History of Switzerland
Since
1848, the
Swiss Confederation has been a
federal state of relatively autonomous
cantons, some of which have a history of confederacy that goes back more than 700 years, arguably putting them among the world's oldest surviving
republics. For the time before
1291, this article summarizes events taking place on the territory of modern Switzerland. From
1291, it focuses mainly on the fates of the Confederacy, at first consisting of only three cantons (Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden) in what is now central Switzerland, and gradually expanding until it encompassed the present-day area of Switzerland in
1815.
Main article: Early history of Switzerland.
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Map of Switzerland during the Roman period |
Archeological evidence suggests that hunter-gatherers were already settled in the lowlands north of the
Alps in the late
Paleolithic period. By the
Neolithic period, the area was relatively densely populated. Remains of
bronze age pile dwellings have been found in the shallow areas of many lakes. Around
1500 BC,
Celtic tribes settled in the area. The
Raetians lived in the eastern regions, while the west was occupied by the
Helvetii.
In
58 BC, the Helvetii tried to evade migratory pressure from Germanic tribes by moving into
Gaul, but were defeated at
Bibracte by
Julius Caesar's armies and then sent back. The alpine region became integrated into the
Roman Empire and was extensively romanized in the course of the following centuries. The center of Roman administration was at
Aventicum (
Avenches). In
259,
Alamanni tribes overran the
Limes, putting the settlements on Swiss territory on the frontier of the Roman Empire.
The first Christian bishoprics were founded in the
4th century. With the
fall of the Western Roman Empire, Germanic tribes entered the area.
Burgundians settled in the west; while in the north,
Alamanni settlers slowly forced the earlier Celto-Roman population to retreat into the mountains. Burgundy became a part of the kingdom of the
Franks in
534; two years later, the dukedom of the Alamans followed suit. In the Alaman-controlled region, only isolated Christian communities continued to exist and
Irish monks re-introduced the Christian faith in the early
7th century.
Under the
Carolingian kings, the
feudal system proliferated, and monasteries and bishoprics were important bases for maintaining the rule. The
Treaty of Verdun of
843 assigned
Upper Burgundy (the western part of what is today Switzerland) to
Lotharingia, and
Alemannia (the eastern part) to the eastern kingdom of
Louis the German which would become part of the
Holy Roman Empire.
In the
10th century, as the rule of the Carolingians waned
Saracenes ravaged the
Valais, and
Magyars destroyed
Basel in
917 and
St. Gallen in
926. Only after the victory of king
Otto I over the Magyars in
955 in the
Battle of Lechfeld, were the Swiss territories were reintegrated into the empire.
In the
12th century, the dukes of
Zähringen were given authority over part of the Burgundy territories which coverd the western part of modern Switzerland. They founded many cities, including
Fribourg in
1157, and
Berne in
1191. The Zähringer dynasty ended with the death of
Berchtold V in
1218, and their cities subsequently became
reichsfrei (essentially a city-state within the Holy Roman Empire), while the dukes of
Kyburg competed with the house of
Habsburg over control of the rural regions of the former Zähringer territory.
Under the
Hohenstaufen rule, the alpine passes in Raetia and the
St. Gotthard Pass gained importance. The latter especially became an important direct route through the mountains.
Uri (in
1231) and
Schwyz (in
1240) were accorded the
Reichsfreiheit to grant the empire direct control over the mountain pass. Most of the territory of
Unterwalden at this time belonged to monasteries which had become which had previously become reichsfrei.
The extinction of the
Kyburg dynasty paved the way for the Habsburg dynasty to bring much of the territory south of the Rhine under their control, aiding their rise to power.
Rudolph I of Habsburg, who became Holy Roman Emperor in
1273, effectively revoked the status of
Reichsfreiheit granted to the "Forest Cantons" of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden. The Forest Cantons thus lost their independent status and were governed by
reeves.
Main article: Old Swiss Confederacy.
In
1291, the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden conspired against the Habsburgs. Their union is recorded in the
Federal Charter, a document probably written after the fact, in the
14th century. At the battles of
Morgarten in
1315 and
Sempach 1386, the Swiss defeated the Habsburg army and secured a de facto independence.
By
1353, the three original cantons had been joined by the cantons of
Glarus and
Zug and the city states of
Lucerne,
Zürich, and
Berne, forming the "Old Federation" of eight states that persisted during much of the
15th century. Zürich was expelled from the confederation during the
1440s due to a conflict over the territory of
Toggenburg (the
Old Zürich War). This led to a significant increase of power and wealth of the federation, in particular due to the victories over
Charles the Bold of
Burgundy during the
1470s and the success of Swiss
mercenaries.
