IPSWICH AND THE HANSEATIC LEAGUE
In this episode I speak to Pat Grimwade from the Ipswich Maritime Trust about her new publication about Ipswich’s little-known connections to the Hanseatic League.
The Hanseatic League was a confederation of merchant gilds that once dominated much of the Late Medieval Period European trade, connecting ports from Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, the Baltic as well as a few in Britain, including Ipswich. At its peak the Hanseatic League even put together a military force that won a war against Denmark.
Pat tells us about how Ipswich came to become a Hanseatic port, what kind of things were traded to and from Ipswich during that period, and what physical evidence remains of the town’s Hanseatic connections today.
Can you see the striking similarity between these medieval seals from Danzig (modern-day Gdańsk, Poland) and Elbing (modern-day Elbląg, Poland) and Ipswich’s own town seal? Find out more about this too in this episode of the podcast.
You can listen and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Spotify etc or stream it online: https://anchor.fm/caleb-howgego
ipswichhistory 
Enjoyed this Caleb, earlier in the year we were due to have a talk on the Hanseatic League at the Ipswich Society which like many things was postponed so was good to hear.
Kevin