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German Hansa. The Hanseatic League is the standard of equal association. The rise and rise of the Hanseatic League

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 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 work out general rules and laws representatives of cities 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 in their official names retain the title "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?!”

Control work on the course

"History of Economics"

"Hanseatic Trade Union"

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Introduction

Chapter 2. The Hanseatic League and Russia

2.1 Hanseatic League and Pskov

2.2 Hanseatic League and Novgorod

Chapter 3. The Decline of the Hanseatic League

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

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 turned out to be very short-lived. Any violation 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 actions were subordinated to the ideas of cooperation and development, like the Hanseatic Trade Union.

This community of cities has become one of the most important forces in Northern Europe and an equal partner sovereign states. However, since the interests of the cities that were part of the Hansa were too different, economic cooperation did not always turn into political and military. However, the indisputable merit of this union was that it laid the foundations of international trade.

The political relevance of the topic under study lies in the fact that the history of the existence of the Hanseatic League, its experience, mistakes and achievements are very instructive not only for historians, but also for modern politicians. Much of what elevated him, and then overthrew him into oblivion, is repeated in the recent history of Europe. Sometimes the countries of the continent, in their desire to create a lasting alliance and thus achieve advantages on the world stage, make the same miscalculations as the Hanseatic merchants did many centuries ago.

The purpose of the work is to describe the history of the existence of the most powerful medieval trading union in Europe. Tasks - to consider the causes of the emergence of the Hanseatic trade union, its activities during its heyday (XIII-XVI centuries), as well as the reasons for the collapse.

Chapter 1. The emergence and flourishing of the Hanseatic League

The formation of the Hansa, which dates back to 1267, was the response of European merchants to the challenges of the Middle Ages. Fragmented Europe was a very risky field for business. Pirates and robbers ruled the trade routes, and what could be saved from them and brought to the shelves was taxed by the princes of the church and specific rulers. Everyone wanted to profit at the expense of entrepreneurs, and regulated robbery flourished. The rules, brought to the point of absurdity, made it possible to take fines for the “wrong” depth of a clay pot or the width of a piece of cloth.

Despite all this, German maritime trade had already reached a significant development in those days; already in the 9th century, this trade was carried out with England, Nordic states and with Russia, and it was always produced on armed merchant ships. Around 1000, the Saxon king Æthelred granted German merchants significant advantages in London; his example was subsequently followed by William the Conqueror.

In 1143, the city of Lübeck was founded by the Count of Schaumburg. Subsequently, the Count of Schaumburg ceded the city to Heinrich the Lion, and when the latter was declared disgraced, Lübeck became an imperial city. The power of Lübeck was recognized by all the cities of Northern Germany, and a century before the official formation of the Hansa, the merchants of this city had already received trading privileges in many countries.

In 1158, the city of Lübeck, which quickly reached a brilliant prosperity due to the increased development of trade in the Baltic Sea, founded a German trading company in Visby, on the island of Gotland; this city was located approximately halfway between the Trave and the Neva, the Sound and the Gulf of Riga, the Vistula and Lake Melar, and thanks to this position, as well as the fact that in those days, due to the imperfection of navigation, ships avoided long passages, they began to enter it all ships, and thus it acquired great importance.

In 1241, the merchant unions of the cities of Lübeck and Hamburg entered into an agreement to jointly protect the trade route connecting the Baltic Sea with the North Sea. In 1256, the first association of a group of coastal cities was formed - Lübeck, Hamburg, Lüneburg, Wismar, Rostock. The finally unified union of the Hanseatic cities - Hamburg, Bremen, Cologne, Gdansk (Danzig), Riga and others (at first the number of cities reached 70) - took shape in 1267. The representation was entrusted to the main city of the union - Lubeck quite voluntarily, since its burgomasters and the senators were considered the most able to conduct business, and at the same time this city took upon itself the related expenses for the maintenance of warships.

The leaders of the Hansa made very skillful use of the favorable circumstances to take over the trade in the Baltic and North Seas, to make their monopoly out of it, and thus to be able to fix the prices of goods at their own discretion; in addition, they tried to acquire in the states where it was of interest to them, the greatest possible privileges, such as the right to freely establish colonies and trade, exemption from taxes on goods, from land taxes, the right to acquire houses and courtyards, with granting them extraterritoriality and their own jurisdiction. These efforts were for the most part successful even before the founding of the union. Prudent, experienced and possessing not only commercial, but also political talents, the commercial leaders of the union were excellent at using weaknesses or the predicament of neighboring states; they did not miss the opportunity, indirectly (by supporting the enemies of this state) or even directly (by means of privateering or open war), to put these states in a difficult position, in order to force certain concessions from them. Thus, Liege and Amsterdam, Hannover and Cologne, Göttingen and Kiel, Bremen and Hamburg, Wismar and Berlin, Frankfurt and Stettin (now Szczecin), Danzig (Gdansk) and Koenigsberg (Kaliningrad), Memel (Klaipeda) gradually joined the Hanseatic cities. ) and Riga, Pernov (Pärnu) and Yuriev (Derpt, or Tartu), Stockholm and Narva. In the Slavic cities of Wolin, at the mouth of the Oder (Odra) and in the current Polish Pomerania, in Kolberg (Kołobrzeg), in the Latvian Vengspils (Vindava), there were large Hanseatic trading posts that actively bought up local goods and, to the common benefit, sold imported goods. Hanseatic offices appeared in Bruges, London, Novgorod and Reval (Tallinn).

All Hanseatic cities of the union were divided into three districts:

1) Eastern, Vendian region, to which Lübeck, Hamburg, Rostock, Wismar and Pomeranian cities belonged - Stralsund, Greifswald, Anklam, Stetin, Kolberg, etc.

2) The West Frisian-Dutch region, which included Cologne and the Westphalian cities - Zest, Dortmund, Groningen, etc.

3) And finally, the third region, consisted of Visby and cities lying in the Baltic provinces, such as Riga and others.

The offices that the Hansa kept in different countries were fortified points, and their safety was guaranteed supreme power: veche, princes, kings. And yet the cities that were part of the union were remote from each other and often separated by non-alliance, and often even hostile possessions. True, these cities were for the most part free imperial cities, but, nevertheless, in their decisions they were often dependent on the rulers of the surrounding country, and these rulers were by no means always disposed in favor of the Hansa, and on the contrary, they often belonged to it is unfriendly and even hostile, of course, except in those cases when they needed her help. The independence, wealth and power of the cities, which were the focus of the religious, scientific and artistic life of the country, and to which its population gravitated, were a thorn in the eye of these princes.

