<prompt> Translate the following text to EnglishMji huo ulikuwa na demokrasia ya mapema, na ulichagua meya wake wa kwanza mwaka wa 1199, na kwa muda mrefu ulikuwa ngome ya Waprotestanti katika nchi ya Kikatoliki.  <response>: It was an early experimenter in democracy, electing its first mayor in 1199, and was long a Protestant bastion in a Catholic country. 