 Trade within the Hanseatic League between the 13th and 17th centuries made this port one of the largest in Europe, its commercial importance being further heightened as it became vital to early transatlantic voyages during the age of steam.In the period of European colonization of the Americas, immigrants to this port were a "bridge" between old European recipes and the future development of the hamburger in the United States.During the first half of the 19th century, most of the northern European emigrants who traveled to the New World embarked on their transatlantic voyages from Hamburg.