ABSTRACT
There have always been hundreds or thousands of small political units with high levels of autonomy or independence, typically within large empires. Before the formation of states within Europe developed out of theWestphalia treaty in the seventeenth century, the Roman and German empire encompassed about 300 autonomous territories, including among the largest Bavaria, Saxony, and Brandenburg-Prussia, together with the tiny territories of Baden, Hesse, Cologne, and Salzburg. In Swiss territory, both small rural cantons and cities, like Geneva and Berne, governed themselves. On the Italian peninsula, the kingdom of Naples and the Papal dominions coexisted with tiny principalities like Parma and robust city-republics like Florence, Genoa and Venice. Other well-governed small or middle-sized kingdoms and principalities existed in Bohemia, Brittany, Catalonia, Scotland, and Sicily, among other places. On the basis of these and many other similar experiences, medieval assemblies summoned by the kings were formed with representatives not only of diverse social categories but also of welldefined small territories. Even the largest kingdoms, like England and France, somehow relied upon county and borough elections, town assemblies, and provincial estates.
