Lubeck and the Hanseatic League: The Birthplace of the Common Market with David Abulafia

10 February 2016: In the first lecture of the 2016 History of Capitalism series, David Abulafia, Professor of Mediterranean History at Cambridge University, told the story of the Hanseatic League and the city of Lubeck that lay at its heart. Introduction by Hywel Williams, Senior Adviser at the Legatum Institute. More information: www.li.com/even...

[@coloneljan]

I could have listened to this for a few hours.

[@timothyfitzgerald7394]

i just love the enthusiasm of the dude who is doing the introduction. He's absolutely hilarious, and clearly loves this shit!

[@MrSimonrolls]

I'm sorry, but Abulafia says nothing here that any diligent high school student presenting a research paper could not have done. He asks the audience to tell him whether his book coheres then proceeds to skip around the centuries as if they are all the same. No Prof Abulafia, it does not 'cohere'. Why not tell the audience some interesting facts about Lubeck, i.e. that they produced the first internationally recognised maritime laws; they took on and defeated a sovereign power after that same soveriegn power had sacked Wisby in an act of vandalism only match at the time by the crusaders; that Lubeck's population never experienced famine or a breach of those walls he mentioned throughout the 500 years it remained the centre of the Hansa? Instead of boostering the Dutch by referring to the chap who first successfully pickled a barrel of herrings, why not hail the fact that the people of Lubeck were pickling over 100,000 barrels a year by 1390, which was quite an undertaking for the times. I had to research this period for a book I wrote The People of the Hansa. I am not an academic, but what he tells us here I picked up on the first day of my research endeavours. The story of the Hansa is fascinating and has much to teach us. Is it too much to think that such an eminent professor should do a little better?

[@HoradrimBR]

He supposed a completelly ignorant audience...

[@trivanannakkarage9893]

This lecture was very interesting and I am amazed how simple goods in trade can create such a magnificent influence in a region.

[@ByzantineCapitalManagement]

Trivan Annakkarage worlds first WTO like organization

[@SJ23982398]

23:47 that is a Schnicka not a cog. And at 33:05 that is a hulk, also not a cog. Also the Vikings did not overlap with the Hanseatic Trade league. They came before.

[@Konny1328]

Has anyone found anything about this Wilhelm Berkelson, who is said to have invented the method for pickled herring? [34:12]

[@nijluuseger2620]

Willem Beukelszoon. You'll find him on the English Wikipedia as William Buckels.

[@oJoJo]

Not the Hoch Deutsch but the Ditschen. Frisians laid the foundation for st. Petersburg by the way and still have their streets there.

[@benj6670]

Seriously what is with the first gentleman making those ridiculous "smacking" noises with his lips. Really irritating.

[@tuckersmoak6632]

makes it unwatchable. so annoying.

[@panthersprung5161]

snowflakes

[@luizarthurbrito]

ASMR for me

[@杨彬彬-y3x]

I have a question that how are Hanseatic league and WTO alike?

[@arthas640]

They both regulate trade, set standards, and facilitated trade among its member states while fighting things like fraud, piracy, extortion, and made trade more open/free. Back then things could be chaotic with different countries or even cities (which could be a few thousand people) each having their own currency and different areas having different units of measurement. Currency exchanges were especially bad back then since different countries (which again, could be a single city) had different sized coins with different amounts of precious metal in them and the purity of those metals could change over time. For example: in Imperial Rome at one point the amount of gold in their coins once dropped from around 80-90% down to around 10% in a matter of a few decades during a crisis on the third century in an effort to "print money" when the empire was having a financial crisis related to a bunch of other crisis they were dealing with.

[@mstipich1]

15-20% ROE

[@grayarcana]

This chap looks and sounds very much like Matheson, who set up the operation in 'The Wild Geese'! I thought he got killed in the end.

[@zakorektnost]

If only this man, the first speaker, would speak a little bit better, clearer English ... like this, only his buddies from London can understand him ...

[@ohexnohex6165]

A minute in and his tie already keeps pissing me off

[@shamstam]

whY diD yOu HavE to mention that eeeeeeeeee I can't unsee it now

[@jasonmuniz8802]

Germanics= the Greeks and Phoenicians of the north.

[@arthas640]

The Germans of the middle ages and modern period were alot like the ancient greeks. German traders were importing goods from the middle east (which included Asian goods) and brought them all the way to Russia and Finland. The sophistication of their trade, including everything from the bookkeeping, to the ports themselves, to architectural things like cranes and gates, to ships was all very advanced for the time and the flat out invented alot of things like double entry bookkeeping.

[@fares57]

This era, architecture and civilisation is quite interesting and beautiful to me. But , as a Greek, I need to inform you my Barbaric friends that all this was nothing compared to the riches of the south (Venice, Jenoa and the rest). Again, you can't compared to the south. And soon your barbaric monopoly of the Europe will collapse, even if the peoples of this continent, need to vote for extreme right nationalistic racists, instead of democratic, communistic governments. But at least we ll collapse you. thanks.

[@vueltaa_43]

fares57 Ok

[@f2detaboada]

*You’re economy doesn’t even exist*

[@jasonmuniz8802]

@Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Modern Greeks are the same as their Iron Age ancestors. Greeks are very related with South Italians. North Italians are more similar to South French and Iberians. With North Germans nah but they are with South Germans.

[@jasonmuniz8802]

@@f2detaboada And your's does? Lol k.

[@gladatusbob4497]

@Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Hey can you give me source for the quote Hansa was as profitable as Venice on the 14 th century? Pls :)