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And by Swiss Republic/Confederation I mean that awkward non-monarchical gap in the heart of Europe that's been there for a few centuries. @Torbald got it right in the Aviz-Trastamara TL. But I was wondering if there are any other alternatives? I will admit, I'm not familiar with Swiss history before 1500 beyond the William Tell story. But according to wiki, that's placed in the early 14th century. However, part of the reason for Tell and the rebellion associated with him, was apparently because the Habsburgs wanted to consolidate their hold over an area that the Hohenstaufens had declared reichsfrei regions.

Now, an easy option seems to be to either let the Hohenstaufens never declare these cantons reichsfrei or the Habsburgs are successful (IIRC this was around the time that they were also trying to claim the Bohemian crown wasn't it?) in defeating the rebellion. But I'm open to other suggestions. Also, what we know as Switzerland doesn't have to be one country (and AIUI until 1815 it wasn't, just a bunch of independent statelets bound together in a mutual defensive pact kind of thing), it can be several entities split between several different dynasties (Habsburgs, the houses of Baden (held the title of Margrave of Basel OTL) and Savoy (held the title of count of Geneva)) etc.

If they all wind up under one ruler somehow - a la Burgundy or Spain, through advantageous marriages - that's good, but it doesn't have to be.
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