Hansa goes Royal
Walter_Kaufmann said:
How can we turn the Hanseatic League (German/Scandinavian/Dutch/English commercial alliance which reached its peak in the 15th Century) into the Hanseatic Empire?
I have puzzled with scenarios like this for years now – in other words - I find this quite interesting. The Hansa for centuries during the Medieval period fought rivals over control of the Baltic Area. Persistent rivals were the Scandinavian Kings, probably with the King of Denmark as the most prominent (Sweden was the junior partner until 17th century, then the Hansa was a very spent ball already). In the end the Kingdom of Denmark survived, and the Hansa not, but that was not always how it looked to end. For a number of times Copenhagen was pillaged and Denmark was in civil war several times.
You could imagine a scenario where the Danish throne succumbs in the struggle with the Hansa and ends a clear vassal of the Hansa – you could call it a “The Hansa buys a Kingdom” scenario (13th /14th century?). This would probably mean the Hansa merchants being granted special rights and with the King being economically and politically dependent on the Hansa (there were tendencies for this already). For the Hansa this could mean a significant difference. Apart from now having the possibility to turn your focus on the other rivals the Hansa is now also given a chance to transform the Hansa power from a rather subtle union of Merchants into true government. The Hansa will have control over the Baltic entrances (taxing traffic of rivals) and the newly bought Royal power can be used to expand and consolidate power over land areas outside the cities. This will be important when the Hansa Empire later will have to fight bigger Kings. In the end the Hansa cities got squeezed in-between areas controlled by Kings, Princes and the like, but now they have a tool with which to snatch those areas first.
Sweden and Norway will invariably end up vassals too, and I guess we will soon see a kind of Hansa controlled Kalmar union. The first serious rival will I guess be the Dutch merchants, who usually followed their own policy distinct from the Baltic Hansa. With the Danish Crown under control I think the Baltic Hansa has the upper hand, and if successful (Dutch ending up vassals of the Baltics?) also in later feuds with other “climbers” like the English and the Russians. If wise the Hansa will play a divide and conquer policy on the British Isles (promoting Scotland vs. the English) and in Russia (“Peter the Great” being just “Peter the Died Young in Court Intrigues”).
Prussia and Germany will never be anything but obscure words from distant history, but I guess it will come to showdowns with the Habsburgs (over Poland and Central Germany) and the French (over Netherlands and Central Germany).
The merchants starting out on top will not necessarily mean this staying so. A “smart above average” King could consolidate Royal power or the oligarchy nature of the Hansa could evolve into something more pluralistic.
If the scenario happens a little later (14th /15th century) when the Hansa was on a downhill movement, it could be a “Hansa seek protection under Crown” scenario. That would probably require the Kalmar Union clearly consolidating in the early 15th century, which would put the Hansa under even harder pressure than OTL. You could imagine them analyzing the situation so, that the only way to keep up business would be to give up formal political independence and seek protection under the wings of the ruler of Kalmar. If doing nothing they will be run over by either the Kalmars or some continental Prince, so why not try and marry "voluntarily" instead of in front of a shotgun - at least it looks better. The Kalmar solution would also give much better opportunities of controlling Baltic trade compared to being divided between a number of continentals (now you're talking honey - my or your place?).
This scenario could also involve “powerholders” shifting over time. The Kings invariably will be very dependent upon the willingness of the cities to let themselves tax, and I guess absolutism is less probable than some kind of constitutional monarchy and/or parliamentary system.
No matter what start scenario we choose I think it will end up looking much the same: A union around the Baltic with the city bourgeoisie playing a dominant political role. The centre will be around N. Germany and the Baltic entrances and the dominant language probably Platdeutsch (a now almost extinct Germanic language sounding like a mix of German, Danish and Dutch).
The Union will have a unique infrastructure provided by the Baltic Sea, giving communication unrivalled in efficiency until railway. Armies of continental rivals might advance, but are soon stopped by the Baltic Sea, and will anytime risk being outflanked by an army transported from central Scandinavia and landed anywhere on the South Baltic coast. The Union’s armed forces will probably be centred on a strong navy and land forces where mobility is given priority over numbers (it might be a small army but it's a huge marine corps). The South Baltic coast and Baltic entrances will have a number of strong fortresses functioning as reinforcement, retreat and logistical points for South Baltic and continental operations. As a general rule it will until railway be more difficult to supply an army operating in N. Europe from the continent than across the Baltic.
In short I think the main precondition is the Hansa seeing some kind of motivation to transform itself from a rather loose commercial union into true government, but that this can happen from both a up and down starting position of the Hansa, and end up much the same.
Regards
Steffen Redbeard