186 Switzerland. 



of its political existence dates back at least 600 years, 

 when, in 1291, the people of the three forest cantons, 

 Schwyz, Uri and Unterwalden, formed their first 

 league to resist encroachments on their rights by the 

 church and by the feudal barons. 



The country became settled, similarly to Germany, 

 by Germans, and especially Burgundians, a free 

 people ; but when the control of the Obermarker over the 

 free communities began to ripen into feudal superi- 

 ority, it found resistance in the forest cantons, and 

 these formed a league to fight the duke of Hapsburg, 

 who partly as feudal lord, partly as Reichsvogt, 

 the emperor's representative, claimed obnoxious 

 rights. Through admission of neighboring lands and 

 cities to the league, the number of confederates had 

 by the middle of the 14th century grown to eight, 

 and when, by the battles of Sempach (1386) and 

 Naefels (1388), the Austrian Hapsburg supremacy 

 had been permanently destroyed, the number of 

 allies grew, and, by conquest and annexation and 

 otherwise, their territory attained nearly the present 

 size by the middle of the 15th century; the 

 war against feudalism being the cause for this 

 growth. 



These various small republics, however, always 

 formed a part of and owed allegiance to the German 

 Empire, although they resisted the arms of the Em- 

 peror as Archduke of Austria until, with the peace 

 of 1499, this connection became entirely nominal. 

 The final separation from the German empire and 

 acknowledgement of independence was not pronounced 

 until the peace of Westphalia, in 1648. 



