Come along every Friday...

...as we follow the history of the Hanse from 1161 to 1669

00:00:00/01:23:08

Episode 16

 
Published on:

13th Oct, 2023

Episode 17

 
Published on:

20th Oct, 2023

Episode 18

 
Published on:

27th Oct, 2023

Episode 19

 
Published on:

3rd Nov, 2023

Episode 20

 
Published on:

27th Nov, 2023

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Show artwork for The Hanseatic League

About the Podcast

The Hanseatic League
A Trading Network that fought Wars and built Cities
Though the Hanseatic League ended formally in 1669, this medieval associations of merchants still casts a spell. Many cities along the Baltic and North Sea -Lubeck, Hamburg, Bremen, Rostock, Wismar, Riga, Tallin, bergen to name a few are proud to call themselves Hanseatic. But what was it about this organisation (if it even was one) that had no permanent institutions, not even a register of members and started out at the far fringes of the global trading system that feels still so relevant. This podcast series tries to get to the bottom of this.
This podcast is part of the broader History of the Germans podcast that aims to track the history of the German people from the Early Middle Ages to Reunification in 1991. If you enjoy this show, check out any of the other seasons or follow the main show.
So far I have the following seasons:
The Ottonians (919 AD-1024 AD)
Salian Emperors and Investiture Controversy (1024 AD-1125 AD)
Fredrick Barbarossa and Early Hohenstaufen (1125-1190)
Frederick II Stupor Mundi (1190-1268)
Saxony and Eastward Expansion
The Hanseatic League
The Teutonic Knights
The Holy Roman Empire (1250 AD -1356 AD)
The Reformation before the Reformation (1356AD -1439 AD)
The Empire in the 15th Century
The Fall and Rise of the Habsburgs (1439AD -1519 AD)
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About your host

Profile picture for Dirk Hoffmann-Becking

Dirk Hoffmann-Becking

I am a history geek with no academic qualification in the field but a love for books and stories. I do this for fun and my personal self-aggrandisement.

I have been born, raised and educated in Germany but live in the UK for now over 20 years with my wife and two children. My professional background is in law, management consulting and banking. History has always been a hobby as are sailing, travelling, art, skiing and exercise (go BMF!).

My view of history is best summarised by Gregory of Tours (539-594): “A great many things keep happening, some good, some bad”. History has no beginning and no end and more importantly, it has no logic, no pattern and no purpose . But that does not mean there isn't progress and sometimes we humans realise that doing the same thing again and again hoping for a different outcome is indeed madness. The great moments in history are those where we realise that we cannot go on as we were and things need to change. German history - as you will hopefully see - is full of these turning points, some good, some bad!