Herring and the Rise of Northern Europe

Herring was medieval Europes cheapest protein. When the Baltic herring runs peaked in the 12th-15th centuries, salt-cured herring became a trans-continental commodity. The Hanseatic League - a trade federation of North German ports - grew wealthy on it. When herring populations shifted to the North Sea in the 15th century, Amsterdam and English ports rose while Baltic ones declined. Herring literally moved the economic center of Europe.