The traditional listing order of the
cantons of Switzerland reflects this state, listing the eight "Old Cantons" first, with the city states preceding the founding cantons, followed by cantons that joined the federation after
1481, in historical order.
The Swiss victory in a war against the
Swabian League in
1499 amounted to de facto independence from the
Holy Roman Empire. In
1506, Pope
Julius II engaged the
Swiss Guard that continues to serve the
Vatican to the present day. The expansion of the federation and the reputation of invincibility acquired during the earlier wars suffered a first setback in
1515 with the Swiss defeat in the
Battle of Marignano.
Main article: Reformation in Switzerland.
Huldrych Zwingli was elected priest of the
Great Minster church in
Zürich in
1518. Zwingli's
Reformation of
1523 was supported by the magistrate and population of Zürich and led to significant changes in civil life and state matters in Zürich. The reformation was spread from Zürich to five other cantons of Switzerland, while the remaining five sternly held onto the Roman Catholic faith, leading to inter-cantonal wars (
Kappeler Kriege) in
1529 and
1531, where Zwingli died on the battlefield.
During the
Thirty Years' War, Switzerland was a relative "oasis of peace and prosperity" (
Grimmelshausen) in war-torn Europe, mostly because all major powers in Europe were depending on Swiss mercenaries, and would not let Switzerland fall in the hands of one of their rivals. Politically, they all tried to take influence, by way of mercenary commanders such as
Jörg Jenatsch or
Johann Rudolf Wettstein. The
Drei Bünde of
Grisons, at that point not yet a member of the Confederacy, were involved in the war from
1620, which led to their loss of the
Valtellina in
1623.
Main article: Ancien Régime of Switzerland.
At the
Treaty of Westphalia in
1648, Switzerland attained legal independence from the
Holy Roman Empire. The Valtellina became a dependency of the
Drei Bünde again after the Treaty and remained so until the founding of the
Cisalpine Republic by
Napoleon Bonaparte in
1797.
In
1653, peasants of territories subject to
Lucerne,
Berne,
Solothurn, and
Basel revolted because of currency devaluation (
Bauernkrieg). The rebels laid siege to Lucerne and Berne, but a compromise was reached before the outbreak of violence. The social and confessional tensions remained, however, and erupted again in the
Battles of Villmergen in
1656 and
1712.
Main article: Switzerland in the Napoleonic era
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The Swiss flag between 1798–1803 |
During the
French Revolutionary Wars, the revolutionary armies boiled eastward, enveloping Switzerland in their battles against
Austria. In
1798 Switzerland was completely overrun by the French and became the
Helvetic Republic. The Helvetic Republic encountered severe economic and political problems. In 1798 the country became a battlefield of the Revolutionary Wars.
In
1803 Napoleon's
Act of Mediation partially restored the sovereignty of the cantons, and the former tributary and allied territories of
Aargau,
Thurgau,
Grisons,
St.Gallen,
Vaud and
Ticino became cantons with equal rights.
The
Congress of Vienna of
1815 fully re-established Swiss independence and the European powers agreed to permanently recognise Swiss neutrality. At this time, the territory of Switzerland was increased for the last time, by the new cantons of
Valais,
Neuchatel and
Geneva.
Main article Switzerland as a federal stateIn
1847, a civil war broke out between the Catholic and the Protestant cantons (
Sonderbundskrieg). Its immediate cause was a 'special treaty' (
Sonderbund) of the Catholic cantons. It lasted for less than a month, causing fewer than 100 casualties. Apart from small riots, this was the latest armed conflict on Swiss territory.
As a consequence of the civil war, Switzerland adopted a
federal constitution in
1848, amending it extensively in
1874 and establishing federal responsibility for defence, trade, and legal matters, leaving all other matters to the cantonal governments. From then, and over much of the
20th century, continuous political, economic, and social improvement has characterized Swiss history.
Main article Switzerland during the World Wars.During both
World War I and
World War II, Switzerland managed to keep a stance of armed neutrality, and was not involved militarily. It was, however, precisely because of its neutral status, of considerable interest to all parties involved, as the scene for diplomacy, espionage, commerce, and as safe haven for refugees. The
1917 Dada movement of Zurich was essentially a cultural reaction to the war, initiated by exiles.
Lenin was also exiled in Zürich, from where he travelled directly to
Petrograd to lead the
Russian Revolution. In
1920, Switzerland joined the
League of Nations.
