The Hanseatic League (/ˌhænsiˈætɪk/; Middle Low German: Hanse, Düdesche Hanse, Hansa; Modern German: Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation 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 ultimately encompassed nearly 200 settlements across seven modern-day countries; at its height between the 13th and 15th centuries, it stretched from the Netherlands in the west to Rus
