Helvetic Republic 1798
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Swiss Revolution Helvetic Republic 1798
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Only the population of Toggenburg (1707, against the abbot of St. Gallen) and of Geneva (1707 - 1738, against the aristocrats of the city) could assure themselves some new or restore some old rights. But already in 1782 a troop of 11'000 soldiers from France, Berne and Piedmont enforced a restoration of the aristocracy to Geneva.
During the 18th Century, more and more persons descending from privileged families began to think about and discuss new political perspectives. Zurich became a center of German language literature with Johann Jabob Bodmer and Johann Jakob Breitinger. Isaak Iselin of Basel, Salomon Hirzel, Salomon Gessner and Johann Heinrich Schinz of Zurich founded the Helvetic Society in 1761. They met each year at Bad Schinznach (Aargau) to discuss together the history (and the future) of Switzerland. In 1777, Johann Georg Stokar of Schaffhausen pleaded in his presidential address for a united (national) state of Switzerland with equal rights for all the citizens of Switzerland (instead of a loose confederacy).
For several centuries, young Swiss men, especially from Central Switzerland, had served French
kings and Italian dukes in mercenary troops. During the French Revolution a detachment of 800
mercenary troops from Switzerland tried to defend the king against the Montagnards
[radical party in the French Revolution] attacking the castle of the Tuileries in 1792.
All mercenary troops were killed. The Lion Monument in Lucerne reminds of the infamous
end to the Swiss military force that had once been feared throughout Europe.
The history of revolts in Switzerland during the 17th and 18th
centuries shows that the revolution of 1798 in Switzerland was not at all a simple copy of the
French Revolution, but rather the logical consequence of the corrupt political system in Switzerland.
Of course, the French Revolution was not without influence on Switzerland, it had two functions:
1) it proved that a revolution is possible (after all the failures in Switzerland)
2) revolutionies were able to threaten with a French intervention
Everywhere in Switzerland the situation after the French Revolution and the perspectives for Switzerland's political system were discussed. Numerous were the petitions of the rural population:
For the history of the Helvetic Revolution, the canton of Vaud (western Switzerland, northern shore of Lake Geneva) and the leader of its revolutionaries, Frederick-Cesar of Laharpe played a key role. Frederick-Cesar de Laharpe asked in public for a French intervention against the domination by Berne in 1797. When French General Napoleon travelled through Geneva, Berne and Basel to Germany, the population of Vaud used the occasion to show their political convictions: at Nyon, Rolle, Lausanne and many other cities a crowd enthousiastically welcomed Napoleon. |
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The bailliff of Berne lost control, his residence, the Castle of Chillon was occupied by a revolutionary committee. But Berne, as Zurich in 1795, did not want to negotiate and sought a military solution. When Berne sent 5000 German speaking soldiers to enforce order in its French-speaking subject territory Vaud, the inhabitants of Vaud took up arms and proclaimed the Republique Léman. [Léman = French name of Lake Geneva].
An incident gave occasion to the French general Ménard to declare war to Berne and to occupy the territory of Vaud. The French troops were welcomed there as liberators. Berne wanted to recruit troops against the French in canton Aargau (at the time another subject territory in northern Switzerland) - but this provoked only open revolution in the Argovian cities of Aarau, Lenzburg, Brugg and Aarburg. The confederates of central Switzerland had declined assistance to Berne concerning the territory of Vaud already in 1579 and did so once more in 1798. The Bernese troops, in insufficient number, poorly motivated and poorly commanded, were defeated in the battles of Fraubrunnen and Grauholz, the city of Berne was occupied and looted on March, 5th 1798.
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Thurgau: February, 1st meeting of the people in Weinfelden, March, 3rd definitive liberation, Thurgau becomes an independent member state of the Swiss confederacy. |
St. Gallen: February, 14th proclamation of the republic of
rural areas of St. Gallen
Helvetic Flag |
121 representatives of the territories Aargau, Basel, Berne, Fribourg, Léman (Vaud), Lucerne, (bernese) Oberland, Schaffhausen, Solothurn and Zurich met in Aarau on April, 12th 1798 to proclaim the Helvetic Republic and confirm its new constitution. |
France had annexed Geneva, Neuchâtel, Bienne, the territory of the prince-bishop of Basel (nowadays canton Jura) and Mulhouse (Alsace, former associated member of the old Swiss confederacy). Veltlin, Bormio and Chiavenna had declared independence of Grisons already in June 1797. The constitution of the Helvetic Republic was similar to the constitution of the French Republic, with a parliament (two chambers), a government (called board of directors) and a Supreme Court of Justice. The federalist tradition of Switzerland was eliminated.
