Thomas Hill. Die Stadt und ihr Markt: Bremens Umlands- und AuÖŸenbeziehungen im Mittelalter (12. - 15. Jahrhundert). Stuttgart: Fritz Steiner, 2004. 422 pp. EUR 80.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-3-515-08068-2.

Reviewed by Dieter K. Buse (Department of History, Laurentian University)
Published on H-German (May, 2006)

Patterns of Trade Extension

In the eighteenth century, Bremen's sea trade extended from Spain to Russia. By the mid-nineteenth century, the transatlantic trade in staples and emigrant travel had displaced earlier trade patterns based on European coastal exchanges. In contrast with the modern era, Bremen's medieval regional reach into its continental hinterland was limited. This study illustrates the regional patterns, how they developed in the medieval era and the way they continued through the Hanseatic period.

The study works from the proposition that cities have a territorial function, namely the market area they serve or dominate. Hence Hill asks what markets Bremen opened and operated. The result is a careful, statistical analysis of Bremen's markets, both near and far. Hill starts with a consideration of the city's first main export--beer--and then turns to citizens' territorial possessions and strategic bases outside the city. He then examines the territory on the continent from which Bremen drew goods--namely its immediate geographic hinterland. The author next turns to Bremen's expanded trade with far-flung markets in Scandinavia, England and the Low Countries as part of the Hanseatic League. The author is fully conscious of internal city conflicts and interests that set the parameters for trade development. He considers such struggles as the conflict with the bishops for control of the city administration or with other lords regarding passage on the Weser and the development of the port.

This is a very detailed, highly structured but occasionally prosaic account. The author employs statistics and maps in a most impressive and appropriate manner. Indeed, that is the strength of the book: Hill uses maps to illustrate and provide a visual summary of each stage of trade development from about 1250 to 1450. The structure is as follows: first, the focus is on Bremen's centrality and its trade goods as an illustration of a city with market functions. Maps explicate the extent of trade with Frisia, Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Hamburg and Lübeck and stress the importance of the Weser River. Then follows Bremen's trade with Scandinavia, England, the Netherlands and Flanders. Hill then outlines internal economic politics and the development of infrastructure to support both near and distant trade. Hill maps the extent of trade for each area in a superb fashion.

The information Hill provides gives a much clearer overview of trade patterns, as well as of the goods traded and the strategies of the Bremer traders. The forty-page introduction reviews the pertinent literature and develops some theoretical models which may be of more interest to economists and geographers than historians. Perhaps of most interest to historians is Hill's summary of how "territorial" policies developed. Also of interest is his consideration of the way in which the Weser has been seen and Hill's summary of the ways in which a small city-state could protect and extend its interests. The conclusion, which provides a concise summary of the findings, reinforces the centrality of the Weser River and asserts the correctness of the theoretical framework. In particular, the author thinks that his approach provides a better accounting than previous works which mostly focused on city to city trade links. Hill's approach offers a more complete picture than have his predecessors of how various strands of trade interacted to fuel Bremen's overall trade.

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Citation: Dieter K. Buse. Review of Hill, Thomas, Die Stadt und ihr Markt: Bremens Umlands- und AuÖŸenbeziehungen im Mittelalter (12. - 15. Jahrhundert). H-German, H-Net Reviews. May, 2006.
URL: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=11791

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