Switzerland

A federal republic in Central Europe; bounded on the north by Baden, northeast by Würtemberg and Bavaria, east by the principality of Liechtenstein and the Tyrol, south by Piedmont and Savoy, and west and northwest by France. Switzerland was in Roman times inhabited by two races,—the Helvetii on the northwest, and the Rhætians on the southeast. When the invasions took place, the Burgundians settled in Western Switzerland, while the Alemanni took po e ion of the country east of the Aar. The Goths entered the country from Italy, and took po e ion of the country of the Rhætians. Switzerland in the early part of the Middle Ages formed part of the German empire, and feudalism sprang up in the Swi highlands even more vigorously than elsewhere. During the 11th and 12th centuries, the greater part of Switzerland was ruled on behalf of the emperors by the lords of Zahringen, who did much to check civil wars. They, however, became extinct in 1218, and then the country was distracted by wars, which broke out among the leading families. The great towns united in self-defense, and many of them obtained imperial charters. Rudolph of Habsburg, who became emperor in 1273, favored the independence of the towns; but his son Albert I. took another course. He attacked the great towns, and was defeated. The leading men of the Forest Cantons met on the Rütli meadow, on November 7, 1307, and resolved to expel the Austrian bailiffs or landvögte. A war ensued which terminated in favor of the Swi at Morgarten (which see) in 1315. Schwyz, Uri, and Unterwalden, with Lucerne, Zürich, Glarus, Zug, and Bern, eight cantons in all, in 1352, entered into a perpetual league, which was the foundation of the Swi Confederation. Other wars with Austria followed, which terminated favorably for the confederates at Nafels (which see) and Sempach (which see). In 1415, the people of the cantons became the aggre ors. They invaded Aargau and Thurgau, parts of the Austrian territory, and annexed them; three years later, they cro ed the Alps, and annexed Ticino, and constituted all three subject states. The Swi were next engaged in a struggle on the French frontier with Charles the Bold of Burgundy. They entered the field with 34,000 men, to oppose an army of 60,000, and yet they were succe ful, gaining the famous battles of Granson and Morat (see Morat ) in 1476. In 1499, the emperor Maximilian I. made a final attempt to bring Switzerland once more within the bounds of the empire. He sought to draw men and supplies from the inhabitants for his Turkish war, but in vain. He was defeated in six desperate engagements. Basel and Schaffhausen (1501), and Appenzell (1513), were then received into the confederation, and its true independence began. New troubles sprang up with the Reformation. War broke out in 1531 between the Catholics and Protestants, and the former were succe ful at Cappel (which see), where Zwingli was slain. This victory to some extent settled the boundaries of the two creeds; in 1536, however, Bern wrested the Pays de Vaud from the dukes of Savoy. During the Thirty Years’ War, Bern and Zürich contrived to maintain with great skill the neutrality of Switzerland, and in the treaty of Westphalia, in 1648, it was acknowledged by the great powers as a separate and independent state. At this period, the Swi , in immense numbers, were employed as soldiers in foreign service, and the record of their exploits gives ample evidence of their courage and hardihood. In 1798, Switzerland was seized by the French. At the peace of 1815, its independence was again acknowledged. In 1839, at Zürich, a mob of peasants, headed by the Protestant clergy, overturned the government. In Valais, where universal suffrage had put power into the hands of the reactionary party, a war took place in which the latter were victorious. In 1844, a proposal was made in the Diet to expel the Jesuits; but that body declined to act. The radical party then organized bodies of armed men, called the Free Corps, which invaded the Catholic cantons; but they were defeated. The Catholic cantons then formed a league, named the Sonder bund, for defense against the Free Corps. A majority in the Diet, in 1847, declared the illegality of the Sonder bund, and decreed the expulsion of the Jesuits. In the war which ensued between the federal army and the forces of the Sonder bund, the former were victorious at Freiburg and Lucerne. The leagued cantons were made liable in all the expenses of the war, the Jesuits were expelled, and the monasteries were suppre ed. Since then, the most important event which has occurred was a rebellion against the king of Pru ia, as prince of Neufchâtel. The canton was declared a republic, with a constitution similar to that of the other Swi states.