Baltic maritime trade (c. 1400–1800)

Baltic maritime trade began in the late Middle Ages and would continue to develop into the early modern era. During this time, ships carrying goods from the Baltic and North Sea passed along the Øresund, or the Sound, connecting areas like the Gulf of Finland to the Skagerrak. Over a period of 400 years, maritime powers in the east and west struggled to control these markets and the trade routes between them. The Baltic system can be explained beginning with the German Hanseatic era and ending with the Great Nordic Wars.

In the second half of the 14th century, the Hanseatic League dominated the trading organization in the Baltic. The Hanse originated in northern Germany and Westphalia and held many associations with merchants from these areas. In its prime, the Hanseatic League consisted of around 200 cities and towns and stretched from Reval in the east to Kampen in the west. The long-lasting success of the Hanseatic trading system can be attributed to Northern Europe’s many rivers and roads that connected German markets and cities to the ports in the Baltic Sea.

The city of Lübeck served as the starting point of the Hanseatic trading system. Merchant families from this area began to settle along the Wendish and Pomeranian coast. Merchants from Lübeck and the Wendish coastal towns specialized in the trading of high-quality western goods, like cloth, spices, and wines, for minerals and products from the north and east. These included:

Lübeck maintained its position as the central trading port in the Hanseatic League through its location in the Kontors. The four main Kontors were Novgorod, London, Bergen, and Bruges. Between these ports, rich merchant families kept in close contact with foreign powers and promoted the interests of the League. The relationship between the Kontors and main Hanse merchant settlements allowed for the establishment of a monopoly of goods. These included wax and furs from Novgorod, cod from Bergen, and high-quality wool and cloth from London and Bruges.

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