216 HANSEATI 
cafes unanimity was necefi'ary,we have no documents to 
afcertain. At the, clofe of the feffion,»the. enactments 
were drawn up in one general ftatute, a tranfcript of 
which was communicated to each deputy,, fealed with 
the feal of the city of Lubeck. If was forbidden to Ihow 
thefe ftatutes to ftrangers. During the interval of the 
fe(lions of congrefs, the direction of the general affairs 
of the league, internal and foreign-correfpondence, and 
other urgent matters, were entrufted to a permanent 
committee of the deputies of Lubeck, united with I he 
deputies of five of the neighbouring cities. In courfe 
of time, this committee attained to a very predominant 
influence in the deliberations of the general aflemblies; 
and the city, in which it fat, was confidered as the ca¬ 
pital of the confederacy. 
This important confederation was divided into three 
circles ; the firft embraced the cities fituated on the 
fouthern and eaftern fliores of the Baltic, the fecond 
tho-fe of Weftphalia, and the third thofe of Saxony. In 
each circle, one city exercifed the fame fort of fupre- 
. macy with that which Lubeck claimed over the whole 
extent of the league. The punifhments inflicted by. 
thefe afTemblies never rofe higher than to a privation of 
the rights and franchifes of the affociation, an interdic¬ 
tion of all commerce with its members, the fequeftration 
of its goods, and an exclufion from its factories and efta- 
blifliments. A city thus treated, could not be reftored 
to its former fituation but with great difficulty : pow¬ 
erful recommendations, aCts of fubmiffion, proofs of pe¬ 
nitence, pilgrimages, and maffes, were necefTary in order 
to obtain this favour ; and fines were alfo impofed. The 
number of cities which formed effective members of the 
league at the time of its higheft profperity, it is conjec¬ 
tured, amounted to feventy-two : but if we include the 
dependant cities which contributed to its expenditure, 
and which were protected by it, the number was confi- 
derably greater. When we refleCt on the difeordant in- 
tereffs of many of thefe confederated cities, and the jea- 
loufies inherent in trade, it is matter of aftonifhment 
that this league continued to flourifh fo long, and per¬ 
formed fo many great achievements: but the dangers 
which befet it, and the anarchy which prevailed in the 
furrounding countries, account for the phenomenon. It 
produced valiant warriors, able feamen, and (kilful ftatef- 
men, who conducted its affairs with fuperior energy. 
The love of gain was purified by that love of liberty, 
that fentiment of happinefs and glory, and by that pa- 
triotiffn, to which all things are poffible; and which 
compenfates for every other want in free commonwealths, 
more particularly during the periods in which they are 
advancing from imbecility to power. 
With the emperor of Germany, the league is faid to 
have uniformly coquetted ; while it never refpeCted his 
authority when it interfered with its views and interefts, 
nor ever confulted him in regard to any of its meafures. 
On the other hand, the emperor, unable to controul, 
was conftrained to wink at, its proceedings. It is true that 
the famous golden bull pro«fcribed all leagues and con¬ 
federacies, as contrary to the rights of the fupreme 
head, and to the fubordination that was due to him: 
but this was an empty fulmination; and Charles IV. 
the author of this famous ediCt, deemed it more politic 
to attempt by intrigue and addrefs to get himfelf ap- 
ointed head of the league, than to endeavour to carry 
is vain anathema into effeCf; See the article Germany, 
vol. viii. p. 485. The leaders of the- confederacy, how¬ 
ever, had the addrefs to penetrate his defigns, and ef¬ 
fectually eluded them. 
The profperity of the league after the zenith of its 
glory, came to be difturbed by the tranfaCtions which 
prevailed in particular cities that were members of it. 
In proportion, (fays M. Mallet,) as the Hanfeatic cities 
became opulent, that equilibrium, which had been fo 
long preferved, began to difappear. Interefts multi¬ 
plied, and grew more complicated; it became necelfary 
C LEAGUE. 
to place in the councils men of more fubtilty, and more- 
impofing in their exterior.. The credit of thefe dextrous 
individuals increafed, and they intrigued in order to 
confine the magi (trades among their relatives and friends. 