It was very difficult to keep cities, coastal and inland, scattered over the space from the Gulf of Finland to the Scheldt, and from the sea coast to central Germany, as part of the union, since the interests of these cities were very different, and yet the only connection between them could be precisely only common interests; the union had only one coercive means at its disposal - exclusion from it (Verhasung), which entailed the prohibition of all members of the union from having any business with the excluded city and should have led to the termination of all relations with it; however, there was no police authority to oversee the implementation of this. Complaints and claims could only be brought to the congresses of the allied cities, which met from time to time, to which representatives from all the cities whose interests required it were present. In any case, against the port cities, exclusion from the union was a very effective means; this was the case, for example, in 1355 with Bremen, which from the very beginning showed a desire for isolation, and which, due to enormous losses, was forced to ask again three years later to be accepted into the union.

Hansa set as its goal the organization of intermediary trade between the east, west and north of Europe along the Baltic and North Seas. The terms of trade there were unusually difficult. Prices for goods in general remained quite low, and therefore the income of merchants at the beginning of the existence of the union was modest. To keep costs to a minimum, the merchants themselves acted as sailors. Actually, the merchants with their servants made up the crew of the ship, the captain of which was chosen from more experienced travelers. If the ship did not crash and safely arrived at its destination, it was possible to start bargaining.

The first general convention of the cities of the Hanseatic League took place in Lübeck in 1367. The elected hanzetag (a kind of parliament of the union) distributed laws in the form of letters, absorbing the spirit of the times, reflecting customs and precedents. The highest body of power in the Hansa was the General Hanseatic Congress, which considered issues of trade and relations with foreign states. In the intervals between congresses, the rat (city council) of Lübeck was in charge of current affairs.

Control work on the course

"History of Economics"

"Hanseatic Trade Union"

Completed:

Checked:

Introduction

2.1 Hanseatic League and Pskov

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

This community of cities has become one of the most important forces in Northern Europe and an equal partner of sovereign states. However, since the interests of the cities that were part of the Hansa were too different, economic cooperation did not always turn into political and military. However, the indisputable merit of this union was that it laid the foundations of international trade.

Chapter 1. The emergence and flourishing of the Hanseatic League

Despite all this, German maritime trade had already reached a significant development in those days; already in the 9th century this trade was carried on with England, the Northern states and with Russia, and it was always carried out on armed merchant ships. Around 1000, the Saxon king Æthelred granted German merchants significant advantages in London; his example was subsequently followed by William the Conqueror.

The leaders of the Hansa made very skillful use of the favorable circumstances to take over the trade in the Baltic and North Seas, to make their monopoly out of it, and thus to be able to fix the prices of goods at their own discretion; in addition, they tried to acquire in the states where it was of interest to them, the greatest possible privileges, such as the right to freely establish colonies and trade, exemption from taxes on goods, from land taxes, the right to acquire houses and courtyards, with granting them extraterritoriality and their own jurisdiction. These efforts were for the most part successful even before the founding of the union. Prudent, experienced and possessing not only commercial, but also political talents, the commercial leaders of the union were excellent at taking advantage of the weaknesses or predicament of neighboring states; they did not miss the opportunity, indirectly (by supporting the enemies of this state) or even directly (by means of privateering or open war), to put these states in a difficult position, in order to force certain concessions from them. Thus, Liege and Amsterdam, Hannover and Cologne, Göttingen and Kiel, Bremen and Hamburg, Wismar and Berlin, Frankfurt and Stettin (now Szczecin), Danzig (Gdansk) and Koenigsberg (Kaliningrad), Memel (Klaipeda) gradually joined the Hanseatic cities. ) and Riga, Pernov (Pärnu) and Yuriev (Derpt, or Tartu), Stockholm and Narva. In the Slavic cities of Wolin, at the mouth of the Oder (Odra) and in the current Polish Pomerania, in Kolberg (Kołobrzeg), in the Latvian Vengspils (Vindava), there were large Hanseatic trading posts that actively bought up local goods and, to the common benefit, sold imported goods. Hanseatic offices appeared in Bruges, London, Novgorod and Reval (Tallinn).

All Hanseatic cities of the union were divided into three districts:

1) Eastern, Vendian region, to which Lübeck, Hamburg, Rostock, Wismar and Pomeranian cities belonged - Stralsund, Greifswald, Anklam, Stetin, Kolberg, etc.

2) The West Frisian-Dutch region, which included Cologne and the Westphalian cities - Zest, Dortmund, Groningen, etc.

3) And finally, the third region, consisted of Visby and cities lying in the Baltic provinces, such as Riga and others.

The offices that the Hansa kept in different countries were fortified points, and their safety was guaranteed by the highest authority: veche, princes, kings. And yet the cities that were part of the union were remote from each other and often separated by non-alliance, and often even hostile possessions. True, these cities were for the most part free imperial cities, but, nevertheless, in their decisions they were often dependent on the rulers of the surrounding country, and these rulers were by no means always disposed in favor of the Hansa, and on the contrary, they often belonged to it is unfriendly and even hostile, of course, except in those cases when they needed her help. The independence, wealth and power of the cities, which were the focus of the religious, scientific and artistic life of the country, and to which its population gravitated, were a thorn in the eye of these princes.

Flexibly responding to the challenges of the time, the Hanseatic people quickly expanded their influence, and soon almost two hundred cities considered themselves members of the union. The growth of the Hansa was facilitated by the equality of native languages and common German, the use of a single monetary system, the inhabitants of the cities of the Hanseatic Union had equal rights within the union.

The Hanseatic League was conceived and created by merchants, but this word should not be understood as merchants in our sense of the word, but only large wholesale dealers; retailers who offered their goods on the streets, and who correspond to the owners of modern retail stores, as well as artisans, could not enroll in merchant guilds.

When a merchant became a Hanseatic, with the exemption from several local taxes, he received a lot of privileges. In every major city in the Hanseatic settlement, a medieval entrepreneur could get any information he needed: about the actions of competitors, trade, benefits and restrictions in force in this city. The Hanseatic League created an effective lobbying system for their interests and even built a network of industrial espionage.

The Hanseatic people promoted a healthy lifestyle, introduced ideas about business ethics, created clubs for the exchange of experience in business operations, and disseminated technologies for the production of goods. They opened schools for beginner artisans and merchants. This was a real innovation for medieval Europe, which was plunged into chaos. In fact, the Hansa formed the civilizational prototype of the Europe that we know now. The Hanseatic League had neither a constitution, nor its own bureaucratic bureaucracy, nor a common treasury, and the laws on which the community was based were just a collection of letters, customs and precedents that changed over time.

