Hanseatic League
Sarna News
Overview
The Hanseatic League is a mercantile nation located in the Deep Periphery, abutting the anti-spinward edge of the Coreward Sector, as defined by Comstar's Explorer Corps. "League territory" extends approximately 300 light years in diameter.
Early History (source?)
Settlements in this region of space date back to 2695, a result of the increasingly authoritarian bent of the government of the Star League.
Camedon Wainwright, a retired admiral of Star League Navy, and Captain-Dame Jenessa De La Cruz, the owner of a small fleet of Jumpships and deepcore mining firms, tried to build up their own league of worlds based upon the Ideals of the great Star League itself but falling short as the Hanseatic worlds soon began to fight among themselves. In 2745 a loose confederation of the 12 to 15 known worlds in the league joined together to defend themselves from Belt-pirates and other Periphery kingdoms.
The League
The modern Hanseatic League is a mercantile alliance of between 20 and 30 worlds. Lyran refugees arrived in Hansa space in the late twenty-ninth century as a direct result of Archon Elizabeth Steiner's Military Disaster Order. As their influence increased, the League took shape, and was officially founded in 2891.
The League is run by a ruling council of merchants. Though peasants within the League do possess some freedoms, the mercantile class strictly controls the flow of goods, services, and travelers within its worlds. The League does trade and interact with outsiders, but this interaction is "officially" limited to three worlds, Bruges, Lübeck and Bergen. Despite this self-imposed isolation, foreigners may do business with merchants on other worlds, as the Hanseatic military can not cordon off the entire League. German is the official language, but English and Spanish are also spoken. There is no domestic currency, nor is there an HPG network, so the ruling class controls all large scale commerce and information.
Military
By deep periphery standards (excluding the Clans), The Hanseatic League maintains a relatively large standing army. Originally, the League contracted various deep periphery mercenary companies, but as Inner Sphere influence increased, so too did the flow of war materiels and BattleTechnologies.
Gradually the League amassed a standing army, the Hansa Security Force. The HSF is composed of a regular standing army - "Regional Defense Forces" and a "Convoy Protection Force". RDFs are composed of conventional combat vehicles and BattleMechs and are used primarily as combined-arms garrisons. RDFs 1-5 are brigade-sized conventional forces, deployed as battalions in the field. BattleMechs from RDF 6 (a single reserve regiment) are rapidly deployed to supplement each RDF. BattleMech assets are deployed in company (or companies) of 'Mechs. The Hansa has never fielded greater than a single battalion of BattleMechs in a single military operation. The League has also maintained many mercenary contracts, bolstering the size of their 'Mech assets.
The Convoy Protection Force is the intrument of intimidation used by the Hanseatic League and is composed of marines, mercantile ships, Aerospace assets, assault Dropships, and "militarized Jumpships". Though the CPF is normally deployed to ensure the security of League trade ships, the CPF has been deployed to rout, cripple or blockade competing interests within the deep periphery. Technology within the League is approximately equal to that of the Inner Sphere in 3025.
Each Hanseatic unit is commanded by a Captain-General. Funding for Hanseatic units is uncertain, but Captain-Generals generally receive a percentage (or tithe) of the profits made by merchants operating within their jurisdiction. Effectively Hanseatic units can be "starved" out of existence in response to offenses, but at the danger of leaving Hanseatic territory ungarrisoned.
Spare parts, especially for 'Mechs, are occasionally in short supply, owing to the great displacement between League space and the Inner Sphere. However, the League does possess the industrial capacity to produce some weaponry.
Relations
The Hanseatic League claims to support free trade throughout the deep periphery, and its traders do venture great distances and trade with many small periphery realms and colonies. However, Hanseatic "free trade" clearly does not extend to member worlds. Further, Hanseatic mercantile interests have led the League intervene (and prolong) conflicts between deep periphery neighbors, most specifically the (near) continuous war between the Umayyad Caliphate and Nueva Castile.
Hanseatic League merchants are direct competitors of other Periphery traders, especially those of the Diamond Sharks. This competition has led to open hostilities, and a tendency for the Hansa direct its mercantile interests anti-spinward and rimward (away from the Clan Homeworlds).
Due to the success of Hanseatic trade ventures, the League's free trade worlds are beacons for commerce and information with the deep periphery. These worlds are also home to every type of intrigue; agents, traders and warriors of other deep periphery realms as well as Comstar, the Word of Blake, the Clan Watch, Bandit Caste Clan exiles, and several Inner Sphere Intellegence agencies can be found on each of these worlds. Indeed, as the consummate capitalists, the League recognizes the benefit of having many "trading" partners, and attmept to play all sides with as little spilled blood as possible. Information and goods can be sold to the highest bidder, and with the number of competitors present, it is always a sellers market.