English merchants first open trading establishments abroad.
Origin of the Hanseatic League, A.D. 1241.
Liverpool then first became known as a place of
maritime trade, although it continued to be ranked
as a "village," attached to the parish of Walton,
till as late as 1699.[1] Brunswick was invited to have
commercial dealings with England, and protection
was afforded to its citizens. In Henry's reign, too,
there were built at Yarmouth, Winchelsea, and other
ports, many vessels of a superior description to any
that England had hitherto produced.[2] During the
same period an association of English merchants
obtained privileges from the Earl of Flanders (A.D.
1248), and established in the Netherlands depôts of
English wool, lead, and tin. These adventurers
were long known as the merchants of the staples of
England. Previous to the reign of Henry III.
all foreign merchants had been compelled to sell
their goods on board their vessels; but in considertion
of a payment of 100l. (cash) towards a supply
of fresh water for the city of London, and of fifty
marks to the lord mayor (annually), the merchants
of Amiens, Nele, and Corbie, and of Normandy, were
then allowed to land and store their cargoes.[3]
The formation of the Hanseatic Association was, however, the most important commercial event of Henry's reign. Though its origin, like that of many other great communities, cannot be precisely ascertained, it seems probable that it arose out of an agreement, entered into in the year 1241 between the merchants of Hamburg and Lubeck, to establish a guard for the mutual protection of their merchandise