All work and behavior of the Hanseatic was strictly regulated - from how to train apprentices and hire a skilled craftsman to production technology, trade ethics and prices themselves. But self-esteem and measure did not change them: in the clubs that abounded in the cities of the Hanseatic League, they often reprimanded those who threw plates on the floor, grabbed a knife, drank "ruff", played dice. Young people were reproached, "... who drinks too much, breaks glasses, overeats and jumps from barrel to barrel." And to bet - it was also considered "not our way." A contemporary speaks with condemnation of a merchant who pawned ten guilders on a bet that he would not comb his hair for a year. Whether he won the bet or lost, we will never know.

In addition to strictly regulated rules, a large number cities in the composition and their free imperial position, the secret of Hanseatic prosperity was the cheapness of mass transportation. To this day, the Elbe-Lubeck Canal, dug by the serfs of Count Lauenberg, still works between 1391 and 1398, however, since then it has been deepened and expanded. It allows you to significantly cut the distance between the North Sea and the Baltic. At one time, it replaced the old trolley route from Lübeck to Hamburg, which for the first time made the transportation of bulk and other bulk cargo from Eastern Europe to Western Europe economically viable. So in the Hanseatic era, East European food and raw materials flowed through the canal - Polish grain and flour, Baltic fishermen's herring, Swedish timber and iron, Russian candle wax and furs. And to meet them - salt mined near Lüneburg, Rhine wine and pottery, bales of woolen and linen fabrics from England and the Netherlands, odorous cod fat from the distant northern islands.

At the zenith of its glory in the XIV-XV centuries, the Hanseatic League, this peculiar merchant federal republic, was no weaker than any European monarchy. If necessary, he could also use force, declare a trade blockade unruly. But he still resorted to war on rare occasions. However, when the Danish king Valdemar IV attacked the Hanseatic base of Visby in 1367 and began to threaten all Baltic commerce, the union decided to use weapons anyway.

Having gathered in Greiswald, the representatives of the cities decided to turn their trading schooners into warships. Authentic floating wooden fortresses went out to sea - tall platforms rose on the bow and stern, from which it was so convenient to repel the attack of the enemy going to board.

The Hanseatics lost the first battle, but in the end the fleet of the Hansa merchants took Copenhagen from the battle, plundered it, and the king was forced in 1370 to sign the Stralsund treatise on peace, humiliating for him.

Chapter 2. The Hanseatic League and Russia

In the XIV-XV centuries. through the mediation of the Hanseatic League, the main trade of Russia with the West was carried out. Wax and furs were exported from Russia - mainly squirrel, less often - leather, flax, hemp, silk. The Hanseatic League supplied salt and fabrics to Russia - cloth, linen, velvet, satin. Silver, gold, non-ferrous metals, amber, glass, wheat, beer, herring, weapons were imported in smaller volumes. Hansa offices in Russia existed in Pskov and Novgorod the Great.

2.1 Hanseatic League and Pskov

What interested the Hanseatic merchants in Pskov? In Russia, furs were the main export commodity, but Novgorod controlled the fur extraction sites, and Pskov accounted for only a small part of the furs sold to the West. And from Pskov to Europe, mainly wax was exported. The place of wax in the life of a medieval person was akin to the role that electricity plays in our lives. Candles were made from wax - both for lighting living quarters and for worship.

In addition, it was customary for Catholics to sculpt images of sick parts of the body from wax. Wax was the most important commodity until the beginning of the 20th century: even Father Fyodor from The Twelve Chairs dreamed of a candle factory in Samara. But in Europe, despite the development of beekeeping, there was a shortage of wax, and it was imported from the East - from Lithuania and Russian lands. Here in the XIV-XV centuries. there were still quite a lot of forests and beekeeping was widespread - the extraction of honey from wild bees. The extracted foundation was melted, the wax was purified and sold.

The quality of the wax was different, low-grade wax with sludge was forbidden for the Hanseatic people to buy. The rules of trade were regulated by "old times" - customs accepted as the norm. One of these customs was the right of the Hanseatic people to "peel" wax, i.e. to break off pieces from the waxed circle to check its quality, and the chipped pieces did not go to the expense of the weight of the purchased wax. The size of the pieces of wax that were allowed to be "chopped" was not precisely determined, but depended on the "antiquity" and the arbitrariness of the merchants. The wax was sold locally and exported to the Baltics.

Of the imported goods, Pskovians were primarily interested in salt. The significance of salt in the Middle Ages was determined not only by the fact that it was a food product; salt was one of the raw materials for the leather industry. Salt was mined in relatively large sizes only in a few areas, very remote from each other, was it expensive and early became the most important product in the exchange of goods. In Russia, salt was not mined enough, including in the Pskov land, so salt occupied one of the first places in the composition of imported goods.

The need for a supply of salt forced the people of Pskov to struggle to change the unfavorable rules of trade. Hanseatic merchants in Russia sold salt not by weight, but by bags. It is clear that this way of trading often led to deception. At the same time, in the neighboring cities of the Hanseatic League, salt was sold by weight. At the beginning of the 15th century, Novgorodians and Pskovians reduced their purchases of salt at home and began to travel to Livonia for this product. In response, in 1407 the Germans banned the supply of salt and trade with Novgorod and Pskov. Salt prices jumped and Russian merchants backpedaled, agreeing to the previous terms of trade. Pskov bought salt primarily for its own needs, but sometimes served as a transit point for the Hanseatic trade with Novgorod, even in wartime. So, in the 1420s, when Novgorod was at war with the Livonian Order, salt from Narva still came to Novgorod through Pskov.

Trade in weapons and non-ferrous metals has always been a stumbling block in the relations of Russian cities with the Hansa and the Livonian Order. The Hansa was interested in the arms trade, which brought great profits, and the Order, fearing the growth of the power of the Russian lands, on the contrary, prevented it. But commercial gain often prevailed over the interests of defense, and, for example, in 1396, Reval merchants, including the head of the city council, Gerd Witte, transported weapons to Novgorod and Pskov in herring barrels.

Non-ferrous metals, so necessary in the process of making weapons, were also banned from being imported into Russia, apparently at the very beginning of the 15th century. In any case, when in 1420 the people of Pskov wanted to make a lead roof for the Trinity Cathedral, they could not find a foundry master not only in Pskov, but also in Novgorod. The inhabitants of Derpt did not give the Pskovites a master, and only the Moscow metropolitan sent a foundry worker to Pskov. Taking advantage of the monopoly on the import of metals to Russia, the Hansa did not miss an opportunity to cash in on trade. So, in 1518, low-grade silver was brought to Pskov, but six years later it was sent back to Dorpat.

