Task: Text Categorization
Input (English): Heinrich Sudermann filled the new post of Syndic and tried to revive its power in later years. Earlier, after a loss at the Battle of Helsingborg, it formed the Cologne Confederation. Broken into three parts, the most powerful of which was the Wendish third, it built foreign posts known as (*) Kontor including Bergen, Peterhof, and the Steelyard. After a successful blockade of Copenhagen, it signed the Treaty of Stralsund, which cemented a victory over King Valdemar IV of Denmark by extorting 15 percent of Denmark's trading profits. It convened at a Diet, with representatives from 70 to 170 cities, which periodically met at the city of Lubeck. For ten points, name this alliance of trading cities and guilds that maintained a trade monopoly along the coast of Northern Europe during the late Middle Ages.
Output (English): History