The Dutch–Hanseatic War was a conflict between the

County of Holland The County of Holland was a Imperial State, state of the Holy Roman Empire from its inception until 1433. From 1433 onward it was part of the Burgundian Netherlands, from 1482 part of the Habsburg Netherlands and from 1581 onward the leading pro ...

, acting independently of the rest of the Burgundian Netherlands of which it formed part, and the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

. It led to little actual fighting, with a Dutch fleet patrolling Øresund while a Hanseatic fleet blocked their access to the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

. It ended after Eric of Pomerania was forced from the throne of Denmark in 1440, and the new king Christopher of Bavaria sought a resolution. Peace was concluded in 1441 with the Treaty of Copenhagen.

Background

The Dutch–Hanseatic War was a war of trade competition and control of Baltic shipping. For several years, tensions between Dutch and Hanseatic traders had risen as the Hanseatic traders struggled to keep Dutch trade with

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

limited. In response, the Dutch had begun employing privateers against German shipping.

Events and resolution

On 14 April 1438 a formal war was declared by the Dutch administration against the six Wendish cities of the League—

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...

Lüneburg Lüneburg, officially the Hanseatic City of Lüneburg and also known in English as Lunenburg, is a town in the German Bundesland (Germany), state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of another Hanseatic League, Hanseatic city, Hambur ...

Greifswald Greifswald (), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin and Neubrandenburg. In 2021 it surpa ...

, Stettin (now

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

) and Anklam—and the County of Holstein, and on 23 April the Hanseatic League informed its member cities of the situation and advised shipping via

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

, rather than

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...

. Little actual fighting took place throughout the war, though in May 1438 the Dutch mobilised all suitable ships in Holland and ordered the construction of 79 new vessels. During much of 1438–1440, the Dutch fleet patrolled Øresund but didn't manage to penetrate deeply into the Baltic Sea itself, as the Wendish fleet managed to block the passage. The State of the Teutonic Order however declared itself neutral, and the cities in

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

refused any military assistance to support the Hanseatic war effort. When Eric of Pomerania was forced from the throne of Denmark in 1440, an opening for a settlement with the new king Christopher of Bavaria presented itself. Though nominally allied with the Hanseatic cities, he favoured reconciliation and a solution to the conflict, and even awarded Dutch traders the same rights as Hanseatic traders in Denmark. In September 1441 a peace settlement was made through the Treaty of Copenhagen. The settlement meant that the two parties granted each other free trading rights, which gave the Dutch unrestricted access to trade on the Baltic again. This was to be of long-term benefit for the Dutch rather than the German cities, but the peace settlement also contained costly reparations which the Dutch had to pay.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dutch-Hanseatic War Wars involving the Hanseatic League Wars involving Denmark Trade wars 1430s conflicts 1440s conflicts 15th century in the Netherlands 15th century in the Burgundian Netherlands