I asked the Q regarding the Free Cities: Oligarchy vs Aristocracy/Monarchy…(1) Was it a real world trend where the former evolved into the latter as Europe moved from the Late Medieval period, through the Renaissance into the Early Modern era? (2) Would you see any of the Free Cities moving in this direction given their geographic separation from the Westerosi monarchies vs the RL proximity of the Italian states to their European neighbours (assuming this evolution happened at all)? – RSAFan.

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1. In Renaissance Italy especially. While most of the Italian communes were republics in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries, by the beginning of the 14th most had become principalities, with the notable exceptions of Venice, Florence, Lucca, and a few others. (And even then, Florence and Lucca became Dukedoms by the mid-16th century). 

2. They’re not that separated. The Narrow Sea is a narrow one, after all. 

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