The Hanseatice League as a Network Model
In answering the question about the Hanseatic League's structure, two network concepts are relevant. On the one hand, there is the concept of networks as an organizational type, which is widespread in economics. Another concept, used in the social sciences, considers networks to be complex webs of social relations.4 From the perspective of the economists, a network is often seen as a different type of organization to either hierarchy or market. Some critics of the New-Institutional Economics, however, regard networks as hybrids, combining hierarchical and market structures.5 Compared to hierarchical forms of enterprise, a network features a horizontal, little formalized and constantly changing structure. It is often a self-organizing form of cooperation and develops around one or more hubs or nodes, be it in the sense of an ego network or a heterarchical network. In the first case, the actor is at the centre of the analysis, whereas the second case resembles a neural network with multiple nodes of varying density. Unlike the market, the relationships between the actors are not solely regulated according to competition and price or supply and demand. Instead, the reciprocal transactions are determined by a web of social factors such as obligation, trust, solidarity and reciprocity.6 The cohesion of the network is thus produced less through formal rules and contracts than through the presence of a common culture and common goals. Although network theory is an actor-oriented model, its main interest nonetheless lies in the cooperative and relational nature and practices of those connections between the actors that have been neglected by the traditional biographical and economic history. The advantage of the network concept in comparison to approaches that focus on markets or hierarchies is the fact that it allows for a better understanding of dynamics and interactive components.7
In this article, the particular focus will be on the trading networks of the Hanseatic League (Kaufmannshanse) and its economic actors, while the traditionally prioritized topic of the Hanseatic League's political function as a powerful league of cities (Städtehanse) will be only briefly touched upon. The decision to concentrate on the structure and the extent of the Hanseatic trade organization and the economic activities of its merchants sheds light on neglected areas of research. However, the shift in orientation also leads to new problems concerning both the relationship between the economic organization and the league of cities as well as dating the rise and fall of the Hanseatic League.

The Beginnings of the Hanseatic League
According to Dollinger, the history of the Hanseatic League extends between two clearly identifiable moments: the founding of Lübeck in the year 1158/1159, on the one hand, and the last Hanseatic Diet (Hansetag) in 1669, on the other.8 The notion, however, that Lübeck represents the start of the Hanseatic League and was, moreover, the "Schüssel zur Hanseatisierung des Ostseeraums" ("key to the Hanseatic League's expansion in the Baltic Sea region") has been called into question.9 There is no formal date of the Hanseatic League's founding. Its origins, in fact, go back further than Lübeck's inception, which itself was the result of expansionist ambitions of the hinterland. The emergence of the Hanseatic League is better understood as the result of a process of integration of previously independent trade flows.
The starting point was the densely populated and more developed Westphalia with it's key town of Soest, which had already developed into a nationally important trading post for salt, metal goods from the eastern Sauerland and silver from the Harz region before the turn of the millennium. By the end of the 11th century, merchants from this region were increasingly drawn to the coast of the North and Baltic Seas to meet the rising demands of urban populations that continued to grow until the end of the 13th century. They traded foods such as herring and grain, as well as commercial products such as wood, flax, tar or wax for salt, which was needed on the coast for preserving fish.10 Starting in the late 11th century, a brisk east-west trade developed between the Russian city of Novgorod and Westphalia. This trade initially went through the key trading post of Schleswig, which also maintained trading ties with England.11 Subsequently, however, Westphalian merchants decided to give up Schleswig as a marketplace in favour of Lübeck, conveniently located on an isthmus between the North and Baltic Seas, which could be negotiated with a relatively short overland transport. The change was further prompted by the adoption of the comparatively unrestricted city charter of Soest (which was accepted by many other cities in the Hanseatic area as a result of the adoption by Lübeck), and, last but not least, by the much shorter route.12
The beginnings of the Hanseatic League, however, cannot simply be explained by the trade network that developed between Westphalia and the Baltic Sea. An equally important trade route, connecting Cologne with England and Denmark, started to grow. As early as 1157, Cologne merchants were granted their first trading privilege in London. By contrast, the first traders from Lübeck did not make it to England until the beginning of the 13th century. They first set up trade contacts with King's Lynn, Hull, Yarmouth and Boston. Trade with London did not commence until later. There, they met their competitors from Cologne. The successful resolution of disputes between the two parties, mediated by Dortmundmerchants, culminated in the establishment of a joint trade office (kontor) in London in the year 1281.13
The rise of the Hanseatic city on the Trave was accompanied by the integration of the Cologne and Westphalia trade networks. The establishment of Lübeck as a hub soon led to a strong expansion to the north and to the east, even as far as Russia. The peace agreement of 1161 between the Gotlanders and the Germans, which was mediated byHenry the Lion (1129–1195), was followed by the founding of the Gotland association. As a result Gotland's Visby became an important trans-shipment centre for goods fromScandinavia and the eastern countries.14 Because members of this association were – besides merchants from Lübeck – also merchants from Westphalia and Saxony, its founding is considered to be the actual birth of the Hanseatic League.15