If I put the word Hanseatic into Google Search I get as result number 4 “Hanseatic King’s Lynn -Visit West Norfolk”. I can say with absolute confidence that there is not a single German individual, place or organisation that a small town in England would choose to not just associate with but incorporate itself into its history, safe for the Hanseatic League. it happens in many other places, Bergen is proud of its Hanseatic past as is Visby in Gotland or the Dutch former members of the League. You can even see it in the German number plates. The largest cities get to proudly display just one single letter – for instance K for Cologne, B for Berlin and F for Frankfurt. However for Hamburg, it is HH, standing for Hansestadt Hamburg. Other Hanseatic cities like Bremen, Lübeck, Wismar, Rostock, Greifswald and Stralsund also proudly carry an additional H on their numberplate, a subtle reminder to everyone that their hometowns are different and dare one say, superior to other cities.How can an organization that had hardly any permanent institutions traded rather pedestrian commodities like grain, Herring, furs and beeswax and ceased to exist in 1669 still stir so many peoples’ hearts with pride?
>>17270385It literally established the modern form of seatrade a couple hundred years before the colonial period.The Brits, french, dutch and iberians tried to pull off what the Hanseatics had created but on the world oceans.One might even say that the Dutch continued the hanseatic league on their own.
>>17270479They didn’t even trade in exotic goods like silks and spices from the far east. They just traded wheat and other ordinary goods. It’s like Americans being extremely proud of Amazon because it can efficiently ship funko pops and roombas.
>>17270385>How can an organization that had hardly any permanent institutionsThe large hanseatic cities kept their senates even until the modern day and they were amongst the first cities within the HRE/Germany to have written constitutions. And as the Hanse was never officially dissolved, it just fizzled out and especially the larger members like Hamburg and Lübeck were able to keep their hanseatic institutions - like the Hamburg Stock Exchange, which was founded in 1558 and is active to this very day. And due to their status of Free Cities within the HRE, the major hanseatic members were able to keep their independance well into the 19th century - loosing elements of their sovereignty only with the establishment of the North German Confederation in 1867 and the German Empire in 1871. And even then the large members kept their hanseatic identity and some of their institutions. Also interesting that you mention Cologne but fail to name it as a hanseatic city - which it was; it even was present at the last Hanseatic Diet in 1669.>>17270625And? The trade with common goods was a vital part of many european economies - norwegian stockfish was an important (and non-perishable) protein for the maritime travel and an essential foodstuff for observiant christians during lent.>AmazonI think that Bezos and the major shareholders don't really give a crap what their company ships and sells around the world.
>>17271087>Also interesting that you mention Cologne but fail to name it as a hanseatic city - which it was; it even was present at the last Hanseatic Diet in 1669.They must not be that enthusiastic or proud of their hanseatic past since they only have a K on their license plate. That is why I mentioned Köln. >And?They weren’t like the Genoan or Venetian trade system that brought unique and exotic goods to Europe. You said it yourself the trade goods the Hanse traded in were traded by every European economy. It is an odd thing to be proud of such an innocuous thing.
>>17271728>They must not be that enthusiastic or proud of their hanseatic past They are. It is one of the talking points during most guided city tours, it's part of the official city museum, the hanseatic colors of white and red are featured on the coat of arms and merchandise about the city. They are even part of the modern day "Städtebund DIE HANSE" (founded in 1980; has the goal of continuing the interregional & international cooperation of the former hanseatic cities + city marketing & toursim). It is just so that the heritage of the Electorate of Cologne, of being a Free Imperial City and being the seat of Archdiocese of Cologne (not always; that's a topic for another time) are just as present in the modern zeitgeist or even stronger.>since they only have a K on their license plate. That's not a matter of the federal states or individual cities therein but of the federal government. In 1906 the first license plates were established and only the three Free Imperial Cities of Hamburg, Bremen and Lübeck were granted to carry the additional "H" on their license plate. After 1991 Greifswald, Rostock, Stralsund and Wismar got this privilege as well. I would speculate that by that point in time the identity of Köln has emancipated itself from the Hanse - or that being a former hanseatic city is not their only selling point. And thus they never bothered for the additional "H". >It is an odd thing to be proud of such an innocuous thing.Trading in medieval/early modern europe was seldomly a matter of the state and mainly a private one. A league of different cities united with a common goal and being the nucleus for many republican institutions is something to be proud of.
Hanseatic bump
>>17270385Bump
