Stockholm and Kovno (Kaunas).

Interestingly, at the present time Lübeck, Hamburg, Bremen, Rostock, Wismar, Stralsund, Anklam, Greifswald and Demmin retain the title in their official names "hanseatic city". For example, Freie und Hansestadt Bremen – free Hanseatic city of Bremen. Therefore, the state license plates of cars in these cities begin with a Latin letter H. For example, HB– “Hansestadt Bremen”.

I have visited some Hanseatic cities. They are uncommonly beautiful and “good-natured”. The spirit of merchant adventurism and enterprise hovers in them. Perhaps it is in the distant past that one should look for the prerequisites for the formation of the famous “German character” and, as a result, the economic prosperity and stability of modern Germany.

In general, delving into the history Hanseatic League you involuntarily think that, probably, it was he who was a kind of prototype of the modern European Union. And behind this thought, the question involuntarily arises: “Will the modern European Union stand the same test for centuries as the Hanseatic Union did in its time? Or weak?!”

HANSEA UNION

“With agreement, small things grow into big ones;
when there is a disagreement, even the big ones fall apart"(Sallust.)

Dmitry VOINOV

In world history, there are not many examples of voluntary and mutually beneficial alliances concluded between states or any corporations. In addition, the vast majority of them were based on self-interest and greed. And, as a result, they all turned out to be very short-lived. Any violation of the balance of interests in such an alliance invariably led to its collapse. All the more attractive for reflection, as well as for drawing instructive lessons today, are such rare examples of long-term and strong coalitions, where all the actions of the parties were subordinated to the ideas of cooperation and development.

In the history of Europe, the Hanseatic League, which successfully existed for about four centuries, can fully become such a model. States collapsed, numerous wars began and ended, the political borders of the states of the continent were redrawn, but the trade and economic union of the cities of northeastern Europe lived and developed.

How did the name come about Hansa' is not exactly known. Among historians, there are at least two versions. Some believe that Hansa is a Gothic name and means “crowd or group of comrades”, others believe that it is based on a Middle Low German word translated as “union or partnership”. In any case, the idea of ​​the name implied some kind of "unity" for the sake of common goals.

The history of the Hansa can be counted from the foundation in 1158 (or, according to other sources, in 1143) of the Baltic city Lübeck. Subsequently, it is he who will become the capital of the union and a symbol of the power of German merchants. Before the founding of the city, these lands were for three centuries the zone of influence of the Norman pirates, who controlled the entire coast of this part of Europe. For a long time, their former strength was reminiscent of light, deckless Scandinavian boats, the designs of which the German merchants adopted and adapted for the transport of goods. Their capacity was small, but maneuverability and speed were quite suitable for seafaring merchants until the 14th century, when they were replaced by heavier multi-deck ships capable of carrying much more goods.

The union of Hanseatic merchants did not take shape immediately. This was preceded by many decades of understanding the need to unite their efforts for the common good. The Hanseatic League was the first trade and economic association in the history of Europe. By the time of its formation, there were over three thousand shopping centers on the coast of the northern seas. The weak merchant guilds of each of the cities could not alone create the conditions for safe trade. In torn apart by internecine wars, fragmented Germany, where the princes, to replenish their treasury, did not disdain to trade with the usual robbery and robbery, the position of the merchant was unenviable. In the city itself, he was free and respected. His interests were protected by the local merchant guild, here he could always find support in the person of his countrymen. But, having gone beyond the city's defensive moat, the merchant was left alone with many difficulties that he met on the way.

Even when he arrived at his destination, the merchant was still taking a big risk. In every medieval city had their own laws and strictly regulated rules of trade. Violation sometimes of one, even insignificant, point could threaten with serious losses. The scrupulousness of local legislators reached the point of absurdity. They set the width of the cloth or the depth of the clay pots, from what time you can start trading and when it must end. Merchant guilds were jealous of competitors and even set up ambushes on the outskirts of the fair, destroying their goods.

