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The Baltic: A History
In this overview of the Baltic region from the Vikings to the European Union, Michael North presents the sea and the lands that surround it as a Nordic Mediterranean, a maritime zone of shared influence, with its own distinct patterns of trade, cultural exchange, and conflict. Covering over a thousand years in a part of the world where seas have been much more connective than land, The Baltic: A History transforms the way we think about a body of water too often ignored in studies of the world's major waterways.
The Baltic lands have been populated since prehistory by diverse linguistic groups: Balts, Slavs, Germans, and Finns. North traces how the various tribes, peoples, and states of the region have lived in peace and at war, as both global powers and pawns of foreign regimes, and as exceptionally creative interpreters of cultural movements from Christianity to Romanticism and Modernism. He examines the golden age of the Vikings, the Hanseatic League, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, and Peter the Great, and looks at the hard choices people had to make in the twentieth century as fascists, communists, and liberal democrats played out their ambitions on the region's doorstep.
With its vigorous trade in furs, fish, timber, amber, and grain and its strategic position as a thruway for oil and natural gas, the Baltic has been--and remains--one of the great economic and cultural crossroads of the world.
The Baltic lands have been populated since prehistory by diverse linguistic groups: Balts, Slavs, Germans, and Finns. North traces how the various tribes, peoples, and states of the region have lived in peace and at war, as both global powers and pawns of foreign regimes, and as exceptionally creative interpreters of cultural movements from Christianity to Romanticism and Modernism. He examines the golden age of the Vikings, the Hanseatic League, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, and Peter the Great, and looks at the hard choices people had to make in the twentieth century as fascists, communists, and liberal democrats played out their ambitions on the region's doorstep.
With its vigorous trade in furs, fish, timber, amber, and grain and its strategic position as a thruway for oil and natural gas, the Baltic has been--and remains--one of the great economic and cultural crossroads of the world.
448 pages, Hardcover
First published September 19, 2011
76 people are currently reading
314 people want to read
About the author
Michael North
29 books3 followersMichael North ist ein deutscher Historiker. Er studierte Osteuropäische Geschichte, Mittlere und Neuere Geschichte sowie Slawistik. Er wurde 1979 in Gießen promoviert. Seit 1995 ist er Inhaber des Lehrstuhls für Allgemeine Geschichte der Neuzeit an der Universität Greifswald.
Zu seinen Forschungsschwerpunkten im Rahmen der Geschichte Europas zählen insbesondere die Geschichte der Niederlande, die Geschichte des Ostseeraums, die Geld- und Bankengeschichte, Kommunikation sowie Kunstmärkte und -sammlungen.
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Michael North is a German historian. He studied Eastern European History, Medieval and Modern History and Slavic Studies. He received his doctorate in 1979 in Gießen. Since 1995 he has held the chair of General History of the Modern Era at the University of Greifswald.
His main research interests in the context of the history of Europe include in particular the history of the Netherlands, the history of the Baltic Sea region, the history of money and banking, communication as well as art markets and collections.
Zu seinen Forschungsschwerpunkten im Rahmen der Geschichte Europas zählen insbesondere die Geschichte der Niederlande, die Geschichte des Ostseeraums, die Geld- und Bankengeschichte, Kommunikation sowie Kunstmärkte und -sammlungen.
---------------
Michael North is a German historian. He studied Eastern European History, Medieval and Modern History and Slavic Studies. He received his doctorate in 1979 in Gießen. Since 1995 he has held the chair of General History of the Modern Era at the University of Greifswald.
His main research interests in the context of the history of Europe include in particular the history of the Netherlands, the history of the Baltic Sea region, the history of money and banking, communication as well as art markets and collections.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 12, 2021
When you know all about Poland and don't care for Scandinavia, there's not enough Baltic states in this Baltic. At least the 19th century isn't all about the linguistic developments, but we get a lot of artist focus under the Soviets - a hidden road to protest to which the many statues around Riga testify.
October 6, 2018
Mother of all Commerce
Or so they say... the 'moedercommercie.' But, as the author of this survey of the growth of trade and commerce around the Baltic Sea says, "There are many Baltics." Rather than deciding which Baltic he wanted to talk about, the author did a fair job of covering them all, albeit in a touch-and-go aggregate format. This work must be considered as only a survey. North does not analyze any of the information presented. He presents a synthesis instead. Any recommendation of this book would depend on what the reader is looking for, since the scope covers much of recorded history.
