SocietyEurope
The Hanseatic League
A trading league of cities, with no king and no territory
See it on the timeline →In depth
The league dealt in dried fish, grain, salt, wax and timber, and held a near-monopoly grip on northern European trade for two centuries. Bryggen in Bergen was one of its four principal offices. The Hansa showed that economic power could be organised across realms — an early parallel to modern trading blocs.
For children
Cities around the North Sea and the Baltic joined together to protect their trade. The Hansa had its own trading posts in Bergen, London and Novgorod, and could even wage war — without being a state.
Connects to
Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org