1509-1511

In the two and half years since the Treaty of Halmstad was signed, several things became clear within the wider European economic landscape.

One of those things was the collapse of the Danish hegemony within the Baltic and North Sea. In order to pay for its vast debts, the Kingdom of Denmark was forced to sell off much of its permanent fleet. As the myriad Danish ships were scuttled, so too was Denmark's ability to enforce the sanctity of Danish Straits scuttled along with it. The Oresund was the strait that allowed for both the easiest and least treacherous path into the Baltic, as the other straits were forbidden for use by non-Danish boats. The Danish Navy had established posts, infrastructure, and the ships necessary to sink any non-Danish boat attempting to navigate any other path. However, the distinct lack of Danish naval presence meant that now enforcing the Oresund ban was nigh impossible. As such, a key pillar of the peace treaty was now largely moot. Non-Hanseatic boats were now often bypassing the Sound Toll by sailing through the Great Belt, as there was simply nothing there to stop them doing so, aside from nature herself. This, combined with the Hansa’s exemption from the Sound Toll as per Clause 8 of the Treaty of Halmstad, now means that the Sound Toll has faced a massive drop in income.

Secondly, the Wendish merchants of the Hanseatic League, and to a lesser extent, other Hanseatic merchants of North Germany and the Baltic have seen their revenues return to heights not seen in a century. With their exemption from the sound tolls, the Hansa could undercut their competition and still make a killing with an increased margin of profit. Unlike other merchants, they did not need to account for the Sound Dues, giving them a position of incredible strength. Thus, the Hansa have now re-established their grain monopoly for all practical purposes.

But where there are winners, there are also losers. Dutch merchants had fought and won their way into the Baltic Grain Trade seventy years prior, suddenly were now cut off from their staple Baltic Grain Trade. While they could technically still participate in the trade, they either had to pay the Sound Dues in order to to pass through the Oresund or risk the longer, more treacherous route through the Great Belt in order to bypass it. Either way, they could no longer compete with the competitive pricing of the Hanseatic League. Even the English were better off than the dutch, for their agreement with the Hansa allowed them to buy Baltic goods at a discounted price.

TL;DR:

Denmark (and Sweden) doesn’t have the navy (or income) to enforce use of the Oresund, and with the majority of the merchants passing into and out of the Baltic either being exempt from the toll, bypassing it through the other Danish straits, or attempting to pass through the Oresund and avoid what Swedish presence there was. Sweden cannot in its current form function as the enforcer of the Sound.

• The Little Hansa and their associates are making more money than ever.

• The Dutch are bleeding money and cannot survive in the current situation long term.

• The Swedish and Danish nobility have been severely impoverished due to the Sound Dues collapsing and the new wealth of the Hanseatic Burghers