At length thefe places were entirely at their difpofal; 
and thus, in this as in other refpeCts,' they left to the 
commonalty no more than a (hadow of their former 
rights. The ariftocracy obtained the afcendency in al- 
moft all the cities, and- in fome the power was lodged 
in an oligarchy. At the fame time, thefe cities were 
full of faCtions and diflenfions, which principally broke 
out among the companies of artifans: in which clafs, 
by the force of natural eloquence, men were able to in¬ 
flame the paflions of the people to the higheft pitch, 
and to direCt their vengeance againft their rulers. Many 
fenators and burgomafters paid the forfeit of their goods, 
and even of their lives, becaufe they had either juftly 
or unjuftly incurred the hatred of their fellow-citizens. 
This (late of things applies very generally to the-cities 
during part of the fifteenth and fixtee.nth centuries. 
The afcendency which the league obtained, in confe- 
quence of the.triumph of its arms over Waldemar III. 
as noticed above, rendered it fufficiently bold to en¬ 
gage in warfare with the celebrated Semiramis of the 
North, the renowned Margaret queen of Denmark, Nor¬ 
way, and Sweden ; and they employed againft her the 
pirates known under the name of Vitalians : but a fenfe 
of common intereft induced both thefe parties to make 
peace, and the league ceafed to oppofe Margaret, while 
ftie confirmed them in their ancient rights. The league 
dreaded the effeCts of the celebrated union of Calmar: 
but the moderation of the heroine, and the weaknefs of 
her fucceflors, prevented their apprehenfions from being 
realized in their utmoft extent. See the article Den¬ 
mark, vol. v. p. 722. With Eric, the fucceflor of Mar¬ 
garet, they carried on a fierce war; and the cities fup- 
ported the brave counts of Holftein, who were the bar¬ 
riers to the South againft the Scandinavian power. In 
this conteft, however, the league appeared to little ad¬ 
vantage, for difunion paralyzed all its efforts. The in¬ 
land cities declined to make a common caufe with the 
maritime; while thofe of the low countries deferted the 
confederacy, united with its grand enemy, Eric, and en¬ 
deavoured to fecure to themfelves exclufiveiy the mo¬ 
nopoly which the league in general before enjoyed. From 
an early period in the fifteenth century, we may date the 
fchifm in the Hanfeatic aflociation, which the feceffion 
of the towns of the low countries occafioned, and which 
very materially reduced its confideration and influence. 
In thofe feceding towns, it found aftive, indefatigable, 
and fuccefsful, rivals. At the end of a bloody war of 
twenty-fix years, diftinguiffied by great exploits both by 
fea and land, fertile in ravages and calamities, the par¬ 
ties, feverally wearied out by the conteft, agreed to a 
peace on the bafts of the Jlatus quo. Eric retired from 
the cares of government; and fought the calm of private 
life in the ifle of Gothland. His abdication was followed 
by a confufion fimilar to that which we have witnefted 
in our own time, and which ferved to ffiew that, in a 
certain ftate of fociety, tyranny is a bleffing when com¬ 
pared with anarchy. 
In Chriftopher duke of Bavaria, on whom the abdi¬ 
cated crown was conferred, the league had a decided 
enemy; but he died before he had been able materially 
to prejudice its caufe. Under Chriftopher of Olden.- 
burgh, and his fon John, it had the fatisfa&ion of feeing 
its enemy diftrafted by infurreftions in his dominions. 
This ftate of things prevented open rupture, but by no 
means removed fhe inveterate jealoufy with which the 
aftociation was regarded by the northern monarchs; nor 
did it prevent them from covertly exerting their influ¬ 
ence to harafs its navigation and commerce, and to fa¬ 
vour thofe of their rivals in trade, the Englifli and 
Dutch. During the attempts of Chriftian II. furnamed 
die Bad , to fubjugate the Swedes, the latter derived 
j the 
