The Hansa

The Hansa

The Hansa was an alliance between several associations of merchants who traveled in group due to the risks of travelling by oneself when doing trades. These merchants were located within Northern Germany and the Baltic. The majority of the league members were Low German merchants but some were from the municipality of Dinant and they had citizenship.

This alliance became a league that protected the interests of the merchants in business. The cities forming the league had their own laws and their own army, which made them autonomous and independent with a certain limit. Another role fulfilled by the league was to provide its members with a maximum independence from the noble rulers locally. The merchants still owed allegiance to the Holy Roman Emperor. 

The league had a duty to defend a member against enemies attacks. The Hansa had rivals such as the Duchy of Burgundy, which was formed with territories comprised of what are today called Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and France. The Duchy of Burgundy took away the monopoly of trade owned by the Hansa.

At the beginning of the 16th century, the Hansa was in a weak state and tried to find solutions to its issues by assigning Heinrich Sudermann as a permanent official. It resolved some of its internal issues but by the end of the 16th century, it remained weak. Only few members attended the last meetings. After its decline, some cities maintained contact with the league though.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanseatic_League
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burgundian_Netherlands