Restauration (Switzerland)
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| History of Switzerland | |
|---|---|
| Early history | (before 1291) |
| Old Swiss Confederacy | |
| Growth | (1291–1516) |
| Reformation | (1516–1648) |
| Ancien Régime | (1648–1798) |
| Transitional period | |
| Napoleonic era | (1798–1814) |
| Restauration | (1814–1847) |
| Switzerland | |
| Federal state | (1848–1914) |
| World Wars | (1914–1945) |
| Modern history | (1945–present) |
| Topical | |
| Military history | |
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The periods of Restoration and Regeneration in Swiss history last from 1814 to 1847. "Restoration" refers to the period of 1814 to 1830, the restoration of the Ancien Régime (federalism), reverting the changes imposed by Napoleon Bonaparte with the centralist Helvetic Republic from 1798 and the partial reversion to the old system with the Act of Mediation of 1803. "Regeneration" refers to the period of 1830 to 1848, when in the wake of July Revolution the "restored" Ancien Régime was countered by the liberal movement. In the protestant cantons, the rural population enforced liberal cantonal constitutions, partly in armed marches on the cities. This resulted in a conservative backlash in the catholic cantons in the 1830s, raising the conflict to the point of civil war by 1847.
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[edit] Restauration
When Napoleon's fall appeared imminent, the Act of Mediation was suspended in late December of 1813, and lengthy discussions about future constitutions were initiated in all cantons of Switzerland.
At the Congress of Vienna (18 September 1814 to 9 June 1815), Switzerland was represented by a delegation of three conservative politicians, Hans von Reinhard, Johann Heinrich Wieland and Johann von Montenach, besides a number of inofficial lobbyists attempting to influence the country's re-organisation. The official delegation had the mission of ensuring the recognition of Swiss neutrality, but their efforts were hampered by a complicated web of cantonal rivalries and diverging agendas, which went to discourage the interest of the great European powers in Swiss affairs. On 20 March, the Congress finalized a declaration on the future status of Switzerland, including the recognition of the territory of the 19 cantons of the Act of Mediation (including financial compensation for those cantons which had lost territory to newly formed ones) and the recognition of Valais, Neuchatel and Geneva as part of Switzerland, while the Valtellina, Chiavenna and Bormio were detached from the Grisons and made part of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia. Recognition of Swiss neutrality was left undecided, and on 20 May, the Swiss Tagsatzung gave in to allied pressure and declared war on France, allowing the passage of allied troops across Swiss territory. Swiss troops under general Franz von Bachmann advanced to the Franche-Comté but were beaten back. The French fort at Hüningen near Basel was placed under siege and surrendered on 28 August. The Treaty of Paris of 20 November included a financial compensation for Switzerland besides the acquisition of a small territorial gain, connecting the canton of Geneva (formerly an exclave) to Vaud. Most significantly, the Treaty included the recognition of permanent Swiss neutrality by all European powers.
Cantonal constitutions were worked out independently from 1814, in general restoring the late feudal conditions of the 17th and 18th century. The Tagsatzung was re-organized by the Federal Treaty (Bundesvertrag) of 7 August 1815.
[edit] Regeneration
This "restored" state of affairs meant that the Patriciate and the free cities regained much of their former power, to the disadvantage of the rural population, resulting in rebellions and violent conflicts such as the Züriputsch of 1839. Some Republican achievements were preserved, however, such as the abolition of the subject territories, preserving the Aargau and Thurgau as independent cantons, and the guarantee of equal political rights of all (male) citizens of a canton. In Basel, the conflict resulted in the split of Basel-City and Basel-Country in 1833. Similarly, a canton Ausserschwyz temporarily seceded from the canton of Schwyz in 1831, but was re-united with Schwyz in 1833 after the drawing up of an egalitarian constitution.
The central demands of the liberals were abolition of censorship, separation of church and state, popular sovereignty and representative democracy. In this political conflict, the right-wing Conservative Party representing the Patriciate was pitted against the "free thinking" left-wing "Radical Party", the predecessor of the contemporary Free Democratic Party of Switzerland. The Radicals rose to power during the 1830s, and managed to impose restrictions against the Catholic Church in the Aargau in 1841. Lucerne in retaliation re-admitted the Jesuits as teachers at cantonal schools. Provoked by this (the "Jesuite question") armed Radicals invaded the canton, the Freischarenzüge of 1844 and 1845, led by Wilhelm Snell, the later Federal Councillors Ulrich Ochsenbein and Jakob Stämpfli. Also participating was Gottfried Keller, but he never participated in combat. The invasion of 1845 ended in a disaster for the Freischärler, 35 of their number being killed. The Radical side again reverted to political means, and the Jesuits were again expelled by decree of the federal Tagsatzung on 3 September 1847 (a decree only repealed in 1973).
The Catholic Sonderbund of 1845 was a reaction to the Freischarenzüge. Due to its violation of inter-cantonal treaties, the confederate army was raised. The confederate forces invaded Sonderbund territory in November 1847, initiating the Sonderbundskrieg, which thanks to the thoughtful campaign by General Guillaume-Henri Dufour resulted in fewer than a hundred casualties on both sides.
After the hostilities ceased, the Catholic side having the disadvantage, Modern Switzerland was formed by the first Federal Constitution.
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