"In Order To Accomplish The Views Of Nature, By Extending The
Intercourse Of Nations, It Was Necessary To Open The Baltic To Commercial
Relations; It Was Necessary To Instruct Men, Still Barbarous, In The
Elements Of Industry, And To Familiarize Them In The Principles Of
Civilization.
These great foundations were laid by the confederation; and
at the close of the fifteenth century, the Baltic and the neighbouring seas
had, by its means, become frequented routes of communication between the
North and the South.
The people of the former were enabled to follow the
progress of the latter in knowledge and industry." The forests of Sweden,
Poland, &c. gave place to corn, hemp, and flax; the mines were wrought;
and, in return, the produce and manufactures of the South were received.
Towns and villages were erected in Scandinavia, where huts only were before
seen: the skins of the bear and wolf were exchanged for woollens, linens,
and silks: learning was introduced; and printing was scarcely invented
before it was practised in Denmark, Sweden, &c.
It was at this period that the Hanse towns were the most flourishing; and
that Bruges, largely partaking of their prosperity, and the sole staple for
all their goods, rose to its highest wealth and consequence, and, in fact,
was the grand entrepot of the trade of Europe. The Hanse towns were at this
time divided into four classes: Lubeck was at the head of the whole League;
in it the meetings of the deputies from the other towns were held, and the
archives of the League were kept.
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