The Hansards
The spirit of industry， commerce， and liberty having attainedfull influence in Italy， crossed the Alps， permeated Germany， anderected for itself a new throne on the shores of the northern seas，the Emperor Henry I， the father of the liberator of the Italianmunicipalities， promoted the founding of new cities and theenlargement of older ones which were already partly established onthe sites of the ancient Roman colonies and partly in the imperialdomains.
Like the kings of France and England at a later period， he andhis successors regarded the cities as the strongest counterpoise tothe aristocracy， as the richest source of revenue to the State， asa new basis for national defence.By means of their commercialrelations with the cities of Italy， their competition with Italianindustry， and their free institutions， these cities soon attainedto a high degree of prosperity and civilisation.Life in commonfellow-citizenship created a spirit of progress in the arts and inmanufacture， as well as zeal to achieve distinction by wealth andby enterprise； while， on the other hand， the acquisition ofmaterial wealth stimulated exertions to acquire culture andimprovement in their political condition.
Strong through the power of youthful freedom and of flourishingindustry， but exposed to the attacks of robbers by land and sea，the maritime towns of Northern Germany soon felt the necessity ofa closer mutual union for protection and defence.With this objectHamburg and L黚eck formed a league in 1241， which before the closeof that century embraced all the cities of any importance on thecoasts of the Baltic and North Seas， or on the banks of the Oder，the Elbe， the Weser， and the Rhine (eighty-five in all).Thisconfederation adopted the title of the 'Hansa，' which in the LowGerman dialect signifies a league.
Promptly comprehending what advantages the industry ofindividuals might derive from a union of their forces， the Hansalost no time in developing and establishing a commercial policywhich resulted in a degree of commercial prosperity previouslyunexampled.Perceiving that whatever power desires to create andmaintain an extensive maritime commerce， must possess the means ofdefending it， they created a powerful navy； being further convincedthat the naval power of any country is strong or weak in proportionto the extent of its mercantile marine and its sea fisheries， theyenacted a law that Hanseatic goods should be conveyed only on boardHanseatic vessels， and established extensive sea fisheries.TheEnglish navigation laws were copied from those of the HanseaticLeague， just as the latter were an imitation of those ofVenice.(1*)England in that respect only followed the example of those whowere her forerunners in acquiring supremacy at sea.Yet theproposal to enact a navigation Act in the time of the LongParliament was then treated as a novel one.Adam Smith appears inhis comment on this Act(2*) not to have known， or to have refrainedfrom stating， that already for centuries before that time and onvarious occasions the attempt had been made to introduce similarrestrictions.A proposal to that effect made by Parliament in 1461was rejected by Henry VI， and a similar one made by James I，rejected by Parliament；(3*) indeed， long before these two proposals(viz.in 1381) such restrictions had been actually imposed byRichard II， though they soon proved inoperative and passed intooblivion.The nation was evidently not then ripe for suchlegislation.Navigation laws， like other measures for protectingnative industry， are so rooted in the very nature of those nationswho feel themselves fitted for future industrial and commercialgreatness， that the United States of North America before they hadfully won their independence had already at the instance of JamesMadison introduced restrictions on foreign shipping， andundoubtedly with not less great results (as will be seen in afuture chapter) than England had derived from them a hundred andfifty years before.
The northern princes， impressed with the benefits which tradewith the Hansards promised to yield to them -- inasmuch as it gavethem the means not only of disposing of the surplus products oftheir own territories， and of obtaining in exchange much bettermanufactured articles than were produced at home， but also ofenriching their treasuries by means of import and exportduties，(4*) and of diverting to habits of industry their subjectswho were addicted to idleness， turbulence， and riot -- consideredit as a piece of good fortune whenever the Hansards establishedfactories on their territory， and endeavoured to induce them to doso by wanting them privileges and favours of every kind.The kingsof England were conspicuous above all other sovereigns in thisrespect.