Hamburg as a financial centre

Though the acceptance of Hamburg coinage had spread steadily since the creation of the Wendish Currency Union in the 14th century, Hamburg was still overshadowed by Lübeck, the head of the Hanseatic League. In the course of the 16th century, the power of the League declined and the discovery of America caused shifts in political and economical power in Europe. The expansion of overseas trade benefited Hamburg, since its trading links to the west allowed it to participate in these new developments.
The city’s municipal council and business community set up the Hamburg Stock Exchange in 1558. In 1567, they permitted English traders known as the Merchant Adventurers to set up their English Court in the city. At the same time, the chaos of the Flemish-Spanish war brought a steady flow of Portuguese, mainly from Antwerp. The Portuguese, many of them overseas merchants, used their old trading links to Portuguese trading posts in Africa, Asia and South America. The city’s many new inhabitants therefore brought new money and business connections to Hamburg.

In the early days of the Hanseatic League, the merchants themselves look after the circulation of goods. They did their own buying and selling and went to sea, putting both their cargo and lives at risk. With the spread of commodity trading, this changed. The merchant was now based in an office and conducted his business through representatives. This in turn made writing an indispensable tool. Alongside accounting, writing assumed ever greater importance in the world of commerce, offering fixed terms, security and documentation, as well as checks, controls and proper order. In the 16th century, the Hanseatic merchants began to match the standards of bookkeeping and accounting technique of their Italian and Flemish counterparts. An important aspect was keeping archives as written memory.

The Hamburg Bank was founded in 1619 on the initiative of Dutch and Portuguese (Sephardic) immigrants to promote trade. This move encouraged cash-free transactions, with considerable profits for both native Hamburgers and immigrants.