What I enjoyed most was the discussion of the people groups that spread across the region, and their interaction.I also enjoy studies of trade and cooperation, art and culture. North has a wealth of information on political organization and trade. The cultural aspects seem to possibly be his weaker link.
The key strength of this work is the Baltic outline maps presented at different time periods throughout the book, showing the locations of cities and people groups. These make it possible for the reader to observe the changing social climate around the sea over the centuries. And, there is much to see. Today, there are approximately 99 major cities all around the Baltic, and that is if you don't count Norway. Of course, since there are many Baltics, I'm not opposed to counting Norway... it's just that Wikipedia doesn't. And, we all know Wikipedia's shortcomings. If we are generous and throw in Oslo, Norway, which does communicate with the Baltic somewhat, then we have our 100 major cities and no need for fisticuffs or arguments. By the same token, we have either 9 or 10 Baltic Sea countries: Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, (and Norway or not.)
North covers the trade and cultural exchange that originally built the region up as a major commercial network. He covers the Scandinavians, the Slavs, Finns, and Balts and their eventual connection expansion to the Jews, Arabs, and English. The cities were originally built by religious orders who solicited workers from the hinterland, and built an income from the commerce. The architectural heritage survives to this day in the cathedrals and landmarks. The trade sprouting between these cities spawned the Hanseatic League. Of course, the import and export goods provided and required by each city created a market culture around the Sea that blended the cultures and languages somewhat, and became a locus of communication, especially with the spread of Luther's ideas via the printing press.
The book then veers off into the growth of cities as the hinging point for trade, first with Lübeck, for example, and then Danzig (Gdansk,) and eventually other Kontore (Hansa Trading posts) shifted weight in the balance of power. Then the Danes began to pursue a policy of hegemony in the region, which was thrashed out by the Treaty of Stralsund, which marked the apex of the power of the Hanseatic League. The author attributes the league's decline in the 16th century to a growing number of causes, including the increasing vigor of the German territorial states and the Nordic kingdoms, as well as overwhelming competition from southern German trading houses and the Netherlands.
The book then moves into the culture changes that were brought about by the wealth that amassed around the Baltic Sea. He only mentions architectural examples, works of art, colleges, great scholars, and various Bible translations. He doesn't go into detail about any of this, of course, since that would have taken a few volumes, instead of this already lengthy book.
The later chapters focus on the Swedish and then Russian influence on the region, and lead all the way into the World Wars, the Cold War, and eventual reorganization of the Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania with their entry into the EU, which forms the basis of a much more expansive European trade network. The author delves into the politics of the socialization of the Northern Baltic states as well, and the creation of welfare states.
The great subject expanse covered makes it a limited survey. For those wanting more detail, the author mentions similar works on the Baltic; David Kirby's The Baltic and the North Seas and Matti Klinge's Ancient Powers of the Baltic Seas. The later seems definitely like something I might want to explore further. I would suggest this book only for those interested in tying it all together. It takes several days to read, due to the huge amount of research it sparks about the many interesting topics introduced.
I read this book for my stop in Latvia on my Journey Around the World in 80 books. My next stop will be Lithuania. I read it in the Kindle format.
Or so they say... the 'moedercommercie.' But, as the author of this survey of the growth of trade and commerce around the Baltic Sea says, "There are many Baltics." Rather than deciding which Baltic he wanted to talk about, the author did a fair job of covering them all, albeit in a touch-and-go aggregate format. This work must be considered as only a survey. North does not analyze any of the information presented. He presents a synthesis instead. Any recommendation of this book would depend on what the reader is looking for, since the scope covers much of recorded history.
What I enjoyed most was the discussion of the people groups that spread across the region, and their interaction.I also enjoy studies of trade and cooperation, art and culture. North has a wealth of information on political organization and trade. The cultural aspects seem to possibly be his weaker link.
The key strength of this work is the Baltic outline maps presented at different time periods throughout the book, showing the locations of cities and people groups. These make it possible for the reader to observe the changing social climate around the sea over the centuries. And, there is much to see. Today, there are approximately 99 major cities all around the Baltic, and that is if you don't count Norway. Of course, since there are many Baltics, I'm not opposed to counting Norway... it's just that Wikipedia doesn't. And, we all know Wikipedia's shortcomings. If we are generous and throw in Oslo, Norway, which does communicate with the Baltic somewhat, then we have our 100 major cities and no need for fisticuffs or arguments. By the same token, we have either 9 or 10 Baltic Sea countries: Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, (and Norway or not.)