With the development of cities, the growth of their independence and power, the development of handicrafts and the introduction of industrial methods of production, the problem of marketing became more and more urgent. Therefore, merchants increasingly resorted to concluding personal agreements among themselves on mutual support in a foreign land. However, in most cases they were temporary. Cities often quarreled, ruined each other, burned, but the spirit of enterprise and freedom never left their inhabitants.

External factors also played an important role in the unification of cities into the Hansa. On the one hand, the seas were full of pirates, and it was almost impossible to resist them alone. On the other hand, Lübeck, as the emerging center of "partnership", had major competitors in the face of Cologne, Munster and other German cities. Thus, the English market was practically occupied by Cologne merchants. With the permission of Henry III, they founded their own office in London in 1226. Lübeck merchants did not remain in debt. The following year, Lübeck seeks from the German emperor the privilege of being called imperial, which means that he becomes the owner of the status of a free city, which allowed him to independently conduct his trade affairs. Gradually, it became the main transshipment port in the Baltic. Not a single ship sailing from the Baltic Sea to the North could pass its harbor. The influence of Lübeck is further enhanced after local merchants took control of the Lüneburg salt mines located near the city. Salt in those days was considered almost a strategic commodity, the monopoly possession of which allowed entire principalities to dictate their will.

On the side of Lübeck in the confrontation with Cologne, he spoke Hamburg, but required long years, before in 1241 these cities entered into an agreement among themselves for the protection of their trade. The first article of the agreement signed in the town hall of Lübeck read: “If robbers and other evil people rise up against our or their citizens, ... then we, on the same basis, must participate in the costs and expenses for the destruction and eradication of these robbers.” The main thing is trade, without obstacles and restrictions. Each city was obliged to protect the sea from pirates "to the best of its ability, so as to manage its trade." 15 years later they were joined Lüneburg And Rostock.

By 1267, Lübeck had already accumulated enough strength and means to openly declare his claims to part of the English market. In the same year, using all his influence at the royal court, the Hansa opened a trade office in London. Since then, merchants from Scandinavia in the vastness of the North Sea began to resist a powerful force. Over the years, it will grow stronger and increase a thousandfold. The Hanseatic League will not only determine the rules of trade, but often actively influence the alignment of political forces in the border countries from the North to the Baltic Seas. He collected power bit by bit - sometimes amicably, concluding trade agreements with the monarchs of neighboring states, but sometimes with the help of violent actions. Even such a large city by the standards of the Middle Ages as Cologne, which was a monopolist in German-English trade, was forced to surrender and sign an agreement on joining the Hansa. In 1293, 24 cities registered official membership in the "partnership".

UNION OF HANSEA MERCHANTS

Lübeck merchants could celebrate a complete victory. A striking confirmation of their strength was the agreement signed in 1299, in which representatives Rostock, Hamburg, Wismar, Lüneburg And Stralsund decided that "from now on they will not serve the sailboat of that merchant who is not part of the Hansa." It was a kind of ultimatum to those who have not yet joined the union, but at the same time a call for cooperation.

From the beginning of the 14th century, the Hansa became a collective monopoly of trade in northern Europe. One mention by any merchant of his involvement in it served best recommendation for new partners. By 1367, the number of cities participating in the Hanseatic League had increased to eighty. Apart from London its sales offices were in Bergen And Bruges, Pskov And Venice, Novgorod And Stockholm. German merchants were the only foreign merchants who had their own trading compound in Venice and for whom the northern Italian cities recognized the right of free navigation in the Mediterranean.

The offices that the Hansa maintained were fortified points common to all Hanseatic merchants. In a foreign land, they were protected by privileges from local princes or municipalities. As guests of such trading posts, all Germans were subject to strict discipline. Hansa very seriously, zealously guarded their possessions. In almost every city where merchants of the union traded, and even more so in border administrative centers that were not part of it, a system of espionage was developed. Any action of competitors directed against them became known almost immediately.

Sometimes these trading posts dictated their will to entire states. As soon as the rights of the union were infringed in Bergen, Norway, restrictions on the supply of wheat to this country immediately came into force, and the authorities had no choice but to back down. Even in the west, where the Hansa dealt with stronger partners, it managed to carve out considerable privileges for itself. For example, in London, the "German Court" owned its own berths and warehouses and was exempt from most of the taxes and fees. They even had their own judges, and the fact that the Hanseatics were assigned to guard one of the gates of the city already speaks not only of their influence on the English crown, but also of the undoubted respect they enjoyed in the British Isles.

