Sentence:  Festering antagonism between English and Hanseatic merchants was rooted in the principle of reciprocity. The <WSD>Hansards</WSD> enjoyed extensive trading privileges in England, especially at the Steelyard in London, yet they offered their English counterparts no such commercial concessions in their own markets. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A member of a (t=merchant guild), or a resident of a Hanse town.