<b>Helvetia, the "Oath-takers" (1218 on)<b>

When the powerful Zhringer dynasty ended with the death of Berchtold V in 1218, their cities (including Berne and Fribourg) became Reichsfrei (essentially a city-state within the Holy Roman Empire), while the dukes of Kyburg competed with the house of Habsburg over control of the rural regions of the former Zhringer territory. Under the Hohenstaufen rule, the alpine passes in Raetia and the St. Gotthard Pass gained importance. The latter especially became an important direct route through the mountains. Uri (in 1231) and Schwyz (in 1240) were accorded the Reichsfreiheit to grant the Empire direct control over the mountain pass. Most of the territory of Unterwalden at this time belonged to monasteries which had previously become reichsfrei.

The extinction of the Kyburg dynasty paved the way for the Habsburg dynasty to bring much of the territory south of the Rhine under their control, aiding their rise to power. Rudolf I of Habsburg, who became Holy Roman emperor in 1273, effectively revoked the status of Reichsfreiheit granted to the "Forest Cantons" of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden. The Forest Cantons thus lost their independence and were governed by reeves.

Unhappy to have their freedoms limited, the cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden united against the Habsburgs in 1291. At the battles of Morgarten (1315) and Sempach (1386), the Swiss defeated Habsburg armies and secured a de facto independence. By then, they had been joined by the cantons of Glarus and Zug and the city states of Lucerne, Zrich, and Berne, creating the "Old Federation". They usually referred to themselves as the "Eidgenossen", the "Oath-takers". As the Habsburgs lost imperial power to the house of Luxembourg in 1308, they could no longer reinforce their military might with legal power. The new emperors confirmed the independence within the empire of the Swiss regions, and as a result gained a valuable ally against the ambitious Habsburgs.

The alliance of the "Eight Places" was a not a homogeneous state, but rather a conglomerate of eight independent cities and lands, held together not by one single pact but by a net of six different "eternal" pacts, none of which included all eight parties as signatories. Only the three founders, the Waldsttten Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden were part of all these treaties. All eight parties would still pursue their own particular interests, most notably in the cases of the strong cities of Zrich and Berne.

The Old Zrich War, which began as a dispute over the succession to the county of Toggenburg, was the most serious test of the unity of the Eight Places. Zrich did not accept the claims of Schwyz and Glarus, which were supported by the rest of the cantons, and in 1438 declared an embargo. The other members of the confederation expelled Zrich in 1440 and declared war. In retaliation Zrich made a pact with the Habsburgs in 1442. The other cantons invaded Zrich's lands and besieged the city, without success. By 1446, both sides were exhausted, and a preliminary peace was concluded. In 1450, the parties made a definitive peace and Zrich was admitted into the confederation again, but had to dissolve its alliance with the Habsburgs. The confederation had grown into a political alliance so close that it no longer tolerated separatist tendencies of its members.

Further expansion was achieved in the second half of the 15th century. A number of cities, such as Stein am Rhein, Schaffhausen, St Gallen and Rapperswil became part of the Confederation, and Fribourg, Rottweil and Mulhouse became associates. The Thurgau and Vaud were occupied, to the detriment of Austria and Savoy.
The Swiss were by now very powerful, as the many cities could afford to raise sizable and well-trained contingents. They proved their skills in the Swiss-Burgundian War, where they aggressively attacked the Burgundian Duke Charles the Bold, who they feared was going to limit their future expansion - there had been no direct threat to Swiss territory. The war, while giving the Swiss no real territorial benefits, had created a solid reputation for their pikemen and halberdiers, and before long all the great states of Europe were employing Swiss troops, or drilling their own armies in similar style. Not until the French Revolution would Swiss independence be challenged again.
