The hereditary grand burghership of the stringent civic republic of Hamburg could be acquired in different ways, and was hereditary in male and female lines. The grand burghers were the ruling class, privileged to full freedom of large-scale trade as well as be elected to the Senate of Hamburg. It was considered an oligarchy, comparable to the landed nobility outside the city republic. It existed as a legally defined class until it was abolished together with the nobility in 1919.