Ended the Anglo-Hanseatic War, restoring Hanseatic trading privileges in England and granting the League ownership of the London Steelyard.
Key Facts
- Year signed
- 1474
- War duration
- 1470–1474
- Customs claim guaranteed
- £10,000 per annum
- Hanseatic Warehouse built
- 1475, King's Lynn
- London Steelyard secured until
- mid-19th century
- Negotiated by
- Hinrich Castorp, mayor of Lübeck
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The Anglo-Hanseatic War began in 1470 as a commerce-raiding conflict in the North Sea and English Channel, driven largely by Danzig and Lübeck in response to mounting English pressure on Hanseatic trade along the southern Baltic coast. England, financially exhausted after years of war and mismanagement, could no longer sustain its aggressive commercial policy against the League.
The Treaty of Utrecht was signed in 1474 between England and the Hanseatic League, negotiated by Lübeck's mayor Hinrich Castorp. It restored Hanseatic trading privileges in the Port of London, including exemption from Tunnage and Poundage levies, guaranteed the League access to the ports of Hull, Lynn, and Boston, and transferred ownership of the London Steelyard premises to the Hanseatic League.
England effectively conceded franchises and tax revenues to secure peace and maintain trade access to the Netherlands, while English merchants were excluded from the Baltic. Londoners rioted in protest at the terms. The Hanseatic Warehouse in King's Lynn was constructed in 1475 as a direct result of the treaty; it remains the only surviving Hanseatic building in England. English trade did not recover confidence in Germany until the Elizabethan era.
Political Outcome
England restored Hanseatic privileges and ceded the London Steelyard to the League; English merchants were excluded from the Baltic while the Hansa secured guaranteed customs revenues and port access.
England pressuring Hanseatic trade on the Baltic coast; Hanseatic privileges in London suspended
Hanseatic League's London privileges restored and expanded; English commerce barred from Baltic markets