MEDIEVAL - GERMAN HANSEATIC MERCHANTS

Question 1

REASONS FOR GERMAN HANSEATIC MIGRATION

Answer 1

Merchants were attracted because of the growth of towns and trade
Alliances of Merchants - Hansa merchants formed the Hanseatic League
Trade around the North and Baltic seas made England a key European trading centre
Edward I / Protection - 1303 gave the League the right to trade as merchants providing protection

Question 2

GERMAN HANSEATIC EXPERIENCE

Answer 2

Hanseatic merchants gained the right to trade furs, honey & timber from 1303
Optimal Tax Rates - lower tax rates compared to other merchants, but after 1440, first-gen migrants had to pay extra
Notable control - by the 15th century they controlled most of the English cloth export trade
Outpost on the River Thames - the Steelyard was a self-contained community - cerca 400 people lived there
Uprising - Steelyard was partially burned down after the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt when people attacked the alien merchants
Rights - Denization (from 1378, Denization was introduced, so wealthy merchants got similar rights as the English after swearing an oath)

Question 3

NEGATIVE GERMAN HANSEATIC EXPERIENCE

Answer 3

Uprising - Steelyard was partially burned down after the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt when people attacked the alien merchants

Question 4

GERMAN HANSEATIC IMPACTS

Answer 4

Trade with cities around the North and Baltic Seas increased, bringing money to the Crown through tax on imports and exports.
London’s steelyard enabled England to become a key European trading centre, with woollen cloth a major commodity.