A medieval association of merchants or craftsmen, especially referring to the Hanseatic League, a powerful trading confederation in Northern Europe.
From Middle High German 'hanse,' meaning 'company' or 'association,' possibly from Old Saxon or Old Norse roots. The term became famous through the Hanseatic League (Hanse), which dominated Baltic and North Sea trade from the 13th to 17th centuries.
The Hanseatic League was like the Amazon.com of medieval Europe—a network of merchant cities that controlled trade routes so completely that they could literally go to war with kings who didn't respect their trading rights!
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