North covers the trade and cultural exchange that originally built the region up as a major commercial network. He covers the Scandinavians, the Slavs, Finns, and Balts and their eventual connection expansion to the Jews, Arabs, and English. The cities were originally built by religious orders who solicited workers from the hinterland, and built an income from the commerce. The architectural heritage survives to this day in the cathedrals and landmarks. The trade sprouting between these cities spawned the Hanseatic League. Of course, the import and export goods provided and required by each city created a market culture around the Sea that blended the cultures and languages somewhat, and became a locus of communication, especially with the spread of Luther's ideas via the printing press.
The book then veers off into the growth of cities as the hinging point for trade, first with Lübeck, for example, and then Danzig (Gdansk,) and eventually other Kontore (Hansa Trading posts) shifted weight in the balance of power. Then the Danes began to pursue a policy of hegemony in the region, which was thrashed out by the Treaty of Stralsund, which marked the apex of the power of the Hanseatic League. The author attributes the league's decline in the 16th century to a growing number of causes, including the increasing vigor of the German territorial states and the Nordic kingdoms, as well as overwhelming competition from southern German trading houses and the Netherlands.
The book then moves into the culture changes that were brought about by the wealth that amassed around the Baltic Sea. He only mentions architectural examples, works of art, colleges, great scholars, and various Bible translations. He doesn't go into detail about any of this, of course, since that would have taken a few volumes, instead of this already lengthy book.
The later chapters focus on the Swedish and then Russian influence on the region, and lead all the way into the World Wars, the Cold War, and eventual reorganization of the Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania with their entry into the EU, which forms the basis of a much more expansive European trade network. The author delves into the politics of the socialization of the Northern Baltic states as well, and the creation of welfare states.
The great subject expanse covered makes it a limited survey. For those wanting more detail, the author mentions similar works on the Baltic; David Kirby's The Baltic and the North Seas and Matti Klinge's Ancient Powers of the Baltic Seas. The later seems definitely like something I might want to explore further. I would suggest this book only for those interested in tying it all together. It takes several days to read, due to the huge amount of research it sparks about the many interesting topics introduced.
I read this book for my stop in Latvia on my Journey Around the World in 80 books. My next stop will be Lithuania. I read it in the Kindle format.
started_finish_later
August 20, 2016neither a narration that keeps one turning pages nor an academic study, but a boring hybrid
December 12, 2018
I had to struggle with the problem of "known unknowns" and "unknown unknowns" on this book.
I got it because I knew that I was largely ignorant of the history of the Baltic region. That was the known unknown.
It turns out that I was PROFOUNDLY ignorant, and particularly so regarding the earlier periods (say, Vikings to 30 Years War). This was the unknown unknown. The result was that I had great difficulty understanding what the heck the author was trying to tell me for the first half of the book.
I think that some better maps to show where the various locations were (where do I find the Semigallians?) and maybe some other introductory material would have been useful. I had very little ability to comprehend who was who, when the author was describing people in at least 10, and often many more, locations.
Or maybe I should have done some preparatory work to be able to understand this survey of a thousand years over a vast territory.
If you have some grounding already in the history of the region, this will likely be a useful synthesis. If you are like me, a complete novice to much of the time and place, this is less useful until the later part of the book.
I got it because I knew that I was largely ignorant of the history of the Baltic region. That was the known unknown.
It turns out that I was PROFOUNDLY ignorant, and particularly so regarding the earlier periods (say, Vikings to 30 Years War). This was the unknown unknown. The result was that I had great difficulty understanding what the heck the author was trying to tell me for the first half of the book.
I think that some better maps to show where the various locations were (where do I find the Semigallians?) and maybe some other introductory material would have been useful. I had very little ability to comprehend who was who, when the author was describing people in at least 10, and often many more, locations.
Or maybe I should have done some preparatory work to be able to understand this survey of a thousand years over a vast territory.
If you have some grounding already in the history of the region, this will likely be a useful synthesis. If you are like me, a complete novice to much of the time and place, this is less useful until the later part of the book.
July 19, 2017
This book is a great read if you want to learn the basic history of the Baltic region and how the present configuration come about. One particularly interesting bit of history is all the references to the city of Narva which has recently become the subject of potential war posturing. The book focuses on trade more than anything, which makes sense given the region. Religion, art, war and all the other cultural influences are also mentioned. If you know a good amount of Baltic history then this book can probably be skipped as I'm sure others would have more in depth looks at specific events and phenomenon, but if you want to learn about the Baltic, this is a very good beginning point.
