Die Hamburger Expedition von 1433 nach Emden und gegen die Sibetsburg vor dem Hintergrund der Ausstattungsliste

Abstract

"The expenses accrued by the City of Hamburg in one year of its struggle against piracy amount to altogether approximately 11,576 'lübisch mark', of which goods and material accounted for 51.9%. Of the total costs, another 16.9% were spent on wages, soldiers’ pay and services. The register in which these expenses were recorded comprises the period from Whitsun 1433 to Whitsun 1434. The major military operations were concluded by the latter point in time. Initially, the expedition’s commanders were Simon van Utrecht, Ludolph Meltsing, Nikolaus Lange and Dietrich Luneborg. The latter two returned to Hamburg in the autumn of 1433, to be succeeded by Johann Nigebür and Albert Widinghusen. The expedition represented Hamburg’s most extensive undertaking in its efforts to ban the dangers of piracy, a purpose it failed to achieve. The pirates' activities were weakened, however, and the readiness of the East Frisian chiefs to negotiate increased. Piracy nevertheless continued to be the scourge of seafaring on the North Sea coast until well into the sixteenth century. Whereas prior to 1433 Hamburg had for the most part pursued a policy of negotiation and alliance, in the case of Emden it made a clear attempt to assert itself as a territorial power. In the end it failed, due not least to logistical problems. In the years that followed, the city council consistently kept the number of strongpoints below a certain level and saw to the permanent surveillance of the Elbe and the shipping routes in the North Sea by means of city-owned guard ships - methods which proved more effective in the long run." (author's abstract)