Salt: A World History

"...At the height of their power in the fifteenth century, the Hanseatics were believe to have at their command 40,000 vessels and 300,000 men.

For a time, the Hanseatics were well appreciated as honorable merchants who ensure quality and fought against unscrupulous practices. They were known as Easterlings because they came from the east, and that is the origin of the word sterling. which meant 'of assured value.'

...To control herring and salt was to control northern economies."