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[[File: William Tell three.jpg|200px|thumb|left|A medieval manuscript of the Battle of Morgarten ]]Modern-day Switzerland was part of the Holy Roman Empire in 1200. In the medieval period global warming, meant meaning that the Alpine valleys became suitable for livestock and this allowed for the population to grow, rapidly. The Swiss territories or cantons were largely autonomous and only nominally controlled by the German Empire. However, this was to change with the rise of the Hapsburg dynasty in neighboring Austria. The Hapsburg’s became the most important power in central Europe and also Holy Roman Emperors. Successive Austrian monarchs began to interfere in the internal affairs of the Swiss Canton and threatened their traditional liberty. They even imposed bailiffs and local rulers on the cantons. Like many mountain-people the Swiss were independent-minded, and they resisted what they saw as Austrian oppression. In 1291 they adopted a federal charter which is still the basis of the Swiss Constitution, and in 1307 several cantons and cities came together to form a confederacy to protect their liberties. The Swiss, who were renowned pike men defeated the Hapsburgs at the Battle of Morgarten (1315) and the Battle of Sempach (1366). The cantons were able to expand their territory and later defeated the Dukes of Burgundy (1477) and their territories became the nucleus for the modern state of Switzerland. The context of the William Tell story is Switzerland’s struggle for independence from the Hapsburgs and its emergence as a nation <ref> Church, Clive H., and Randolph C. Head. A concise history of Switzerland (Cambridge University Press, 2013), pp 45-50</ref>.

[[File: William Tell threeHowever, this was to change with the rise of the Hapsburg dynasty in neighboring Austria. The Hapsburg’s became the most important power in central Europe and also Holy Roman Emperors. Successive Austrian monarchs began to interfere in the internal affairs of the Swiss Canton and threatened their traditional liberty. They even imposed bailiffs and local rulers on the cantons. Like many mountain-people the Swiss were independent-minded, and they resisted what they saw as Austrian oppression.jpg|200px|thumb|left|A medieval manuscript  In 1291 they adopted a federal charter which is still the basis of the Swiss Constitution, and in 1307 several cantons and cities came together to form a confederacy to protect their liberties. The Swiss, who were renowned pikemen, defeated the Hapsburgs at the Battle of Morgarten ]](1315) and the Battle of Sempach (1366). The cantons were able to expand their territory and later defeated the Dukes of Burgundy (1477), and their territories became the nucleus for the modern state of Switzerland. The context of the William Tell story is Switzerland’s struggle for independence from the Hapsburgs and its emergence as a nation. <ref> Church, Clive H., and Randolph C. Head. A concise history of Switzerland (Cambridge University Press, 2013), pp 45-50</ref>