A significant part of the trade flows in the Middle Ages were alcoholic beverages. But if wines were expensive and were imported to Russia in small quantities, then such alcoholic beverages as honey and beer were imported very intensively. Moreover, in the Pskov region, as well as in the Novgorod lands, they produced their own honey, some of which was also exported for sale to Derpt and other cities. Evidence of the active trade in alcohol is the mention of 13 and a half barrels of beer and 4 barrels of mead, taken by Pskov merchants from the property of a murdered German in Pskov in the 1460s. Only once in the history of Pskov-Hanse relations was the trade in "tavern", i.e. any alcohol, was banned: under an agreement in 1474, Pskov and Derpt pledged not to import beer and honey for sale within each other's territories. But already 30 years later, in the treaty of 1503, this prohibition was absent. Apparently, the norm of the treaty, which was disadvantageous to both parties, died out by itself.

During the war between Pskov and the Livonian Order in 1406-1409. Trade relations with the Hansa were interrupted, but soon resumed. The initiative in restoring Pskov-Hanse relations belonged to Derpt, who was the first to conclude an agreement with Pskov on the safety of travel and trade (1411). Close trade relations also contributed to the conclusion union treaty Pskov with the Order in 1417

The most detailed mutual terms of trade between Pskov and Derpt merchants were stipulated in an agreement of 1474. The guarantees of a "clean path" extended to the merchants of both sides, i.e. free trade both in the cities that have concluded an agreement, and travel with goods to other points. According to a mutual agreement, customs duties were abolished: it was decided to liquidate the "decks" (barriers), and not to take the "hotel" (duties). The agreement was extremely beneficial for Pskov, because it provided Pskov merchants with the right to retail and guest trade in Dorpat and other cities that belonged to the bishop of Dorpat. Now Pskovites could trade in Derpt not only with its inhabitants, but also with residents of Riga, Revelians, and "with every guest", which meant not only Hanseatic merchants. Merchants who were in a foreign land were guaranteed an equal trial with the subjects of the country where the merchant was located.

There were no Russian merchant farmsteads in the Baltic cities, and Orthodox churches played the role of unifying centers for the Russian merchants in Livonia. In Dorpat there were two Russian churches - St. Nicholas and St. George, which belonged to Novgorod and Pskov merchants. At the churches there were premises where the clergy lived and goods were stored. This is where festivities and gatherings took place. The houses of German burghers, located around Orthodox churches, have long been rented by Russian merchants, so the urban area of Derpt in the vicinity of churches began to be called the Russian End, by analogy with the names of urban areas in Novgorod and Pskov.

In Pskov, German merchants settled on the so-called "German coast" in the rented yards of Russian merchants. "German Coast" is a coastal strip of Zapskovye, located on the opposite bank of the Pskov River to the Kremlin. Unlike Pskov, in Veliky Novgorod there has long been a German trading post - the courtyard of St. Peter. The Hanseatic court in Novgorod was ruled by elected officials - aldermans - with full autonomy. The German court had its own charter - skru, which regulated the internal life of the German court, as well as the terms of trade between Germans and Russians. The farmstead on the "German coast" operated until the start of the Livonian War, and in 1562 it was destroyed by fire. The German court in Pskov was restored only after the end of the Livonian War, in the 1580s. across the Velikaya River, opposite the Kremlin. In the same place, in 1588, a farmstead of the main city of the Hansa - Luebeck arose. But this is a different era, when the Hansa ceded dominance in the Baltic to Sweden.

2.2 Hanseatic League and Novgorod

The Hanseatic office in Novgorod consisted of the Gothic and German courts. The management of the office was carried out directly by the Hanseatic cities: first Visby and Lübeck, later the Livonian cities of Riga, Derpt, Revel joined them. The organization of the Hanseatic office in Veliky Novgorod, the organization of everyday life and trade in the courtyards, relations with the Novgorodians were strictly regulated by special decrees recorded in the skru, which was a kind of charter of the office. With the change in the terms of trade, the political situation, trade relations between Veliky Novgorod and its Western partners spark changed.

The main place of trade was the German Court, where Novgorod merchants came to negotiate deals and pick up goods. Hanseatic merchants also purchased Novgorod goods directly from the estates of their Russian partners. Trade was wholesale and barter. Fabrics were sold in sets, sealed with special seals, salt - in bags, honey, wine, herring, non-ferrous metals - in barrels. Even small piece goods were sold in large quantities: gloves, thread, needles - dozens, hundreds, thousands of pieces. Russian goods were also purchased in bulk: wax - in circles, fur - in hundreds of skins. The exchange nature of trade was also strictly observed; cash goods for cash goods. It was strictly forbidden to trade on credit under the threat of confiscation of goods acquired illegally. Only the merchants of the Hanseatic cities, who always strived for monopoly trade, had the right to come to Veliky Novgorod and live in the courtyards. In all editions of the secret and in the correspondence of cities, the prohibition was persistently repeated to enter into a company with non-Hanseans (especially with the main competitors of the Hansa - the Dutch and Flemings) and bring their goods to Veliky Novgorod. Total number merchants, who were simultaneously in both courtyards, reached 150-200 people in the most favorable times. However, due to the decline of the Novgorod-Hanse trade in the 15th century, the number of merchants who came to Veliky Novgorod significantly decreased. A list of merchants has been preserved, compiled at the closing of the office in 1494, which included 49 merchants from 18 cities in Germany and Livonia. At first, with a lack of space in the yards, Hanseatic merchants could stop to stay in Novgorod estates, which was recorded during archaeological excavations of one of these estates in the area adjacent to the German Court. Here in the layers of the XIV-XV centuries. Western European household items were found confirming the presence of Hanseatic merchants on the estate.

The Hanseatic merchants who came to Veliky Novgorod from different cities represented a single German (Hanseatic) merchant class, which in all actions was guided by the articles of the spark and general decrees and was headed by elders chosen from among them. The elders were the chief judges in the courtyards, they strictly monitored the implementation of all the decrees of the secret, imposed fines and other types of punishment, and settled all conflicts that arose between the Hanseatic merchants. The duties of the elders also included negotiating with the Russians, checking goods, collecting taxes from merchants, appointing examiners, i.e. inspectors of various goods. Along with the elders of the courtyards, the elders of the church of St. Peter, whose main duty was to preserve the rights of the church, all the privileges and messages of the cities. The elders of the church of St. Peter's took an oath from the merchants to observe all the decrees of the secret. In addition, the elders of the living quarters, the Vogts, were elected. In the office, in addition to administrative, there were other officials. The main figure among them was the priest, who conducted divine services, and also wrote official and private letters. The office also had a translator, silver linings, examiners (i.e. controllers) of cloth, wax and wine; tailor, baker, brewer. Until the 15th century beer was brewed by the merchants themselves. The main legislative body of the office was the general meeting of merchants, chaired by the elders of the courtyard and the church of St. Peter or the manager who replaced them. The meeting discussed all the most important matters of the office. Letters from cities, messages from ambassadors were read here, a court on commercial and criminal cases took place. Some important decisions hung out for public inspection, the names of Novgorod merchants with whom it was forbidden to trade were hung here.

