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Hansa

Hansa

9.9
A medieval group of towns and merchants from northern Europe that traded together
  • proper noun
translation icon : Liga Hanseática
  • The Hansa was a powerful trade alliance that greatly influenced commerce in northern Europe during the medieval period.

Examples

  • The Hansa seems to have been rather successful for 350 to 400 years without maintaining a military of its own, like a national military.

    Blog text (23)

  • Last, I think the experience of the Hansa in Germany shows a different history of reliance on private contract military services.

    Blog text (23)

  • Many towns joined the Hansa to benefit from collective trading rights and protections.

  • The merchants of the Hansa worked together to establish trade routes across the Baltic Sea.

Synonyms

Hanseatic League
vsHansa
9.9

A group of northern European trading cities that worked together for trade and protection in the Middle Ages

focuses on merchant guilds and towns promoting trade and economic cooperation rather than defense

Surface Forms

Hansa main

Etymology

Hansa comes from an old German word hansa meaning 'band' or 'group' of traders, and long ago it became the name for a league of towns and merchants who worked together to trade and protect their ships and goods. That's why the word means a merchant association and trade network.