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Hanseatic League

American  

noun

  1. a medieval league of towns of northern Germany and adjacent countries for the promotion and protection of commerce.


Hanseatic League British  

noun

  1. Also called: Hansa.   Hanse.  a commercial association of towns in N Germany formed in the mid-14th century to protect and control trade. It was at its most powerful in the 15th century

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

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In the 13th Century, the port was one of the most important in England and traded wool, cloth and salt with the Hanseatic League of central and northern Europe.

From BBC Sep. 20, 2021

Starting in the twelfth century, the German city of Lubeck became the capital of the Hanseatic League, a group of cities engaged in trade that came together to regulate exchange and maintain monopolies on goods.

From Textbooks Jan. 1, 2020

It’s not Google, Apple or Amazon; it’s more like Germany’s medieval Hanseatic League, a group of separate entities joined to protect and promote their individual interests.

From Los Angeles Times Feb. 21, 2019

The Anglo-Hanseatic War ended with the Treaty of Utrecht in 1474, which gave the Hanseatic League access to many British ports and ownership of the London Steelyard until it sold the property in 1853.

From Slate Apr. 11, 2018

The greatest of these was the Hanseatic League, which came to comprise one hundred and seventy-two cities, and the history of whose operations runs through more than three centuries.

From A Source Book of Medi?val History Documents Illustrative of European Life and Institutions from the German Invasions to the Renaissance by Frederic Austin Ogg

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