The Role of Trading Sanctions in the Creation of the Hanseatic League in the Second Half of the Fourteenth Century

M. B. Bessudnova
Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University
Grand St. Petersburg st. 41, Velikii Novgorod, 173003, Russia
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For several hundred years, the Hanseatic League, a trade and political association of (mainly northern) Germanic cities, played a significant role in the economic and political life of the Baltic region. Protecting its interests, the Hanseatic League was not afraid to enter into conflict with its neighbors. To this end, the League used various methods, including trade blockades and sanctions that the Hanseatic assembly (Hanzetag) imposed on competitors and opponents. In this article, the author considers one of the first and most important cases of the Hanseatic League’s trade war against Danish King Waldemar IV Atterdag. This example offers a window into the League’s methods for establishing trade blockades and imposing sanctions. In addition, the author demonstrates how this policy contributed to the cohesion of the Hanseatic League.

Keywords: The Hanseatic League, fourteenth century, trading sanctions, Denmark, Valdemar Atterdag, the Cologne confederation

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