England throws out German salesmen, 1597

This is a follow-on to the last post. It turns out that the English merchants thrown out of "Germany" (which did not actually exist at that time) were victims of ongoing power struggles between the Hanseatic League and English and Dutch trading interests. In the same year, 1597, Elizabeth I closed the Steelyard, the trading post of the League in London. The League gradually declined and was effectively defunct by the end of the 17thC.