Hanseatic league has 2 different meanings across 2 categories:
a commercial and defensive confederation of free cities in northern Germany and surrounding areas; formed in 1241 and most influential in the 14th century when it included over 100 towns and functioned as an independent political power; the last official assembly was held in 1669
The commercial and military alliance of Low German merchant guilds and privileged market towns which dominated trade along the coasts of northern Europe from the mid-12th to mid-17th centuries.