The history of the Hanseatic office in Veliky Novgorod testifies that it was an isolated, closed settlement of German merchants, in contrast to the Hanseatic offices in Bruges and London. According to researchers, the Novgorod office is a unique phenomenon in the Hanseatic trade. In a sense, it was a model for other Hansa offices in organizing settlements closed in all respects (church, legal, economic and social) within a foreign city. However, this ideal was unattainable and such measures of isolation were only partially implemented in the Hanseatic offices in London and Bruges.

The history of Novgorod-Hanse relations is replete with trade conflicts, trade bans, frequent clashes between foreign merchants and city residents. Most often, conflicts arose due to non-compliance by one side or another with the rules of trade. One of the main rules was the following: if one of the merchants violated the rules of trade, only the guilty person should bring a claim. Nevertheless, judging by the sources, such violations entailed the arrest of all Novgorod merchants in the Hanseatic cities and the arrest of German merchants in Veliky Novgorod. The robbery of Novgorodians somewhere in the Baltic Sea or in Livonia entailed the detention of all German merchants in Veliky Novgorod. Mutual arrests of merchants and goods became especially frequent in the second half of the 14th century, ending in a trade war of 1385-1391, after which the peace of Niebuhr was concluded in 1392. However, peaceful relations did not last long, a few years later they began again mutual claims to the quality of goods and allegations of non-compliance with trade rules. Wars and political conflicts between Veliky Novgorod and its opponents (most often the Livonian Order and Sweden) were a frequent cause of breaks in trade relations. Although trade agreements stipulated that during the war merchants were guaranteed " clean path", i.e. free movement along trade routes, nevertheless, in practice, every time a war began, a trade blockade was declared. Sometimes conflicts arose directly between the inhabitants of Veliky Novgorod and foreign merchants, which often led to the suspension of trade. During periods of particularly acute conflicts the Hanseatic merchants closed the church and courtyards, took away their property, all valuables, the treasury and the archive of the office and left Veliky Novgorod.They handed over the keys to the courtyards for safekeeping to the archbishop of Veliky Novgorod and the archimandrite of the Yuriev Monastery as the highest church hierarchs of Veliky Novgorod, i.e. Novgorodians, in turn, sought to detain the Hanseatics in the city until their demands were met.The point in Novgorod-Hanseatic relations was put by Ivan III in 1494, when the Hanseatic office in Veliky Novgorod was closed by his decree, 49 Hanseatic merchants were arrested, and their goods worth 96,000 marks were confiscated and sent to Moscow.

A protracted twenty-year conflict between the Russian state and the Hansa began. In Revel and Riga, Novgorod merchants with goods were arrested. However, Derpt, who maintained intensive trade relations with Pskov and had a special agreement with him on freedom of trade, refused to break off relations with Russian cities. Narva, which was not a member of the Hanseatic League and therefore not obliged to comply with the decisions of its congresses, continued to trade with Russia. In a word, the united front of the Hansa and Livonia against Russia did not take shape.

Both Hansa and Russia have repeatedly tried to resolve the conflict. So, in February 1498, Russian-Hanseatic negotiations took place in Narva. The restoration of normal relations was linked by the Russian side to a number of demands; in fact, the government of Ivan III put forward preconditions. Russia demanded, firstly, to improve the situation of Russian churches and residents of the Russian territories in the Baltic cities; the claims filed by the Russian delegation cited the facts of the prohibition for Russians to consecrate churches and live in houses near churches.

The negotiations ended in vain, and after they ended, Russia dealt another blow to Hansa: the import of salt into Russian cities was banned. The Pskov merchants vainly tried to get the Grand Duke to allow them to import salt into the Russian lands, but their efforts were not crowned with success.

After 20 years, in 1514, the Hanseatic office was reopened in Veliky Novgorod, but this was already another page in the history of Veliky Novgorod and in the history of the Hansa.

Chapter 3. The Decline of the Hanseatic League

Despite all its commercial and military successes, the Hansa, conservative to the marrow of its bones, gradually created difficulties for itself. Its rules required that the inheritance be divided among numerous children, and this prevented the accumulation of capital in one hand, without which the "business" could not expand. Constantly keeping guild handicrafts out of power, the clumsy senior merchants kept quiet lower classes to a bloody riot, especially dangerous inside their own city walls. The eternal striving for monopoly aroused indignation in other countries, where national feeling grew. Perhaps most importantly, the Hanseatic people lacked the support of the central government in Germany itself.

At the beginning of the 15th century, the Hanseatic League began to lose its strength. The chief Dutch harbours, taking advantage of their proximity to the ocean, preferred to trade on their own account. New war Hansa with Denmark in 1427-1435, during which these cities remained neutral, brought them enormous benefits and thereby harmed the Hansa, which, however, retained everything that it had until then owned. The collapse of the alliance, however, was already expressed in the fact that a few years before the conclusion of a common peace, Rostock and Stralsund concluded their own separate peace with Denmark.

Of great importance was also the sad circumstance that, beginning in 1425, the annual passage of fish to the Baltic Sea ceased. She headed to southern part North Sea, which contributed to the prosperity of the Netherlands, since all over the world, especially in the south, there was a strong need for a lean product.

The policy of the Hansa also gradually lost its original foresight and energy; to this was added an inappropriate frugality in relation to the fleet, which was kept in insufficient numbers. The Hansa, without any opposition, looked at the union in one hands of power over the three Northern kingdoms, which were also joined by the duchies of Schleswig-Holstein, and allowed the formation of such a force that had never existed in the north. In 1468, Edward IV, King of England, took away from the Hansa all its privileges and left them only for the city of Cologne, which was subsequently expelled from the Hansa. In the ensuing war of privateers, the Hansa suffered heavy losses, despite the fact that England at that time did not have a navy.

The Hansa was powerless against only one state - Russia, since in those days it did not come into contact with the sea at all; therefore, it was a severe blow to the Hansa when the Russian Tsar in 1494 unexpectedly ordered the closing of the Hanseatic offices in Novgorod. Under such exceptional circumstances, the Hansa turned to the emperor for help, but the latter maintained his friendly relations with the Russians; that was the attitude of the head of the empire towards the Hanseatic cities in those days! A similar attitude manifested itself somewhat later, when King Johann of Denmark obtained from the emperor an order to expel all Swedes, which disrupted all trade relations between the Hansa and Sweden.

