Switzerland » History

Recent History

Longer Historical Perspective

Switzerland is a federation 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.

Historically, in 1291, representatives of the three forest cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden signed the Federal Charter. The charter united the involved parties in the struggle against the rule by the Habsburgs, who were a Swiss family then holding the German imperial throne of the Holy Roman Empire. At the Battle of Morgarten on November 15, 1315, the Swiss defeated the Habsburg army and secured quasi-independence as the Swiss Confederation.

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. The success of Zwingli's Reformation in some cantons led to inter-cantonal wars in 1529 and 1531 (Kappeler Kriege). The conflict between Catholic and Protestant cantons persisted, erupting in further violence at the battles of Villmergen in 1656 and 1712.

Under the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, European countries recognised Switzerland's independence from the Holy Roman Empire and its neutrality (ancien régime). In 1798, the armies of the French Revolution conquered Switzerland and imposed a new unified constitution. This centralised the government of the country and effectively abolished the cantons. The new regime was known as the Helvetic Republic and was highly unpopular. It had been imposed by a foreign invading army, had destroyed centuries of tradition, including the right to worship, and had made Switzerland nothing more than a French satellite state. Uprisings were common and only the presence of French troops kept them from succeeding. The brutal French suppression of the Nidwalden revolt in September was especially infamous. 

In 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. The war 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 the use of referenda and a federal constitution in 1848, amending the latter extensively in 1874 and establishing federal responsibility for defence, trade, and legal matters. In 1891, the constitution was revised with unusually strong elements of direct democracy, which remains unique even today. Since then, continued political, economic, and social improvement has characterised Swiss history.

From 1803 to 1848 the size of the new nation nearly tripled. In the mid-19th century, the nation was divided over the issue of states' rights, the role of the federal government, and the expansion of slavery, which led to the American Civil War when, following the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, South Carolina became the first state to declare its secession from the Union. Six other Southern states followed, forming the Confederate States of America early in 1861. Landing at Ellis Island, 1902. Immigration helped spur the American economy.

After the war in 1918, the United States Senate did not ratify the Treaty of Versailles imposed by its Allies on the defeated Central Powers, which would have consequently pulled the U.S. into European affairs. Instead, the country chose to pursue unilateralism, if not isolationism.

Meanwhile in the country, urbanization was completed and American society experienced a period of sustained economic expansion after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1990, the United States continued to involve itself in military action overseas as demonstrated by the Gulf War. Following Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential election, the country experienced the largest economic expansion in its history, which is primarily attributed to the digital revolution and new business opportunities created by the Internet.