The conflict begins with Maximilian I's effort to impose the Common Penny and the Imperial Supreme Court as instruments of greater imperial unity. The fiercely local Swiss cantons reject authority that offers them little visible legitimacy. Maximilian turns to the Swabian League after political centralization fails. He expects raids to fund his army, enhance his prestige, and force the Confederacy into submission - an escalation built on a poor reading of Swiss political culture.
Chapter · 1:51-7:18
Maximilian's imperial reforms meet Swiss resistance
Maximilian I tries to bind the Swiss to imperial taxation and courts, then turns to the Swabian League and raiding when political centralization fails.