But nevertheless, the forces of the nobility and the clergy were broken, and a bureaucratic state arose, as a result of which royal power was strengthened and even became unlimited. Maritime trade has developed greatly and has recently spread to the East and West Indies. Her influence on state economy, as well as the significance of import duties, became clearer and clearer; the kings were no longer willing to allow the whole trade of their country to be in the hands of others, and moreover in the hands of a foreign power, which excluded any possibility of competition. They were no longer willing to submit to the prohibition of raising import duties on their frontiers and did not even want to allow any restrictions in this respect. At the same time, the privileges granted to the Hansa are sometimes very extensive, such as extraterritoriality, the right of asylum in courtyards, their own jurisdiction, and so on. made me feel stronger.

The hostile attitude towards the actions of the Hansa was constantly growing, both among foreign and German princes. Of course, they had the opportunity to create customs outposts against port cities, but then they turned out to be completely cut off from maritime communications. To endure these severe restrictions, as well as the independence of the rich free cities lying in their possessions, became more and more unbearable as their views on financial matters took shape and their own power and the greatness of these princes increased. The times of monopolies in maritime trade had passed, but the leaders of the Hanse did not understand the signs of the new times and held fast to the aims and means which they had inherited from their predecessors.

In the meantime, the conditions of navigation also changed; the interests of the port cities, scattered along the coast for more than two thousand kilometers, diverged more and more, with the private interests of each individual city becoming more and more predominant. As a result of this, the Flemish and Dutch cities had already separated from the Hansa, then Cologne was excluded from it, and the connection between the other cities was weakening more and more. Finally, Lübeck was left almost alone with the cities of Wenden and the cities of Vorpommern.

In 1520, Charles V, who was already king of Spain at that time, was elected German emperor. When divided with his brother Ferdinand, he retained the Netherlands, to which he added western Friesland and Utrecht; as a result, Germany lost a rich coast with the mouths of the Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt. This, of course, was very beneficial for the maritime trade of the Netherlands. At the same time, Christian II, King of Denmark, who had become the son-in-law of Charles V and had a keen hatred for the Hansa, began to patronize the Dutch trade in the Baltic Sea. This gave the Hanse a reason, despite the fact that its influence had fallen significantly, to once again decisively intervene in the fate of the Northern Kingdoms.

In 1519, Gustav Vasa fled from Christian II to Lübeck, who not only refused to extradite him, but even supported him and helped him cross to Sweden; Christian II subjugated Sweden, but aroused the strongest hatred against himself in the country as a result of the massacre he organized in Stockholm, and when Gustav Vasa raised an uprising, the Hansa openly began to support him. The Hanseatic fleet devastated Bornholm, burned Helsinger, threatened Copenhagen and helped during the siege of Stockholm. On June 21, 1523, the Danish commandant of the city presented the keys to the city to the Hanseatic admiral, who in turn handed them over to Gustav Vasa, who had already become Gustav I. Gustav as a reward for the assistance rendered granted the Hansa considerable privileges.

Christian II a few years later, with the help of Holland, made an attempt to conquer Norway again. He landed in Norway and quickly achieved considerable success; Denmark hesitated, but the Hansa immediately sent a fleet against him, which, by energetic actions, managed to force Christian to surrender, and, however, he surrendered not to the Hansa, but to his uncle Frederick I, who put him in the Sonderburg castle, where he kept him imprisoned for 28 years, until his death in 1559. Thus, the Hanseatic fleet helped Gustav Vasa ascend the Swedish throne and brought him into the capital, contributed to the overthrow of Christian II and the accession of Frederick I to the throne in his place, then he also overthrew Christian II a second time and helped neutralize him. These were undoubtedly major deeds, but this was already the last outbreak of Hanseatic naval power.

Even before this last campaign against Christian II, in 1500, unrest arose in Lübeck, aimed at overthrowing the patrician city government; both burgomasters fled, and the leader of the movement, Jurgen Wullenweber, became the head of the city, and at the same time took over the leadership of the Hansa. All his efforts, after he had achieved a leading role in a revolutionary way, were aimed exclusively at restoring Lübeck's maritime dominance and, by eliminating other peoples, especially Holland, to secure Lübeck's monopoly of trade in the Baltic Sea. The means to this end were to be Protestantism and democracy.

Meanwhile, the former burgomasters of Lübeck obtained the decision of the imperial chamber court, which threatened the democratic rule of Lübeck with expulsion from the empire; this was enough to frighten the Lübeckers so much that they decided to depose Wullenweber and restore the former city government. This proves how fragile was the foundation on which Wullenweber built his brief reign.

The importance of Lübeck had fallen to such an extent that after Gustav I had unceremoniously destroyed all the privileges of the Hansa, Christian III, King of Denmark, for his part, also ceased to pay any attention to these privileges.

Beginning in 1563, Lübeck, in alliance with Denmark, again waged a seven-year war against Sweden, which had recently captured the Hanseatic merchant fleet, in which (which is very significant for the then state of affairs) even Wismar, Rostock and Stralsund remained neutral.

However, Sweden was so weakened by the persistent Allied offensive and internal turmoil that they left the sea in their power. The new king, Johann, concluded on December 13, 1570 in Stetin a rather favorable peace with Lübeck, according to which there was no longer any talk of a trade monopoly and duty-free trade; the military remuneration stipulated by the peace treaty was not paid. When Johann felt that his position on the throne was sufficiently strengthened, he declared himself "master of the Baltic Sea" and the next year forbade the Hansa to trade with Russia. At the same time, he organized a war of privateer against the Hansa, and, however, out of respect for Spain, he did not touch the Dutch ships. The Hansa did not have a strong enough fleet to successfully oppose it, its trade suffered enormous losses, while the Netherlands grew rich.

Shortly before this, Hanse once again had an opportunity for a major political speech. In 1657, an uprising broke out in the Netherlands against Philip II, which, after a 40-year struggle, finally delivered them from the Spanish yoke. The rebels begged the Hansa for help, and the latter thus had an opportunity to return the German people and German land to Germany again, but the Hansa missed this opportunity, refusing to ask for help.

In view of this, the Dutch soon forbade the Hansa from sailing to Spain; the British also took a hostile position, and in 1589 captured a fleet of 60 merchant ships in the Tagus River, which brought the Spaniards, among other goods, military supplies. When the British were expelled from the German Empire in 1597, England responded in kind, and the Hansa was forced to clear the "Dye Yard", which had been the center of German trade with England for 600 years.

AT early XVII century, Lübeck again made several attempts to establish relations with Russia and Spain, but without significant results, and the 30-year war finally destroyed the remnants of German dominance at sea and all German shipping.

The features of the Hanseatic League, which had neither a strong internal organization nor a definite and permanent supreme administration, did not give this alliance the opportunity to create significant fighting forces at sea. Neither the union nor the individual cities had a permanent fleet, since even the "frede coggs", which were sometimes kept in the service for a long time, were intended exclusively for maritime police supervision.