It was at this time that the Hanseatic merchants began to organize their famous fairs. They were held in Dublin and Oslo, Frankfurt and Poznan, Plymouth and Prague, Amsterdam and Narva, Warsaw and Vitebsk. Dozens of European cities were looking forward to their opening. Sometimes it was the only opportunity for local residents to buy whatever their heart desires. Here they bought something for which the families, denying themselves the necessary, saved up money for many months. The malls were bursting with an abundance of oriental luxury, sophisticated and exotic household items. There, Flemish canvas met with English wool, Aquitanian leather with Russian honey, Cypriot copper with Lithuanian amber, Icelandic herring with French cheese, and Venetian glass with Baghdad blades.

The merchants were well aware that the timber, wax, furs, rye, timber of Eastern and Northern Europe were of value only when they were re-exported to the west and south of the continent. In the opposite direction were salt, cloth, wine. This system, simple and strong, however, ran into many difficulties. It was these difficulties that had to be overcome that fused together the totality of the cities of the Hansa.

The Union has been tested for strength many times. After all, there was a certain fragility in him. Cities - and their number reached 170 during their heyday - were far from each other, and rare meetings of their delegates to general ganzatags (seims) could not resolve all the contradictions that periodically arose between them. Neither the state nor the church stood behind the Hansa, only the population of the cities, jealous of their prerogatives and proud of them.

Strength, however, came from a common interest, from the need to play the same economic game, from belonging to a common "civilization" involved in trade in one of the most populous maritime spaces in Europe. An important element of unity was the common language, which was based on Low German, enriched with Latin, Polish, Italian and even Ukrainian words. Merchant families, turning into clans, could be found in Reval, and in Gdansk, and in Bruges. All these ties gave rise to cohesion, solidarity, common habits and common pride, common limitations for all.

In the rich cities of the Mediterranean, each could play his own game and fight furiously with his fellows for influence on the sea routes and exclusive privileges in trade with other countries. In the Baltic and the North Sea, this was much more difficult to do. The revenues from heavy and high-volume, low-priced cargo remained modest, while the costs and risks were uncommonly high. Unlike big malls southern Europe, such as Venice or Genoa, northern merchants had a profit margin of 5% at best. In these regions, more than anywhere else, everything was required to be clearly calculated, to make savings, to foresee.

BEGINNING OF SUNSET

The apogee of Lübeck and the cities associated with it came at a rather late time - between 1370 and 1388. In 1370, the Hanse prevailed over the king of Denmark and occupied the fortresses on the Danish straits, and in 1388, as a result of a dispute with Bruges, after an effective blockade, she forced this rich city and the government of the Netherlands to capitulate. However, even then there were the first signs of a decline in the economic and political power of the union. In a few decades, they will become more obvious. In the second half of the 14th century, a severe economic crisis erupted in Europe after a plague epidemic swept across the continent. It entered the annals of history as the Black Sea. True, despite the demographic decline, the demand for goods from the Baltic Sea basin in Europe did not decrease, and in the Netherlands, which was not badly affected by the pestilence, it even increased. But it was the price movement that played a cruel joke on the Hansa.

After 1370, grain prices began to fall gradually, and then, starting from 1400, the demand for furs also went down sharply. At the same time, the need for industrial products, in which the Hanseatic people practically did not specialize, increased significantly. In modern terms, the basis of the business was raw materials and semi-finished products. To this we can add the beginning of the decline of the distant, but so necessary for the economy of the Hanseatic gold and silver mines in the Czech Republic and Hungary. And, finally, the main reason for the beginning of the decline of the Hansa was the changed state and political conditions in Europe. In the zone of trade and economic interests of the Hansa, territorial nation-states begin to revive: Denmark, England, the Netherlands, Poland, and the Muscovite state. With the strong support of those in power, the merchants of these countries began to push the Hansa throughout the North and Baltic Seas.