Switzerland reacted to Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland by a mobilization of some 430,000 troops. The Swiss army was put under the command of general
Henri Guisan (in the
Swiss army, the rank of general is only assigned to the supreme commander during times of crisis). On May 11,
1940, the day following Hitler's attack on Belgium, the general mobilization of the full army was decided, for the first time including some 15,000 women. Switzerland observed a restrictive immigration policy during the war, but nevertheless some 26,000 Jews and other refugees were granted asylum. Nazi Germany drew up plans to invade Switzerland, most notably '
Operation Tannenbaum', but the invasions were never carried out.
The commercial involvement of some Swiss banks with the Nazi regime, particularly the gold trade of the
Swiss National Bank was the object of public attention between
1995 and
2000. The
Bergier commission estimated that roughly half of the $890 million (U.S.) transactions in gold of the German
Reichsbank was effectuated with the involvement of Swiss banks. Switzerland was accused of violation of neutrality and prolongation of the war because of these transactions, with particular vigour by U.S. Senator
Al D'Amato and attorney
Edward Fagan.
Stuart Eizenstat officially investigated the charges for the U.S. administration. Dealings in gold with Nazi Germany was seen as particularly immoral because much of the gold in question had been looted from Jews killed in
the Holocaust. Switzerland paid reparations to the Allies in
1952.
Swiss banks consistently denied having records for most account holders murdered in the
Holocaust whose heirs demanded that their balances be returned to them. In
1997, Swiss
whistleblower Christoph Meili discovered that the bank he worked for had destroyed records of credit balances of Jews assassinated in the Holocaust, when family members demanded payment of those balances. He managed to forward some evidence to a Jewish organization, which filed a complaint with the Swiss police. Swiss authorities reacted with an arrest warrant against Meili. He managed to escape to the US where he was given
political asylum. Later, Swiss banks settled for the payment of reparations of $1.25 billon (U.S.) to a special
Holocaust Fund in
1999.
Main articles Modern history of Switzerland, Politics of Switzerland.After the war, Swiss authorities considered the construction of a Swiss
nuclear bomb. Leading nuclear physicists at the
Federal Institute of Technology such as
Paul Scherrer made this a realistic possibility, and in
1958 the population clearly voted in favour of the bomb. The
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of
1968 was seen as a valid alternative, however, and the bomb was never built.
From
1959, the
Federal Council, elected by the parliament, is composed of members of the four major parties, the Protestant
Free Democrats, the Catholic
Christian Democrats, the left-wing
Social Democrats and the right-wing
People's Party, essentially creating a system without a sizeable
parliamentary opposition (see
concordance system), reflecting the powerful position of an opposition in a
Direct Democracy.
In
1963, Switzerland joined the
Council of Europe. Women were granted the right to vote only in
1971, and an equal rights amendment was ratified in
1981. In
1979, parts of the canton of
Berne attained independence, forming the new
canton of Jura.
Switzerland's role in many
United Nations and international organizations, helped to mitigate the country's concern for neutrality. In
2002, Switzerland was officially ratified as a member of the
United Nations — the only country joining after agreement by a popular vote.
Switzerland is not a member state of the
EU, but has been (together with
Liechtenstein) surrounded by EU territory since the joining of
Austria in
1995. In 2005, Switzerland agreed to join the
Schengen treaty and
Dublin Convention by popular vote.
*1291 -
Uri,
Schwyz, Unterwalden (now divided into
Obwalden and
Nidwalden)
*1332 -
Lucerne
*1351 -
Zurich
*1352 -
Glarus,
Zug
*1353 -
Bern
*1481 -
Fribourg,
Solothurn
*1501 -
Baselstadt,
Baselland,
Schaffhausen
*1513 -
Appenzell Außerrhoden,
Appenzell Innerrhoden
*1803 -
Sankt Gallen,
Graubunden,
Aargau,
Thurgau,
Ticino,
Vaud
*1815 -
Valais,
Neuchâtel,
Geneva
*1979 -
Jura (secession from Berne)
*
History of Zürich*
History of the Grisons*
Postage stamps and postal history of Switzerland*Dieter Fahrni (2003). An Outline History of Switzerland. From the Origins to the Present Day. 8th enlarged edit Pro Helvetia, Zurich. ISBN 3-908102-61-8
*James Murray Luck (1985). A History of Switzerland. The First 100,000 Years: Before the Beginnings to the Days of the Present. SPOSS, Palo Alto CA. ISBN 0-930664-06-X
*
History of Switzerland: Primary Documents
