The
growth of the Old Swiss Confederacy began as an alliance between the communities of the valleys in the
Central Alps to facilitate the management of common interests such as
free trade and to ensure the peace along the important trade routes through the mountains. In the late
Middle Ages, this region belonged to the
Holy Roman Empire, and because of its strategic importance the
Hohenstaufen emperors had granted it
reichsfrei status in the early 13th century. As
reichsfrei regions, the
cantons (or regions) of
Uri,
Schwyz, and
Unterwalden were under the direct authority of the emperor without any intermediate
liege lords and thus were largely autonomous.