August 9, 2015
A translation from German and somehow dry. Attempts to summarise history of all Baltic countries but in the end does not tell anything new what one can get from the other books that cover the whole subject in much more details. Two stars because I have ready it. Otherwise would be only one.
February 5, 2018
Ganėtinai keista į rankas paimti istorijos knygą, kuri kaip ir beveik apie tavo regioną, bet ne visai: nors ir priskiriame save prie Baltijos valstybių, atrodo, jog tai daugiau tik pavadinimas. Baltijos mūsų istorijoje labai nedaug. Nebuvome mes nei pirkliai, gabenę Hanzos prekes į Liubeką, nebuvome mes vokiečių riterių palikuonys, Livonijos ir Kryžiuočių ordino jėgomis skiepiję katalikybę, nebuvome mes ir Skandinavijos karalių intrigų objektais. Na, gal kažkiek ir buvome, bet Lietuva ir Lenkija Baltijos jūros regione atliko periferinį vaidmenį, dažniausiai LDK minima kaip ta keista nenugalima pagonių ar kiek vėliau katalikų (kai jau visur sklido reformacijos idėjos) šalis, labiau žiūrinti į Ukrainos bei Baltarusijos pusę nei į Baltijos jūrą.
Skaitant šią knygą labai aiškiai suvoki, kad nuo kitų Baltijos šalių mes labai skiriamės tiek požiūriu, istorija, tiek architektūra ir kultūra. Visada buvome kitokie nei švedai, danai ar vokiečiai (o tuo pačiu ir kitokie nei latviai ir estai, kurie gyveno vokiškoje aplinkoje). Išskirtiniai tuo, kad paskutiniai pagonys, kad visai ne jūrinė valstybė, kad nepasklido pas mus reformacija, kad turime barokinius miestus. Labai įdomu pažiūrėti į save iš visai kito kampo.
Beje, knygoje buvo labia įdomi mintis apie tai, kodėl buvo tokie sėkmingi Baltijos šalių nacionalinių valstybių projektai tarpukariu: Lietuvos, Latvijos ir Estijos valstybės galėjo tapti tiek Tarybos sąjungos, tiek baltųjų rusų, tiek dar kitokių okupantų žeme, bet atsilaikė. Autorius teigia, jog tokią sėkmę nulėmė žemės reformos idėja: žemė buvo nusavinta iš stambiųjų žemvaldžių ir padalinta vietiniams gyventojams, o savanoriams, kurie sutiko eiti į kariuomenę, buvo žadama (ir padalinama) dar daugiau žemės. Atsirado labai aiškus suvokimas, kad kovodamas už savo nacionalinę valstybę, tu kovoji už savo žemę. nieko keisto, kad antrojo pasaulinio karo metu užėjus bolševikams ir prasidėjus gandams apie žemės nusavinimą bei varymą į kolūkius vėl visi ėjo „kariauti už savo žemę“. O kadangi žemė po 5-10 hektarų buvo plačiai padalinta, tai ir tokių kovojančių buvo itin daug.
Skaitant šią knygą labai aiškiai suvoki, kad nuo kitų Baltijos šalių mes labai skiriamės tiek požiūriu, istorija, tiek architektūra ir kultūra. Visada buvome kitokie nei švedai, danai ar vokiečiai (o tuo pačiu ir kitokie nei latviai ir estai, kurie gyveno vokiškoje aplinkoje). Išskirtiniai tuo, kad paskutiniai pagonys, kad visai ne jūrinė valstybė, kad nepasklido pas mus reformacija, kad turime barokinius miestus. Labai įdomu pažiūrėti į save iš visai kito kampo.
Beje, knygoje buvo labia įdomi mintis apie tai, kodėl buvo tokie sėkmingi Baltijos šalių nacionalinių valstybių projektai tarpukariu: Lietuvos, Latvijos ir Estijos valstybės galėjo tapti tiek Tarybos sąjungos, tiek baltųjų rusų, tiek dar kitokių okupantų žeme, bet atsilaikė. Autorius teigia, jog tokią sėkmę nulėmė žemės reformos idėja: žemė buvo nusavinta iš stambiųjų žemvaldžių ir padalinta vietiniams gyventojams, o savanoriams, kurie sutiko eiti į kariuomenę, buvo žadama (ir padalinama) dar daugiau žemės. Atsirado labai aiškus suvokimas, kad kovodamas už savo nacionalinę valstybę, tu kovoji už savo žemę. nieko keisto, kad antrojo pasaulinio karo metu užėjus bolševikams ir prasidėjus gandams apie žemės nusavinimą bei varymą į kolūkius vėl visi ėjo „kariauti už savo žemę“. O kadangi žemė po 5-10 hektarų buvo plačiai padalinta, tai ir tokių kovojančių buvo itin daug.
