The early modern history of the Old Swiss Confederacy (Eidgenossenschaft, also known as the "Swiss Republic" or Republica Helvetiorum) and its constituent Thirteen Cantons encompasses the time of the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) until the French invasion of 1798.
The early modern period was characterized by an increasingly aristocratic and oligarchic ruling class as well as frequent economic or religious revolts. This period came to be referred to as the Ancien Régime retrospectively, in post-Napoleonic Switzerland.
The loosely organized Confederation remained generally disorganized and crippled by the religious divisions created by the Swiss Reformation. During this period the Confederation gained formal independence from the Holy Roman Empire with support from France, and had very close relations with France.
The early modern period also saw the growth of French-Swiss literature, and notable authors of the Age of Enlightenment such as the mathematicians of the Bernoulli family and Leonhard Euler of Basel.
Thirteen Cantons
The Old Swiss Confederacy between phases of expansion consisted of Eight Cantons () during 1352–1481, and of the Thirteen Cantons () from 1513 until its collapse in 1798.
The Thirteen Cantons thus correspond to the sovereign territories of early modern Switzerland.
They were listed in a fixed order of precedence, first the eight, old cantons of the "Alliance of the Eight Cantons" () of the 14th century confederacy, then the five cantons which joined after the Burgundian Wars, and within these two groups, the more powerful urban cantons (, "cities") were listed first, with Zürich heading the list as the de facto Vorort of the Eight Cantons prior to the Swiss Reformation.Im Hof, U.. Geschichte der Schweiz, 7th ed., Stuttgart: Kohlhammer Verlag, 1974/2001. . The order of precedence, similar but not identical to the modern order (which lists Zug after Glarus, and Basel after Solothurn), was as follows:
Zurich, city canton, since 1351 Berne, city canton, since 1353; associate since 1323 Lucerne, city canton, since 1332 Uri, founding canton (Pact of Brunnen 1315) Schwyz, founding canton (Pact of Brunnen 1315) Unterwalden, founding canton (Pact of Brunnen 1315) Zug, city canton, since 1352 Glarus, rural canton, since 1352 Basel, city canton, since 1501 Fribourg, city canton, since 1481; associate since 1454 Solothurn, city canton, since 1481; associate since 1353 Schaffhausen, city canton, since 1501; associate since 1454 Appenzell, rural canton, since 1513; associate since 1411
Symbolic depictions of the Confederacy consisted of arrangements of the thirteen cantonal coats of arms, sometimes with an additional symbol of unity, such as two clasping hands, or the "Swiss Bull" or (from the later 17th century), the Three Confederates or the Helvetia allegory.
The cantonal coats of arms were often accompanied by the coats of arms of the close associates of the confederacy, including Biel, the Imperial Abbey of St. Gallen, Imperial City of St. Gallen, the Sieben Zenden (Valais), the Three Leagues (Grisons), the Imperial City of Mulhouse, the Imperial City of Geneva and the Imperial City of Rottweil.
Thirty Years' War
The Reformation in Switzerland left the Old Swiss Confederacy divided between two hostile factions. But still, Switzerland remained a relative "oasis of peace and prosperity" (Grimmelshausen) while Europe was torn by the Thirty Years' War. The cities generally lay low and watched the destruction from afar, the Republic of Zürich investing in building state-of-the-art city ramparts. The cantons had concluded numerous mercenary contracts and defence alliances with partners on all sides. Some of these contracts neutralized each other, which allowed the confederation to remain neutral – in the 1647 Defensionale von Wil, signed under the impression of the Swedes advancing as far as Lake Constance in the winter of 1646/47, the confederates declared "permanent armed neutrality", the historical starting point of Swiss neutrality, which would be re-confirmed by the Congress of Vienna and adhered to throughout the 19th and 20th century conflicts.
Treaty of Westphalia At the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, the Swiss Confederacy attained legal independence from the Holy Roman Empire, although it had been de facto independent since the Swabian War in 1499. With the support of the Duke of Orléans, who was also prince of Neuchâtel and the head of the French delegation, Johann Rudolf Wettstein, the mayor of Basel, succeeded in getting a formal exemption from the empire for all cantons and associates of the confederacy.
During the Thirty Years' War, the Drei Bünde (Graubünden, an associate state of the Swiss Confederation) had been caught in the middle of internal and external conflict. Because the Leagues were very decentralized, conflicts over religion and foreign policy broke out during the war (known as the Bündner Wirren or Confusion of the Leagues). Following the war the League took steps to strengthen itself. The Valtellina, which had broken from the Three Leagues, became a dependency once again after the Treaty and remained so until the founding of the Cisalpine Republic by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1797.