It is evident that, consequently, it has been necessary in every war to reassemble the military forces every time. In accordance with this, the very conduct of the war was limited to actions along the enemy coast, and these actions were reduced to unrelated expeditions, attacks and indemnities; about systematic, scientifically based actions at sea, about the present naval war and there is no need to say, and there was no need for this, since the opponents almost never had real military fleets.

In addition, the Hanseatic league, and even the individual cities of the league, had at their disposal other means by which they could impose their will on the enemy without resorting to weapons. The Hansa dominated all trade to such an extent, especially in the Baltic Sea, where for many years it was undeniably the first commercial power, that it was often enough for it to prohibit trade relations (a kind of commercial blockade) with those who were hostile to it, in order to bring opponents to submission. The monopoly of maritime trade, which the Hansa enjoyed for centuries on the shores of the Baltic and North Seas, was carried out with merciless severity, and for this it did not need a real navy.

However, circumstances began to take a different turn when individual states began to grow stronger and the independent power of the princes began to be gradually established. The participants in the Hansa did not understand that, in accordance with the changed conditions and the alliance, it was necessary to change their organization and, even in peacetime, prepare for war; they made the same mistake as they later

Trade monopolies, duty-free trade and other privileges were the subject of the Hansa's constant claims and the basis of its prosperity; it all boiled down to one's own material gain and the exploitation of others, and could not continue with a proper state system. From the very first steps, the Hansa acted oppressively, if not on the governments of those states in which it acted, then on their merchants, armorers and sailors. She could hold her position only by force, and precisely by sea force.

The leaders of the Hansa used with great skill both its sea power and other means at its disposal, including money, and were able to benefit from information acquired through their agents about foreign states and about people who had influence in them. . They deftly took advantage of the constant disputes over the succession to the throne and other internal disagreements, as well as numerous wars between individual states, and even themselves tried to initiate and encourage such cases. In general, everything came down to commercial calculation, and they did not show much legibility in the means and did not pursue any more lofty state tasks. Therefore, the entire alliance, apart from a common national feeling, was held together only by the consciousness of common benefits, and as long as these benefits were really common, the alliance represented a great force. With the change of conditions, as the maritime trade grew, and the states, both their own and foreign, began to grow stronger, the interests of individual members of the union began to diverge, with private interests becoming predominant; the members of the alliance most distant from the center fell away or were excluded from it, unanimity in the alliance was broken, and the members who remained loyal to him no longer had sufficient strength to fight against the strengthened foreign states.

In order to prolong its existence, a new, smaller union had to base its activities on free trade and navigation, but for this, the coastal cities needed free communications with the inland country and strong protection.

Except political events, one way or another influenced the collapse of the Hanseatic League, there were also events that depended on no one: in 1530, carried by fleas, and there was no shortage of them, the "black death" - the plague - devastated one German city after another. A quarter of the entire population died from her breath. In the 15th century, the herring catch in the Baltic declined sharply. A large harbor in Bruges was covered with silt, so that the city was cut off from the sea.

And the last thing: with the discovery, exploration and settlement of America, trade routes began to shift westward, to the Atlantic Ocean, where the Hanseatic people never managed to take root. Approximately the opening of sea routes to India led to the same. The last congress of the union took place in 1669, after which the Hanseatic trade union broke up completely.

Conclusion

What do cities like London, Bruges and Novgorod, Lübeck and Bergen, Braunschweig and Riga have in common? All of them, as well as 200 other cities, were part of the Hanseatic Trade Union, the history of which was considered in the work. This alliance enjoyed such enormous economic and political influence as no other German state that existed before 1871 had. military power The Hanseatic League was superior to many of the kingdoms of the time.

The union of German cities that made up the Hansa collapsed after 270 years of brilliant existence, during which it placed kings on thrones and overthrew them, and played a leading role throughout the north of Europe. It collapsed because during this long period the conditions of state life on which this union was based have radically changed.

The German cities, including those that were part of the Hanseatic League, were the only representatives of the idea of the further national development of the German people, and partly carried out this idea. These cities almost alone personified German power and influence in the eyes of foreigners, so that the history of urban unions is, generally speaking, a bright page in German history.

Bibliography

1. World history / Under the editorship of G.B. Polyak, A.N. Markova, M-, 1997

2. History of wars at sea. Shtenzel A. - M.: Izographus, EKSMO-Press. 2002.

3. History of world civilizations / Under the editorship of V.I. Ukolova. -M, 1996

The German trade union, which for many centuries controlled most of the trade transactions with London, Veliky Novgorod, Riga, and also signed trade documents on behalf of the Roman merchant empire with special conditions for each German city - you guessed it, we will talk about the Hanseatic League , whose history is presented in the article.

Brief historical background

There are not many examples in the history of mankind that demonstrate voluntary and mutually beneficial alliances between countries or corporations. But it should be noted that many of them were based on human self-interest and greed. Consequently, such alliances were short-lived. Any violation of agreements or interests has always led to collapse, but the history of the Hanseatic League is not like all the others.

This union is a community of cities that were the most important force in Northern Europe and equal partners of sovereign countries, but it should be noted that the interests of the settlements that were part of the Hansa were too different. And not in all cases, economic cooperation became military or political. The significance of the Hanseatic League cannot be overestimated, since it was this phenomenon in the world economy that laid the foundations for international trade.

How did the trade union come about?

Let us turn to the study of the question of the emergence and flourishing of the trade association. The establishment of the Hanseatic League dates back to 1267. This was a response of European merchants to the fragmentation of European states in the Middle Ages. This political phenomenon was very risky for business. Robbers and pirates operated on the trade routes, and all the goods that could be saved and brought to the trade counters were heavily taxed by the princes, the church and the specific rulers. Everyone wanted to profit at the expense of the merchant. Therefore, flourished statutory robbery. Absurd trading rules allowed fines to be imposed for inappropriate pot depth or fabric color. But it is worth noting that Germany, using maritime trade routes, achieved some success in development at the beginning of the 11th century. The King of Saxony gave the German merchants good advantages in London.

In 1143, the city of Lübeck was founded - the heart of the Hanseatic League in the future. Soon the sovereign gave way to Lübeck, which became an imperial city. His power was recognized by all the provinces of Northern Germany. A little later, the Lübeck merchant union acquired trading privileges in many states.

In 1158, the imperial city quickly flourished, as it entered the Baltic Sea with trade, and then a German trading company was founded on the island of Gotland. Gotland had a good location on the sea. Thus, ships entered its ports so that the teams could rest and put the ship in order.

100 years later, namely in 1241, the trade unions of Lübeck and Hamburg made a deal to protect the trade routes that ran between the Baltic and North Seas. Thus, in 1256, the first trading group of seaside towns was formed.