Central Switzerland was not represented and tried to withstand the change, a revolt of Nidwalden was knocked down by French troops in September 1798 at the cost of 368 deaths, of which 102 women and 25 children. The famous pedagogue John Henry Pestalozzi was appointed director of the orphanage of Stans that had to take care of the numerous orphans. Canton Grisons remained independent until 1799. The board of directors [government] of the Republic Helvetic signed a military alliance pact with France. They wanted to defend the Republic against reactionary forces (especially Austria), but the result was that the alliance with France engaged the Helvetic Republic in the wars of France with other nations.
French general Napoleon Bonaparte had conquered Italy in the first Coalition War of France against Great Britain, Austria, Spain and Germany (1792 - 1797) and formed the Cisalpine Republic in northern Italy in 1797 (among others, the former subject territories of Swiss canton Grisons became part of the Cisalpine Republic). In 1799, Napoleon seized power in France by a coup d'état. In the second Coalition War of France against Great Britain, Austria and Russia (1799 - 1802) southern Germany, northern Italy and in between Switzerland became theaters of war. The Austrians won a first battle near Zurich, the French the second one while the Russian general Suworow came to assistance of the Austrians with 25000 soldiers from Italy - but he arrived too late and had to flee. During the passage of the St. Gotthard pass, the Kinzigkulm pass (between Uri and Muotathal/Schwyz), the Pragel pass (between Muotathal and Glarus) and the Panix pass (between Glarus and Ilanz), all of them obstructed by snow, Suworov lost 10000 soldiers. Nonetheless, as an opponent of the Helvetic Republic Helvetic that was well hated in central Switzerland, General Suworow remained well known and respected there.
As the French Revolution before, the Helvetic Republic could not keep its promises. There were various reasons for that:
The French and Helvetic Republics won the second Coalition War in 1799, but they lost peace: France became a military dictatorship under general Napoleon Bonaparte, the Helvetic Republic was going to see at least four coups d'état between 1800 and 1802. The decision of Napoleon to withdraw the French troops from Switzerland in July 1802 gave the signal to the partisans of federalism: On August, 1st 1802 the citizens of Schwyz, Nidwalden, Obwalden met for the "Landsgemeinde" [political meeting] as of before. Appenzell, Glarus and Grisons also restored cantonal political institutions. The city of Zurich as well made opposition to the Helvetic government. Returned emigrants of the former system and armed peasants with sticks and agricultural tools attacked the helvetic troops in a civil war called "Stecklikrieg" [war of the sticks], conquered the Aargau and Berne and advanced to Payerne (western Switzerland).
At this moment, Napoleon intervened and gave orders to put an end to the civil war and to send delegations to a consultation in Paris. In October 1802 French troops entered Switzerland again and disarmed the rebels in central Switzerland. Napoleon had understood that centralistic state had no chance to be accepted in Switzerland. Therefore the constitution elaborated by his mediation gave most of the competences to the 19 cantons [member states] of the new Swiss federation. Everything just as before the revolution of 1798? Not exactly - Switzerland during the era of the Mediation Act (1803 - 1815) had 6 new cantons: St. Gallen, Grisons, Aargau, Thurgau, Tessin and Vaud with equal rights as the 13 old cantons. And the Mediation Act preserved political equality and in front of the law for all citizens.
After Napoleon had been beaten in Russia and at Waterloo, Switzerland returned to extremely federalistic structures. Nevertheless, the cantons of St. Gallen, Grisons, Aargau, Thurgau, Tessin and Vaud remained free member states of the confederacy instead of their old status as associated members or even subject territories. The cantons Valais, Neuchâtel and Geneva that had been annexed by France in 1798, returned to the Swiss confederacy. Switzerland consisted of 22 cantons now with the borders to its neighbours that are still valid today.
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