Royal free city

Have you ever played a game where you're the ruler of a kingdom or city? Well, in real life a long time ago, there were some cities that were ruled differently than others. These cities were called Royal Free Cities.

So, imagine you live in a city and one day a very powerful king or queen comes to your town and says, "Hey, I'm in charge now and everyone has to do what I say." This might make you and your neighbors feel really scared and frustrated, right? But, in some cities, the people who lived there didn't want a king or queen to control them like that.

Instead, they decided to come up with their own rules and make their own decisions. That's where Royal Free Cities came in! These cities were special because they were ruled by the people who lived there, not some faraway king or queen.

This meant that the people in the city got to choose their own leaders and make their own laws. They also got to collect their own taxes and decide how to use that money to make their city a better place to live. Pretty cool, right?

Being a Royal Free City also meant that other kings, queens, and powerful leaders couldn't just come in and take over whenever they wanted. The people in the city had the right to protect themselves and their way of life.

So, in summary, a Royal Free City was a town or city that was ruled by the people who lived there, not by a king or queen from far away. The people in the city got to make their own rules, choose their own leaders, collect their own taxes, and protect themselves from outside threats.