The Hanseatic League in the Early Modern Period 113
“monstrous creature,” many of its teeth were missing and the rest were loose.25
However, when we look at the memorandums that were delivered in the
Latin language by the Hanseatic cities and the English envoys to the Imperial
Diet, they appear similar in character. What differentiated the English, and
the Hanseatic League, had more to do with the fact that the “Merchant
Adventurers” could mobilize the England’s public opinion and had backing
from the English Queen through financial support while it was possible for the
Hanseatic cities to mobilize only a part of the public at most.
The Strengthening of the Baltic Powers: Denmark and Sweden
Changes in the Baltic Region, especially the strengthening of Denmark and
Sweden, also placed new challenges before the Hanseatic cities.26 This politi-
cal change partially collapsed with the spread of Lutheran teachings into the
Baltic region and Scandinavia.27 All Reformation movements in the Hanseatic
cities had as much a religious-ecclesiastical purpose as a political-social con-
cern. Above all, citizen committees were set up as monitoring bodies of the
councils. In the course of the Reformation, new people came to power over
these committees, such as Jurgen Wullenwever, who as spokesman for Lübeck’s
sixty-fourth committee put the Reformation into effect in Lübeck. In 1531,
the Catholic mayor (Bürgermeister) fled and by 1533, Wullenwever advanced
to become first a councilman and then the mayor. In this capacity, he inter-
vened in the battles of power politics in the Baltic region. Indeed, Lübeck had
brought the Swedish king, Gustav Wasa, and the Danish king, Frederick i, to
the throne in 1522/23. Thereafter, both had pursued their own policy and no
longer supported the Hanseatic monopoly against Dutch trade.
25 “A Monstruous creature, but most of their teeth are out and the rest are loose”. John
Wheller, A Treatise of Commerce, wherin are shewed the commodities arising from a wellor-
dered, and ruled trade, such as that of the Societies of Merchantes Adventurers is proved to
bee, written principallie for the better information of those who doubt of the Necessarienes of
the said Societie in the State of the Realme of Englande (Middelburgh, 1601), 162, Quotation
according to Jörn, “Crocodile creature,” 83.
26 For an overview see: Michael North, Geschichte der Ostsee: Handel und Kulturen (Munich,
2011), 103–114.
27 See also Rainer Postel, “Der Niedergang der Hanse,” in Jörgen Bracker, Volker Henn and
Rainer Postel, eds., Die Hanse: Lebenswirklichkeit und Mythos (Lübeck, 1998), 165–193, here
177–180.