Danish Wars with the Hanseatic League
The Danish Wars with the Hanseatic League were a series of conflicts that emerged in the late 14th century, primarily fueled by the tensions between the expanding power of the Hanseatic League and the Danish monarchy under King Valdemar IV Atterdag. The Hanseatic League, a confederation of north German trading cities established in the late 13th century, held significant influence over trade in the Baltic region. When Valdemar IV ascended the throne in 1340, he sought to regain territories and diminish Hanseatic control, culminating in his seizure of the city of Visby in 1361.
In response to Danish aggression, the Hanseatic League, which had relied on trade rather than military might, formed alliances with Sweden and other regions to counter Valdemar's advances. This culminated in a series of military campaigns that saw the League and its allies decisively defeating the Danish forces. The conflict concluded with the Treaty of Straslund in 1370, which marked a significant shift in power, with the Hanseatic League reaching its peak. However, this victory also led to the League's eventual decline as the interests of its member cities began to diverge. The war highlighted the transition from feudal monarchies to the influence of emerging mercantile classes in Western Europe, setting the stage for significant political and economic changes in the region.
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Danish Wars with the Hanseatic League
At issue: Trade supremacy in the Baltic Sea region
Date: 1361–1370
Location: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the German Baltic coast
Combatants: Danes vs. the forces of the Hanseatic League, Sweden, Mecklenburg, Holstein, and other smaller allies
Principal commander: Danish, Valdemar IV Atterdag (c.1320–1375)
Principal battles: Visby (1361), Halsingborg (1362, 1369)
Result: The Hanseatic League maintained its trade rights and supremacy in the Baltic region
Background
The rise of mercantile trade leagues in the late Middle Ages led to conflicts with monarchs of the old feudal order. The Hanseatic League or Hansa (from old German guild) was a trade confederation of north German cities and provinces formed in 1280. Its network of trade points stretched from Holland in the west to Russian Novgorad in the east, with outposts going even further. By the middle of the thirteenth century, it had a near monopoly of trade in the Baltic region. Its function, however, was economic, not political or military, and it was vulnerable to military intimidation.
When Danish king Valdemar IV Atterdag ascended the throne in 1340, the monarchy was deeply in debt. His predecessor, Christopher II (d. 1332), had tried to maintain Danish power by building fortifications and maintaining a large army, which was paid for with both money and land. Denmark’s creditors were mainly German cities and princes of the Hansa, a cause for tension. In the first twenty years of his reign, Valdemar revitalized the power of the Danish monarchy, regaining lost cities and territory through diplomacy or conquest.
Action
In 1361, Valdemar IV stood at the pinnacle of his power when he moved to curtail Hanseatic power directly. He seized and sacked the Hansa city of Visby on the island of Gotland, off the southeast coast of Sweden. Although Visby (1361) was a minor city, the island of Gotland could become a base for pirates and other enemies to prey on the shipping routes to the east. Its occupation by hostile forces was intolerable to the Hansa, which prepared for war. Valdemar attempted to divide Hansa unity by giving certain cities special privileges, circumventing Hansa control. As a result, the Hansa’s traditional tactic of a trade embargo was a failure. In desperation, the league launched an expedition in 1362 to capture the fortress of Halsingborg, which controlled the Oresund strait between Denmark and Sweden. The league commander divided his force of three thousand troops and twenty-five small craft in order to execute two tasks simultaneously, and Valdemar took advantage of this, capturing twelve vessels. A truce allowed Hansa forces to withdraw. This reverse, however, was followed by a league-sponsored coup in Sweden, which brought Albrecht of Mecklenburg to the Swedish throne. Sweden, along with Mecklenburg and Holstein, now joined the coalition against Valdemar, who was forced to make peace in 1364, at the Treaty of Wordinborg.
Valdemar’s arrogance did not end, however. He continued to abuse not only Hansa merchants but also those of his Prussian-Livonian and Zuider Zee allies—subjecting them to arbitrary property seizures and violence. This treatment eventually brought them to join with the Hansa in a final campaign to end Valdemar’s depredations. In 1368, the league formed a binding political and military alliance, the Confederation of Cologne, for the duration of hostilities. Heretofore, such a strong alliance had been seen as a threat to each member’s independence. In concerted attacks on land and sea, the Hansa and its allies methodically crushed Valdemar with overwhelming force, capturing Danish territory. Copenhagen itself was captured and razed, and the vital fortress at Halsingborg was taken in 1369. Valdemar was forced to sue for terms, and the Treaty of Straslund ended the war in 1370.
Aftermath
The Hansa reached its zenith as the supreme power in the Baltic. It soon began a long decline, however, as the interests of each of the cities and regions began to diverge. Denmark would again rise to prominence, unified with Norway under Christina I. However, the war was indicative of an irreversible process in Western Europe. The financial power of the emerging mercantile class had thwarted the arbitrary power of a traditional feudal monarch, a harbinger of the demise of medievalism.
Bibliography
Keen, Maurice, ed. Medieval Warfare: A History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Schildhauer, Johannes. The Hansa: History and Culture. Leipzig: Druckerei Fortschritt Erfurt, 1985.
Strayer, Joseph R., ed. Dictionary of the Middle Ages. New York.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1984, 1985.