Cities of the Hanseatic League

In 1267, a single union of cities that were part of the Hansa was formed:

Lübeck;
Hamburg;
Bremen;
Cologne;
Gdansk;
Riga;
Lüneburg;
Wismar;
Rostock and others.

It is known that in the year of the founding of the Hanseatic League, it included up to 70 cities. The members of the union decided that all representative affairs would be conducted by Lübeck, since its senators and burgomasters were considered more capable of managing commercial affairs. In addition, it was this city that took on its balance the cost of protecting ships.

Advantages and disadvantages

The leaders of the Hanseatic League very skillfully used the positive circumstances in order to seize trade in the North and Baltic Seas. They skillfully made a monopoly out of it. Thus, they had the opportunity to set the price of goods at their own discretion, and they also sought to gain influence in countries where there was an interest for them, as well as various privileges. For example, the right to freely organize colonies and trade; the right to acquire houses and yard places with the representation of jurisdiction.

There were cases when experienced, politically talented and prudent leaders of the union skillfully took advantage of the weaknesses and plight of neighboring countries. They indirectly or directly placed the state in a dependent position in order to achieve desired results.

Union expansion. Three main blocks

Despite all the manipulations that the burgomasters and senators hunted, the composition of the Hanseatic League was steadily expanding. Now other cities have become part of it:

Amsterdam;
Berlin;
Hamburg;
Frankfurt;
Bremen;
Cologne;
Hanover;
Koenigsberg;
Danzig;
Memel;
Yuriev;
Narva;
Stockholm;
Volen;
Pomorye and other cities.

The union has grown. The newly annexed cities had to be divided into groups. Now all the cities that were part of the Hansa were conditionally divided into three districts:

Eastern: the lands of Lübeck, Hamburg, Stettin, etc.
Western: territories of Cologne, Dortmund, Groningen.
Baltic provinces.

Expulsion from the Union

Another effective technique to keep trading partners in the union. The thing is that the seaside, as well as various cities scattered from the Gulf of Finland to Germany, were extremely difficult to keep in a single union. After all, the interests of the partners were very different, and only a common interest could serve as a connecting element between them. The only way to keep a partner was exclusion from him. This entailed a ban on other members of the union from having any business with the exiled city, which inevitably led to the termination of various relations with it.

However, there was no such authority in the union that would monitor the implementation of these instructions. Various claims and complaints were brought only during the congresses of the allied cities, which met on a case-by-case basis. Representatives from each city came to these conventions, whose interests desired it. With port cities, the exclusion method was very effective. So, for example, in 1355 the German Bremen declared a desire for isolation. As a result, with huge losses, he left the union, and three years later he expressed a desire to enter it back.

Additional Hanse ideas

The founders of the union reacted flexibly to the challenges of the time. They expanded their influence very quickly and actively. And a few centuries after its foundation, it included almost two hundred cities. The development of the Hansa was facilitated by a single monetary system, equality of native languages, as well as equal rights for residents of the cities of this union.

It is noteworthy that the Hanseatics spread ideas about healthy way life. They actively implemented the business etiquette they represented. They opened clubs where merchants exchanged experience and business ideas, and also distributed various technologies for the production of products and goods. Schools for beginner artisans, which opened on the territory of the Hanseatic League, became popular. It is believed that for Medieval Europe this was an innovation. Many researchers note that the Hansa formed the civilized image of modern Europe, which we are now witnessing.

Trade relations with Russia

This type of relationship began in the 14th century. The Hanseatic League and its connections with Russia benefited everyone. Furs and wax, leather, silk, flax, squirrel skins were exported from Russian lands, and Russian merchants acquired mainly salt and fabrics. Most often they bought linen, satin, cloth and velvet.

Hanseatic offices were located in two Russian cities - in Novgorod and Pskov. Overseas merchants were very interested in wax. The thing is that the Europeans did not know how to produce it in the right amount and quality. And it was also customary for Catholics to sculpt from this material that part of the body that is affected by the disease. Trade in weapons and non-ferrous metals has always been considered a stumbling block in trade relations. It was profitable for the Hanseatic League to sell weapons to Russian lands, and the Livonian Order feared the growth of the power of the Slavs. As a result, he hindered this process. But, as you guessed, the commercial interest most often prevailed over the interests of Levon. For example, a trade deal was witnessed when in 1396 merchants from Revel imported weapons in barrels from fish into Pskov and Novgorod.

Conclusion

Certainly the time had come when the Hanseatic League began to lose its dominance over the cities of Europe. It started in the 16th century. Russia and Spain left the union. The Hansa repeatedly tried to establish relations with these states, but all attempts were unsuccessful, and the war, which lasted for 30 years, ruined the remnants of German power at sea. The collapse of the union is a long process that requires separate consideration.

AT modern history mankind there is a New Hanseatic League called the European Union. The experience of the Hansa remained unclaimed for a long time, and the Baltic region is developing very dynamically today and is valued by the fact that these lands have everything that is necessary for mutually beneficial relations between the European Union and Russia. Experts and economists believe that the New Hanseatic League contributes to the development of Russia's relations with the Baltic countries.

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 on the coast of the northern seas, there were over three thousand shopping centers. 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 of sometimes 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: “In the event that robbers and other evil people, ... 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 as the 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. The Hansa very seriously, zealously guarded their possessions. In almost every city where merchants of the Union traded, and even more so in the 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 way local residents buy whatever you want. 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 linen 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 products of Eastern and Northern Europe were of value only when they were re-exported to the west and south of the continent. AT reverse direction there 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 in 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.

The stability stemmed from a community of interests, 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 mutual 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 fiercely fight with his fellows for influence on sea routes and granting 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: Denmark, England, Netherlands, Poland, Moscow 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, 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. The Hanseatic merchants in this confrontation 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.

She received the next strong blow 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. Fragmented country at first played 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 sunset, it became obvious by the 15th century that the economic lag of north-eastern Europe from the western one. 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 of exchange 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 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 behind Lübeck, Hamburg and Bremen as a reminder of former glory 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 industrial southern regions, which increasingly focused on 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 tilt finally “drowned” it after the neighboring countries began to develop capitalist relations more and more actively and actively protect domestic markets from competitors.

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German Hansa. The Hanseatic League is the standard of equal association. The rise and rise of the Hanseatic League

2.1 Hanseatic League and Pskov

2.2 Hanseatic League and Novgorod

Brief historical background

How did the trade union come about?

Cities of the Hanseatic League

Advantages and disadvantages

Union expansion. Three main blocks

Expulsion from the Union

Additional Hanse ideas

Trade relations with Russia

Conclusion

HANSEA UNION

UNION OF HANSEA MERCHANTS

BEGINNING OF SUNSET

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