William Tell and Swiss Independence.

The story of William Tell is very popular in today’s society. The famous legend, which focuses around William Tell, who later lead the Swiss people to victory, is recorded in many stories. Yet it is not known if this tale is actually true, for it could have been a fictional ballad, written to be enjoyed as a story. Anyway, one thing we do know, is that around this time, the Swiss people freed themselves from the Habsburg rule. The story starts off in the early 14^thcentury, with the cruel oppression of the House of Habsburg, a new branch of the Holy Roman Empire and the newly established Gessler, an Austrian bailiff in the town of Altdorf, Switzerland. William Tell comes into the story as a famed marksman who is walking through Altdorf in 1307 with his young son, Walter. Gessler wanted to test the loyalty of his new people, so he set up a staff in the town square, with his hat resting on the top. The hat represented him, so the people who passed it had to bow down to the hat. When William Tell came to the hat, he publicly refused to bow down. Gessler, hearing the commotion came out to the square. When he heard what William had said, he ordered the woodsman to bow before him. William again refused, angering the bailiff. But Gessler came up with an evil plan, and told William, that he could either die with his son now, or take a test. This test was that William had to shoot an apple off the head of his own son. William pleaded with the bailiff to grant him other terms, but the bailiff refused. Gessler was curious if the famed marksman was as good as many people said he was, yet the bailiff also thought it was a fit, punishment, for if the woodsman missed, he would surely hit his own son. So, William loaded his crossbow, here he took out two bolts, which perplexed the bailiff, for this was a one-shot contest, yet he did not say anything at the time. Tell raised his crossbow and let fly at the apple that sat on his son’s head. The bolt cut the apple in half and harmed no so much as one hair on his son’s head. Gessler was amazed, yet a small doubt about the second bolt nagged at his mind, so he asked William what the other bolt was for. William would not answer, so the governor promised him that he would not kill him, so Tell answered, that had his first bolt killed his son, the second bolt would have been for the governor’s heart. Gessler was enraged at this answer, so he ordered his soldiers to tie William up and sail him to the governor’s dungeons in his castle. On the way, a storm arose, and the men, fearing for their lives, pleaded Gessler to let William go, so that he may guide the ship to safety. The Bailiff finally agreed, and William managed to get the ship to land. But as soon as the ship reached land, William escaped, and ran away from the ship. Later, whilst the governor was looking for Tell, the woodsman managed to kill the evil man, and free the people of that canton from his oppression. William  then lead his people into many battles against the Habsburgs, finally defeating them and uniting the cantons into the basic shape of what they are today.