Could the Hanseatic League have developed into a state?

And if so, how? This is an interesting scenario. If such a state had been able to survive until the age of nationalism, it is likely that the Low German language would have more prestige. This might mean the development of a separate North German nationality, possibly including OTL Netherlands and Flanders.

Any thoughts?
 
And if so, how? This is an interesting scenario. If such a state had been able to survive until the age of nationalism, it is likely that the Low German language would have more prestige. This might mean the development of a separate North German nationality, possibly including OTL Netherlands and Flanders.

Any thoughts?

This is pretty much half of my EU4 games.
 
And if so, how? This is an interesting scenario. If such a state had been able to survive until the age of nationalism, it is likely that the Low German language would have more prestige. This might mean the development of a separate North German nationality, possibly including OTL Netherlands and Flanders.

Any thoughts?

Maybe a confederation ?
 
And if so, how? This is an interesting scenario. If such a state had been able to survive until the age of nationalism, it is likely that the Low German language would have more prestige. This might mean the development of a separate North German nationality, possibly including OTL Netherlands and Flanders.

Any thoughts?

Okay : Lübeck, Hamburg,Wismar,Bremen etc. Maybe despite cometition they form a stronger tie in order to better repell the prince-bishop´s claim to rule the free city states.
Maybe they also havea comon army, the Hanseatic Legion (It was Hamburg´s army name until the 19th century, but would fit for all of them ).
 
One problem is that there isn't much in English on the history of the League.

I think it's possible, but I wonder if the league would do better as an arm of some North German political entity? It would be a lot easier for a Hanoverian state to use the League to augment its forces than for the League to crush the princes and establish a territory.
 
One problem is that there isn't much in English on the history of the League.

I think it's possible, but I wonder if the league would do better as an arm of some North German political entity? It would be a lot easier for a Hanoverian state to use the League to augment its forces than for the League to crush the princes and establish a territory.

Maybe one could see the development of a constitutional monarchy, where the monarch allied with the bourgeois?
 
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