Editing Zug (section)

===Joining the Swiss Confederation===
On 27 June 1352, both the town of Zug and the ''Aeusser Amt'' entered the [[Swiss Confederation]], the latter being received on exactly the same terms as the town, and not, as was usual in the case of outer districts, as a subject land. However, in September 1352 Zug had to acknowledge its own lords again, and in 1355 was obliged to break off its connection with the league. About 1364, the town and the Aeusser Amt were recovered for the league by the men of [[Schwyz]], and from this time Zug took part as a full member in all the acts of the league. In 1379, the [[Holy Roman Empire|Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Wenceslaus, Holy Roman Emperor|Wenceslaus]] exempted Zug from all external jurisdictions, and in 1389 the Habsburgs renounced their claims, reserving only an annual payment of 20 silver marks, which came to an end in 1415. In 1400 Wenceslaus gave all criminal jurisdiction to the town only. The Aeusser Amt, in 1404, then claimed that the banner and seal of Zug should be kept in one of the country districts and were supported in this claim by Schwyz. The matter was finally settled in 1412 by arbitration, and the banner was to be kept in the town. Finally in 1415, the right of electing their ''[[landammann]]'' was given to Zug by the Confederation, and a share in the criminal jurisdiction was granted to the Aeusser Amt by German king [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor|Sigismund]].{{sfn|Coolidge|1911|p=1048}}

The alliance of the four forest cantons of [[Uri (canton)|Uri]], [[Schwyz (canton)|Schwyz]], [[Unterwalden]] and [[Lucerne]] with the city of Zürich in 1351 set much in motion. The town of Zug was seen as having Habsburg ties with the cities of Zürich and Lucerne, and therefore had to be conquered. It is likely that this was more for political than economic reasons: the Lucerne market was very important for central Switzerland, but also strongly dependent on the city of [[Zürich]]. Zürich initiated a siege on Zug with the federal army in June 1352. Zug surrendered. On 27 June 1352 Zürich, Luzern, Zug, Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden formed an alliance. Zürich's saw this 'Zugerbund' (Zug alliance) as an alliance of convenience. For the town of Zug, little changed, and Zug remained Habsburg. That same year, the Zug alliance was declared invalid by all parties. A period of Schwyz domination then followed. Only gradually did Zug become sovereign and federal.

Simultaneously, Zug expanded its territory, acquiring a number of rural areas in the form of bailiwicks ([[Walchwil]], [[Cham (Switzerland)|Cham]], Gangolfswil [Risch] [[Hünenberg]] and [[Steinhausen, Switzerland|Steinhausen]], and Oberrüti, now part of the canton of Aargau). Zug became a confederation in itself – with the town and its subject territories, and the three outer ('free') municipalities, [[Ägeri]], [[Menzingen]] (with [[Neuheim]]) and [[Baar, Switzerland|Baar]]. This problematic dualism dominated until 1798, i.e. until the end of the old confederation, the political structure of the Canton Zug. The unifying element of this miniature confederation was, among others, the rural municipalities and the forty-member city council.