Old Swiss Confederacy

Switzerland, 1291–1798. Draft, not yet reviewed

The Old Swiss Confederacy was a loose confederation of independent small states, initially within the Holy Roman Empire. It formed at the end of the 13th century, from a nucleus in what is now Central Switzerland. Its success resulted in more members, and by 1513 it had thirteen cantons. The Swiss Confederacy fell to a French invasion in 1798.

Seat of power: Bern

No rulers documented for this era yet.

Culture

• It is dated to early August 1291, which in the 20th century inspired the date of Swiss National Day, 1 August. It is now exhibited at the Museum of the Swiss Charters of Confederation in Schwyz.
• The Reformation in Switzerland led to doctrinal division amongst the cantons. Appenzell split in 1597 into a Catholic Appenzell Innerrhoden and a Protestant Appenzell Ausserrhoden.
• Their perfection of the Pike Square made them excellent defensive warriors in their home mountain terrain, and they became highly sought after mercenaries throughout Europe. At the Peace of Westphalia, the Swiss delegation was granted formal recognition of the confederacy as a state independent of the Holy Roman Empire.
• The confederacy pledged neutrality in 1647, under the threat of the Thirty Years' War.

Picture

The Federal Charter is one of the earliest constitutional documents of Switzerland.

Image: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Sources

• Old Swiss Confederacy (Wikipedia)
• Old Swiss Confederacy (Wikidata)
• About the picture (Wikipedia)

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.