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IMC 2006: Sessions

Session 1213: A Passion for Trade: Hanseatic Merchants Handling their Goods in the Late Middle Ages, II

Wednesday 12 July 2006, 14.15-15.45

Sponsor:Hanse Research Centre, Instituut voor Geschiedenis, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
Organiser:Justyna Wubs-Mrozewicz, Instituut voor Geschiedenis, Universiteit Leiden
Moderator/Chair:Hanno Brand, Hanse Research Centre, Instituut voor Geschiedenis, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
Paper 1213-aThe Wax Trade of Lübeck Merchants: Evidence from Documented Shipwrecks in the Baltic Region
(Language: English)
Edda Frankot, Erasmus School of History, Culture & Communication, Universiteit Rotterdam
Index terms: Archives and Sources, Economics - Trade, Maritime and Naval Studies
Paper 1213-bA Passion for Trade: Hanseatic Merchants on the Economic Periphery?
(Language: English)
Carsten Jahnke, Saxo Instituttet, Københavns Universitet
Index terms: Economics - Trade, Genealogy and Prosopography
Paper 1213-cLuxury or Bulk?: Patterns of the Hanseatic Rhine Wine Trade, 1360-1560
(Language: English)
Job Weststrate, Instituut voor Geschiedenis, Universiteit Leiden
Index terms: Daily Life, Economics - Trade
Abstract

The Hanseatic League was the main mercantile power in northern Europe in the Late Middle Ages. The northern German and Dutch towns belonging to it were the pivots in the intricate trade networks, extending from the eastern Baltic to Iceland, and from Scandinavia to Portugal. The power position was based on skilful trade politics and efficient organization. Hanseatic merchants strove for optimal trade conditions, best prices, secure transport and did not hesitate to fight competition. These pursuits revolved around the exchange of a wide range of bulk and luxury goods. The speakers in the sessions will discuss the frameworks for the trade of goods (grain, wine, textile, salt, flax and wax) and for the diplomatic and mercantile relations of Hanseatic merchants.