Baltic Slavic piracy
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Baltic Slavic piracy — a term for military campaigns in the Baltic Sea carried out by pirates of Slavic origin from the 8th to 12th centuries.
History
[edit]Geography and economy
[edit]Baltic Slavs, whose agriculture was not highly developed in early 7th century, were in dire need of resources since the dry islets of southwestern Baltic were the only ones capable of cultivation and cattle were scarce.[1] Flax could be grown, and was turned into linen or canvas for cloth and used as a form of currency.
At this time the Baltic Slavs were also known for bee-keeping, trading their honey and wax to the Germans for use in church candles and in sealing documents.[2] Once trade began, the German form of currency circulated amongst the group. After this point information on specifics of the trade between Germans and Slavs is unknown through the ninth century.
Wendish trade
[edit]
During this time period it is known that the Slavs crossed paths with the Danes, leading to a series of fateful events. The Slavs of the Baltic had engaged in piratical activity before, while the Danes felt that trade and piracy went hand in hand, making for an interesting attempt at commercial relations.[3]
Baltic Slavs soon became interested in expanding, attempting to get a hold of the rivers in Denmark in order to control the Wendish trade. The Danes would not stand for this, causing war to arise between the two groups. With the decline of Danish power after the death of their leader in 1035 fueling the Saxon Germans to fight for the possession of the rivers the Baltic Slavs were originally fighting for, the bloodshed raged on and it was not until the Wendish Crusade of 1147 that the Slavs were finally sent beyond the point of recovery, ending their 100-year campaign and therefore fixing German domination over the Baltic rivers and Wendish trade.[4]
Notable actions
[edit]In 1135, Duke Ratibor I commanded a force of 1,000–1,500 Pomeranian raiders on 50–70 boats during a major raid on the Norwegian city of Kungahälla.[5] In a successful raid on Kungahälla, Pomeranians enslaved thousands. However, this raid became one of the last successful actions of the Pomeranians on this scale.[6]
See also
[edit]Footnotes
[edit]- ^ Thompson, James Westfall. "Early Trade Relations Between the Germans and the Slavs." The Journal of Political Economy, 1922: 546
- ^ Thompson, James Westfall. "Early Trade Relations Between the Germans and the Slavs." The Journal of Political Economy, 1922: 547
- ^ Thompson, James Westfall. "Early Trade Relations Between the Germans and the Slavs." The Journal of Political Economy, 1922: 548
- ^ Thompson, James Westfall. "Early Trade Relations Between the Germans and the Slavs." The Journal of Political Economy, 1922: 550-551
- ^ Roman Zaroff (2014). "Slavic Raid on Konungahella". www.researchgate.net. Collegium Medievale. p. 10.
- ^ Gaca 2020, p. 61.
References
[edit]- Bjork, David K. "Piracy In The Baltic, 1375-1398." Speculum, 1943: 39-68.
- Thompson, James Westfall. "Early Trade Relations Between the Germans and the Slavs." The Journal of Political Economy, 1922: 543-558.
Bibligoraphy
[edit]- Gaca, Andrzej (2020). "Baltic Slavs fighting at sea from the ninth to twelfth century. The phenomenon of over a hundred years of Slavic domination over the Baltic Sea". apcz.umk.pl. Studia Iuridica Toruniensia.