True, the attacks did not go unpunished. Some cities of the Hanseatic League stubbornly defended themselves, as did Lübeck, who in 1470-1474 took over England. But these were rather isolated cases, most of the other cities of the union preferred to negotiate with new merchants, re-divide spheres of influence and develop new rules for interaction. The Union had to adapt.

Hansa received its first defeat from the Muscovite state, which was gaining strength. Her ties with Novgorod merchants spanned more than three centuries: the first trade agreements between them date back to the 12th century. For such a long period of time, Veliky Novgorod became a kind of outpost of the Hansa not only in the north-east of Europe, but also in the lands of the Slavic peoples. The policy of Ivan III, who sought to unite the fragmented Russian principalities, sooner or later had to come into conflict with the independent position of Novgorod. In this confrontation, the Hanseatic merchants took an outwardly wait-and-see position, but secretly actively helped the Novgorod opposition in the fight against Moscow. Here, the Hansa put its own, primarily trade, interests at the forefront. It was much easier to get privileges from the Novgorod boyars than from the powerful Muscovite state, which no longer wanted to have resellers and lose profits when exporting goods to the West.

With the loss of independence by the Novgorod Republic in 1478, Ivan III also liquidated the Hanseatic settlement. After that, along with Novgorod, a significant part of the Karelian lands, which were in the possession of the Novgorod boyars, became part of the Russian state. Since that time, the Hanseatic League has practically lost control over exports from Russia. However, the Russians themselves failed to take advantage of all the advantages of independent trade with the countries of northeastern Europe. In terms of the number and quality of ships, the Novgorod merchants could not compete with the Hansa. Therefore, export volumes declined, and Veliky Novgorod itself lost a significant part of its income. But the Hansa could not compensate for the loss of the Russian market and, above all, access to strategic raw materials - timber, wax and honey.

Next swipe she received from England. Strengthening her sole power and helping English merchants to free themselves from competitors, Queen Elizabeth I ordered the liquidation of the Hanseatic trading yard Steelyard. Along with this, all the privileges that German merchants had in this country were destroyed.

Historians attribute the decline of the Hansa to the political infantilism of Germany. The fragmented country at first played a positive role in the fate of the Hanseatic cities - simply no one prevented them from uniting. The cities that initially rejoiced in their freedom remained left to themselves, but in completely different conditions, when their rivals in other countries enlisted the support of their states. An important reason for the decline was the obvious economic lag of northeastern Europe from the western one by the 15th century. Unlike the economic experiments of Venice and Bruges, the Hansa still wavered between barter and money. Cities rarely resorted to loans, focusing mainly on their own funds and forces, had little confidence in bill settlement systems and sincerely believed only in the power of the silver coin.

The conservatism of the German merchants, in the end, played a cruel joke on them. Unable to adapt to the new realities, the medieval "common market" gave way to associations of merchants solely on a national basis. Since 1648, the Hansa finally lost its influence on the balance of power in the field of maritime trade. The last gunsentag was hardly assembled until 1669. After a stormy discussion, without having settled the accumulated contradictions, the majority of the delegates leave Lübeck with the firm conviction that they will never meet again. From now on, each city wanted to conduct its trade affairs independently. The name of the Hanseatic cities was preserved only for Lübeck, Hamburg and Bremen as a reminder of the former glory of the union.

The disintegration of the Hansa objectively matured in the bowels of Germany itself. By the 15th century, it became obvious that the political fragmentation of the German lands, the arbitrariness of the princes, their strife and betrayal became a brake on the path of economic development. Separate cities and regions of the country gradually lost established ties for centuries. Between the eastern and western lands, the exchange of goods was practically not carried out. The northern regions of Germany, where sheep breeding was mainly developed, also had little contact with the industrial southern regions, which were increasingly oriented towards the markets of the cities of Italy and Spain. The further growth of world trade relations of the Hansa was hampered by the absence of a single internal national market. Gradually it became apparent that the power of the union was based more on the needs of foreign rather than domestic trade. This roll finally "drowned" him after neighboring countries they began to develop capitalist relations more and more actively and actively protect domestic markets from competitors.