William Tell helped gain Swiss independence from the Hapsburgs, the Holy Roman Empire at that time. He may have not been a real person. He may have been a real person, but if he was real, some of the story may not have been real.

When the Holy Roman Empire set up Gessler to govern the people in the town in which William Tell lived, he set up his hat in the center of town so whenever somebody passed by the hat, they had to bow to it to show respect, but William Tell refused to bow to the had and even Gessler himself. That made Gessler very angry. Gessler arrested William Tell and for his punishment, he had to shoot an apple off his own son’s head. Well, this may seem impossible, but he performed the miracle shot. William Tell had two arrows in his pocket because if any harm came to his son, he would shot Gessler with it. This made Gessler even more angry so he sent him on a ship to Gessler’s castle, but there was a storm, so they let William Tell free and he managed to guide the ship to safety. After he beached the ship, he ran for his life. He killed Gessler with his second arrow. He began the fight for Swiss independence after he killed Gessler. The Swiss Confederation gained its independence from the Holy Roman Empire in 1499.