Relationships with France
Following the Thirty Years' War, as France grew into a great power in Europe, the newly independent Confederation turned to France for trade and protection. In 1663, the Confederation agreed to a new treaty with France which granted Swiss mercenaries certain rights and protections as well as promised French neutrality in Swiss religious conflicts. However, as a consequence of this treaty Switzerland could do nothing when Louis XIV took Alsace (in 1648), Franche-Comté (in 1678 during the Franco-Dutch War) and Strasbourg (in 1681). Following Louis XIV's revocation of the Edict of Nantes, which granted rights to Protestants, the Protestant cantons began to favor military service with the Protestant Dutch who were fighting a series of wars against several European powers including France.
In 1707, following the death of Marie de Nemours, Duchess of Nemours and Princess of Neuchâtel, the city, which was on the border of the Swiss Confederation, had to choose her successor from among fifteen claimants. While Louis XIV promoted a number of French pretenders to the title, the Protestant cantons of the Swiss Confederation encouraged Neuchâtel to select the Protestant King Frederick I of Prussia. In a victory for the Protestant half of the Confederation, Frederick I, who claimed his entitlement in a rather complicated fashion through the Houses of Orange and Nassau, was selected.
In 1715, the Catholic cantons, to regain prestige following their defeat during the Second Battle of Villmergen, renewed the Confederation's treaty with France with several major and unpopular changes. France was placed in the position of the guarantor of their freedom with rights of interfering in case of attack from forces within or without the Confederation. France also promised to procure restitution for the lands lost by the Catholic cantons to the Protestant cantons. This agreement removed much of the independence that the Confederation had enjoyed. In 1777, the unpopular clause was dropped from a renewed agreement between the Confederation and France and the independence of Switzerland was explicitly stated.
Growth of the aristocracy
Political power congealed around the 13 cantons (Bern, Zürich, Zug, Glarus, Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Fribourg, Solothurn, Basel, Luzern, Schaffhausen, Appenzell) of the old confederation. During this era, the patrician families decreased in number but increased in power. Some patrician families were drawn from leadership in the guilds or trading groups within the town, while other families grew from successful mercenary captains and soldiers. The trend toward increasing authoritarianism conflicted with the history of public expression that grew out of the Swiss Reformation. In many regions the patrician families were unable to suppress the public assemblies, but they did dominate the assemblies. The tradition of inviting the people to express their opinions died out mostly during this era.
During this time, changes to the membership of city councils became increasingly rare. Throughout the Middle Ages a seat on the town council was normally a lifetime appointment.Flüeler, p. 93 However, plagues, battlefield deaths, and conflicts over the Reformation guaranteed a regular turnover in the city councils. During the early modern era, growing scientific knowledge and relative peace reduced the number of open seats in the cities. At the same time, council members were increasingly able to fill the council with relatives. The population in Europe began to expand again following the Thirty Years' War. This led to population pressure that hadn't been experienced in several generations. For protection and help against the rising number of immigrants and landless peasants, many villages began to draw closer to neighboring towns, eventually coming under the authority of the larger towns.
During the 17th century seats in the councils became increasingly hereditary. There were between 50 and 200 families that controlled all the key political, military, and industrial positions in Switzerland. In Bern out of 360 burgher families only 69 still had any power and could be elected by the end of the 18th century. However, the aristocracy remained generally open, and in some cities new families were accepted if they were successful and rich enough. An unusual example of interstate family relations are the Counts de Salis-Soglio who were naturalized as British subjects in 1743, only to be sent back immediately to Chur by George II of Great Britain as envoys to the Three Leagues (nowadays the canton of Grisons), a country where the family was predominant in the 18th century. They have ever since remained land owners in England and Switzerland, kept both nationalities and continue to commute between both countries to this day.
Conflict and Revolution
During the Ancien Régime the nobility of Switzerland grew in power becoming nearly absolute rulers. Among the population the loss of power, growing taxes, conflicts between rural and urban populations and religious conflicts all lead to uprisings and conflicts throughout the Confederation.
During the Thirty Years' War, the Swiss Confederacy had been spared from all belligerent action. This allowed the Swiss economy to flourish as war ravaged neighbors bought food and equipment from the Confederacy. However, following the end of the war the German economy recovered and demand for Swiss exports dropped. Many Swiss peasants, who had raised mortgages during the boom at wartime, suddenly faced financial problems. URL last accessed 16 August 2006.
For cities the war had brought both prosperity and new expenses. The cities required new defenses such as new bastions. During the war France and Spain had paid Pensions, the agreed sums in return for the cantons providing them with mercenary regiments. With the end of the war this money had to be replaced. Taxes were raised and new ones were created. Additionally, less valuable copper coins called Batzen were minted. The Batzen had, however, the same face value as the previously minted silver money. The population began hoarding the silver coins, and the cheap copper money that remained in circulation continually lost its purchasing power. At the end of the war, the population thus faced both a postwar depression and a high inflation, combined with high taxes. This financial crisis led to a series of tax revolts in several cantons of the Confederacy, for instance 1629–36 in Lucerne, 1641 in Bern, or 1645/46 in Zürich. The uprising in 1653 continued this series, but would take the conflict to an unprecedented level.