May 28, 2023
The book is full of facts and focused on trade, while telling the history of the countries surrounding the Baltic from the ninth century until 2015. The structure is time period and skips from country to country. The author does not use stories or people, so it is dry reading. But I did learn a lot.
January 30, 2021
This is a hard book to read. It’s thickly academic in writing style. I had to pause every few pages to mentally sort through the barrage of changing information.
I’d almost say that this is a reference book to keep on your shelf whenever you get a trivial pursuit question about the Baltics.
I’d almost say that this is a reference book to keep on your shelf whenever you get a trivial pursuit question about the Baltics.
June 13, 2022
North's vision of the Baltic is too scattered to prove comprehensive. I read this while in Visby, on Gotland, and found the lacunae of that area particularly painful. Overall, an interesting survey but hard to recommend as an introductory text.
July 29, 2017
Difficult to absorb the level of detail. The book covers centuries of history, commerce, art of the (ever changing) countries bordering the Baltic Sea.
January 18, 2020
Quite an academic read. And the ambition meant that the structure was also sometimes a challenge. But I learned so much about a region I know, of whose history I knew so little.
February 3, 2020
I learned a lot about the history of the region, though the book was a bit of a slog. Very little info on prehistoric times.
Read
June 21, 2020Quite engaging!
February 2, 2025
Superb history of the commerce, art and culture of this magnificent region. Includes, in addition to the three Baltic States, Finland, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenbourg, Finland and Sweden, as well as discussions of the influence of the Dutch.
December 1, 2025
This isn't a bad read - it's very informative about a part of Europe that one doesn't know much about. We've all heard of the Vikings and Gustavus Adolphus, we know about St Petersburg but, apart from occasional dribbles and drabbles, it really does come across as a bit player at the edge of the stage because so much emphasis is placed on the Atlantic states of Europe. This book does a very creditable effort to put that straight.
The only problem is that is is a bit dry in parts so reading it becomes, and this sounds unfair to me, a task.
The reality is that the book contains one of the best summaries I've ever read of the collapse of the Soviet Union's hold on its European satellites.
Well worth reading... but have lighter reading alongside.
The only problem is that is is a bit dry in parts so reading it becomes, and this sounds unfair to me, a task.
The reality is that the book contains one of the best summaries I've ever read of the collapse of the Soviet Union's hold on its European satellites.
Well worth reading... but have lighter reading alongside.
June 18, 2018
In this overview of the Baltic region from the Vikings to the European Union, Michael North presents the sea and the lands that surround it as a Nordic Mediterranean, a maritime zone of shared influence, with its own distinct patterns of trade, cultural exchange, and conflict. Covering over a thousand years in a part of the world where seas have been much more connective than land, The Baltic: A History" transforms the way we think about a body of water too often ignored in studies of the world s major waterways. The Baltic lands have been populated since prehistory by diverse linguistic groups: Balts, Slavs, Germans, and Finns. North traces how the various tribes, peoples, and states of the region have lived in peace and at war, as both global powers and pawns of foreign regimes, and as exceptionally creative interpreters of cultural movements from Christianity to Romanticism and Modernism. He examines the golden age of the Vikings, the Hanseatic League, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, and Peter the Great, and looks at the hard choices people had to make in the twentieth century as fascists, communists, and liberal democrats played out their ambitions on the region s doorstep. With its vigorous trade in furs, fish, timber, amber, and grain and its strategic position as a thruway for oil and natural gas, the Baltic has been and remains one of the great economic and cultural crossroads of the world."
February 4, 2017
This was a fairly interesting overview of the Baltic region, but the scope of the book was so large that it felt almost like a series of book reports. I struggled quite a bit with the sections on art and architecture as I don't have enough familiarity with Dutch paintings and Swedish architecture to be able to really make sense of what the book said without looking up photos on the internet. I suspect if I did know more about any of the topics covered in the book, I would have been frustrated by how everything was painted in such broad strokes. I'm going to look into a few topics a little more in depth, and I never got bored with this book, but I can't think of anyone I'd recommend it to.
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April 6, 2015KOBOBOOKS
Reviewed by Open Letters Monthly
Reviewed by Open Letters Monthly
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