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Article: The Hanseatic League and freedom of trade.(Report)
- Article from:
- Journal of Private Enterprise
- Article date:
- September 22, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Association of Private Enterprise Education. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The Hanseatic League was an unusual entity. It was embedded in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation (founded in 800 AD and ended in 1806 AD). But, there were many kings, princes, dukes, barons, bishops, abbots, and free cities under the cloak of the Holy Roman Empire. In fact, free cities were a very important part of the Holy Roman Empire. The free cities held charters of self-government from the Emperor, after payment of a fee.
The German Hansa began as associations of north German merchants, and in the mid-fourteenth century developed into a unique entity, an association of cities. Merchant senates ruled the free cities. The Hansa comprised almost 200 ...