Group 3 Bergen, Presentation on Hanse cities(Thomas, Tabitha, Ryan, Nate, Jaffar)

Founding

• Founded in 12th Century AD
• Trade was the backbone of Hanseatic League
• most common item of trade was Salt, crucial for many cities who had huge fish industries

Trust and Truth

• Contracts were done by handshake and word of mouth.
• Written contracts were not as necessary because there was general trust shared by league members
• If problems arose the league would meet with city representatives to resolve the issues at hand.

Historical Markers

• The start of the Hansa was traced back to the rebuilding of northern German town, Lubeck in 1159 by Henry Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria.
• 1265- All German towns, with the Law of Lubeck, had agreed on common legislation for the defense of merchants and their goods.
• 1270- Lubeck-Hamburg association aquired trading privileges in Flanders and England United.
• 1280- The confederation of German Merchants trading in the west, was closely closely joined to the association trading in the Baltic. 
• By the early 13th century Germans had a strong build on long distant trade in the Baltic.

Cities

• Each city governed itself like a independent city, each had its own legal system, standing army, treasury, court and seal
• However it was not a city-state nor a group of city-states. Only very few cities in the Hanseatic League enjoyed independence that could compare to an imperial city
• Socially every city has many similarities; what they traded, who they traded with, their cities, and their social standings. The few differences are mainly to do with cultural influences. Mainly language. 
• The main language spoken throughout the Hanseatic cities was German, however languages such as estonian and Latvian were popular as well.    

Trade Routes

• Bergen was not only the capital of Norway, but also the center of trade for Western Norway.
• Bryggens was the harbor in Bergen used for trade.  
• The ships they used for transport, carried cod from Norway to the European countries.
• Catholics used the fish for when they fasted.

Describe the ships, cities and social make up of Hanse Cities.

Ships

• Usually 20-30m long by 5-8 m wide with a crew of only 5-10 men
• built similar to Viking ships, however were only merchant ships
• Flat bottoms which were fitted for sailing in the shallow seas, mainly sailed along the coast and unable to sail against the wind
• Ships shipped every sort of good, but main exports and imports were salt, herring, grains, timber, and amber