Editing Basel (section)

=== As a member state in the Swiss Confederacy ===
{{main|Canton of Basel}}
[[File:Merian Basel 1642.jpg|thumb|Map of Basel in 1642, [[Engraving|engraved]] by [[Matthäus Merian]], oriented with SW at the top and NE at the bottom]]
The city had remained neutral through the [[Swabian War]] of 1499 despite being plundered by soldiers on both sides. The [[Treaty of Basel (1499)|Treaty of Basel]] ended the war and granted the Swiss confederates exemptions from the emperor Maximillian's taxes and jurisdictions, separating Switzerland ''de facto'' from the Holy Roman Empire.<ref name="Rappard">Rappard, William, ''Collective Security in Swiss Experience 1291–1948'' (London, 1948) p. 85 ff</ref>

On 9 June 1501, Basel joined the Swiss Confederation as its [[Canton of Basel|eleventh canton]].<ref>Karl Strupp, ''Wörterbuch Des Völkerrechts'', De Gruyter 1960, p.225</ref> It was the only canton that was asked to join, not the other way round. Basel had a strategic location, good relations with [[Strasbourg]] and [[Mulhouse]], and control of the corn imports from Alsace, whereas the Swiss lands were becoming overpopulated and had few resources. A provision of the Charter accepting Basel required that in conflicts among the other cantons it was to stay neutral and offer its services for mediation.<ref name=autogenerated1>Habicht, Peter, ''Basel – A Center at the Fringe'' (Basel 2006) p. 65 ff</ref><ref name="Bonjour">Bonjour, Edgar ''et al.'' ''A short History of Switzerland'' (Oxford, 1952) p. 139 ff</ref>

In 1503, the new bishop [[Christoph von Utenheim]] refused to give Basel a new constitution; whereupon, to show its power, the city began to build a new city hall.<ref name="habicht"/>

In 1529, the city became Protestant under [[Johannes Oecolampadius|Oecolampadius]] and the bishop's seat was moved to [[Porrentruy]]. The bishop's crook was however retained as the city's coat of arms. For centuries to come, a handful of wealthy families collectively referred to as the [[Daig (Switzerland)|"Daig"]] played a pivotal role in city affairs as they gradually established themselves as a ''de facto'' [[Aristocracy|city aristocracy]].

The first edition of ''Christianae religionis institutio'' (''[[Institutes of the Christian Religion]]'' – [[John Calvin]]'s great exposition of [[Calvinism|Calvinist]] doctrine) was published at Basel in March 1536.<ref>Geoffrey Rudolph Elton, Harold Fullard, Henry Clifford Darby, Charles Loch Mowat, ''[[The New Cambridge Modern History]]'', 1990, p. 113</ref>

In 1544, Johann von Brugge, a rich Dutch Protestant refugee, was given citizenship and lived respectably until his death in 1556, then buried with honors. His body was exhumed and burnt at the stake in 1559 after it was discovered that he was the Anabaptist [[David Joris]].<ref name="habicht"/>

In 1543, ''[[De humani corporis fabrica]]'', the first book on human anatomy, was published and printed in Basel by [[Andreas Vesalius]] (1514–1564).<ref>''The Illustrations from the Works of Andreas Vesalius of Brussels'', Courier Dover Publications 1973, p.30</ref>

There are indications [[Joachim Meyer]], author of the influential 16th-century [[martial arts]] text ''Kunst des Fechten'' ("The Art of Fencing"), came from Basel. In 1661 the ''[[Amerbach Cabinet|Amerbaschsches Kabinett]],'' a vast collection of exotic artifacts, coins, medals and books was purchased by Basel.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Braungart |first=Wolfgang |date=1988 |title=Kunst-Besitzindividualismus : das Amerbachsche Kunstkabinett und die Entstehung der frühneuzeitlichen Kunstkammer |url=https://www.e-periodica.ch/cntmng?pid=kas-001:1988:39::568 |journal=Unsere Kunstdenkmäler: Mitteilungsblatt für die Mitglieder der Gesellschaft für Schweizerische Kunstgeschichte |issue=39 |pages=293–295, 298 |via=E-Periodica}}</ref> It was to become to the first public museum of art.<ref>Braungart, Wolfgang (1988). p.298</ref> Its collection became the core of the later [[Kunstmuseum Basel|Basel Museum of Art]].

The Bernoulli family, which included important 17th- and 18th-century mathematicians such as [[Jakob Bernoulli]], [[Johann Bernoulli]] and [[Daniel Bernoulli]], were from Basel. The 18th-century mathematician [[Leonhard Euler]] was born in Basel and studied under Johann Bernoulli.