Anonymous ID: de23dd Dec. 11, 2024, 7:36 p.m. No.22150492   ๐Ÿ—„๏ธ.is ๐Ÿ”—kun

Hanseatic League

 

The Hanseatic League[a] was a medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German towns in the late 12th century, the League expanded between the 13th and 15th centuries and ultimately encompassed nearly 200 settlements across eight modern-day countries, ranging from Estonia in the north and east, to the Netherlands in the west, and extended inland as far as Cologne, the Prussian regions and Krakรณw, Poland.

 

The League began as a collection of loosely associated groups of German traders and towns aiming to expand their commercial interests, including protection against robbery. Over time, these arrangements evolved into the League, offering traders toll privileges and protection on affiliated territory and trade routes. Economic interdependence and familial connections among merchant families led to deeper political integration and the reduction of trade barriers. This gradual process involved standardizing trade regulations among Hanseatic Cities.

 

During its time, the Hanseatic League dominated maritime trade in the North and Baltic Seas. It established a network of trading posts in numerous towns and cities, notably the Kontors in London (known as the Steelyard), Bruges, Bergen, and Novgorod, which became extraterritorial entities that enjoyed considerable legal autonomy. Hanseatic merchants, commonly referred to as Hansards, operated private companies and were known for their access to commodities, and enjoyed privileges and protections abroad. The League's economic power enabled it to impose blockades and even wage war against kingdoms and principalities.

 

Nothing new under the sun.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanseatic_League

 

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hanseatic-League

Anonymous ID: de23dd Dec. 11, 2024, 7:50 p.m. No.22150555   ๐Ÿ—„๏ธ.is ๐Ÿ”—kun

>>22150532

 

Athen

Athena, in Greek religion, the city protectress, goddess of war, handicraft, and practical reason, identified by the Romans with Minerva. She was essentially urban and civilized, the antithesis in many respects of Artemis, goddess of the outdoors. Athena was probably a pre-Hellenic goddess and was later taken over by the Greeks. Yet the Greek economy, unlike that of the Minoans, was largely military, so that Athena, while retaining her earlier domestic functions, became a goddess of war.

 

She was the daughter of Zeus, produced without a mother, so that she emerged full-grown from his forehead. There was an alternative story that Zeus swallowed Metis, the goddess of counsel, while she was pregnant with Athena, so that Athena finally emerged from Zeus. Being the favourite child of Zeus, she had great power.

 

Athenaโ€™s association with the acropolises of various Greek cities probably stemmed from the location of the kingsโ€™ palaces there. She was thought to have had neither consort nor offspring. She may not have been described as a virgin originally, but virginity was attributed to her very early and was the basis for the interpretation of her epithets Pallas and Parthenos. As a war goddess Athena could not be dominated by other goddesses, such as Aphrodite, and as a palace goddess she could not be violated.

 

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Athena-Greek-mythology