Editing History of Switzerland

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{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2013}}
{{History of Switzerland}}

Since 1848, the [[Swiss Confederation]] has been a [[federal republic]] of relatively autonomous [[Cantons of Switzerland|cantons]], some of which have a history of federation that goes back more than 700 years, putting them among the world's oldest surviving [[republic]]s.

The [[early history of Switzerland|early history]] of the region is tied to that of [[History of the Alps|Alpine culture]]. Switzerland was inhabited by the [[Helvetii]], and it came under [[Switzerland in the Roman era|Roman rule]] in the 1st century BC. The [[Gallo-Roman culture]] was amalgamated with [[Migration period|Germanic influence]] during [[Late Antiquity|late antiquity]], with the eastern part of Switzerland becoming [[Alemanni]]c territory. The area of Switzerland was incorporated into the [[Frankish Empire]] in the 6th century. In the [[High Middle Ages]], the eastern German-speaking part belonged to the [[Duchy of Swabia]] within the [[Holy Roman Empire]], while the western French-speaking part was part of [[Kingdom of Burgundy|Burgundy]].

The [[Old Swiss Confederacy]] in the [[Late Middle Ages]] (the ''[[Eight Cantons]]'') established its independence from the [[House of Habsburg]] and the [[Duchy of Burgundy]], and in the [[Italian Wars]] gained territory [[Transalpine campaign of the Old Swiss Confederacy|south of the Alps]] from the [[Duchy of Milan]]. The [[Swiss Reformation]] divided the Confederacy and resulted in a drawn-out history of internal strife between the ''[[Thirteen Cantons]]'' in the [[Early Modern Switzerland|Early Modern period]]. In the wake of the [[French Revolution]], Switzerland fell to a [[French invasion of Switzerland|French invasion]] in 1798 and was reformed into the [[Helvetic Republic]], a French client state. Napoleon's ''[[Act of Mediation]]'' in 1803 restored the status of Switzerland as a confederation, and after the end of the Napoleonic period, the Swiss Confederation underwent a period of [[Restoration and Regeneration in Switzerland|turmoil]] culminating in a [[Sonderbund War|brief civil war]] in 1847 and the creation of a [[Switzerland as a federal state|federal constitution]] in 1848.

The [[Modern history of Switzerland|history of Switzerland since 1848]] has been largely one of success and prosperity. [[Industrialisation]] transformed the traditional agricultural economy, and [[Swiss neutrality]] [[Switzerland during the World Wars|during the World Wars]] and the success of the [[Banking in Switzerland|banking industry]] furthered the ascent of Switzerland to its status as one of the world's [[Economy of Switzerland|most stable economies]].

Switzerland signed a free-trade agreement with the [[European Economic Community]] in 1972 and has participated in the process of [[European integration]] by way of [[Switzerland–European Union relations|bilateral treaties]], but it has notably resisted accession to the [[European Union]] (EU) even though its territory almost completely (except for the [[microstate]] [[Liechtenstein]]) has been surrounded by EU member states since 1995. In 2002, Switzerland joined the [[United Nations]].

== Early history ==
{{main|Early history of Switzerland}}

=== Prehistory ===
[[Archeology|Archeological]] evidence suggests that hunter-gatherers were already settled in the lowlands north of the [[Swiss Alps|Alps]] in the [[Middle Paleolithic]] period 150,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://history-switzerland.geschichte-schweiz.ch/prehistory-lake-dwellings.html|title=Switzerland's Prehistory: Stone Age, Lake Dwellings|website=history-switzerland.geschichte-schweiz.ch|access-date=November 24, 2013|archive-date=January 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160103114925/http://history-switzerland.geschichte-schweiz.ch/prehistory-lake-dwellings.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Agriculture in Switzerland]] began around 5500 BC. 

By the [[Neolithic]] period, the area was relatively densely populated. Remains of [[Bronze Age]] [[pile dwelling]]s from as early as 3800 BC<ref>{{cite news|title=Prehistoric find located beneath the waves|date=September 10, 2007|author=Julia Slater|publisher=[[swissinfo]]|url=http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/social_affairs/detail/Prehistoric_find_located_beneath_the_waves.html?siteSect=201&sid=8202971|access-date=September 15, 2007|archive-date=June 16, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080616154424/http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/social_affairs/detail/Prehistoric_find_located_beneath_the_waves.html?siteSect=201&sid=8202971|url-status=dead}}</ref> have been found in the shallow areas of many lakes. Around 1500 BC, [[Celt]]ic tribes settled in the area. The [[Raetia]]ns lived in the eastern regions, while the west was occupied by the [[Helvetii]].

=== Antiquity ===
{{main|Switzerland in the Roman era}}
[[File:Divico und Caesar.jpg|thumb|left|Divico and [[Julius Caesar]] after the [[Battle of Bibracte]]]]
In 58 BC, the Helvetii tried to evade migratory pressure from [[Germanic peoples|Germanic tribes]] by moving into [[Gaul]], but were defeated by [[Julius Caesar]]'s armies and then sent back. The alpine region became integrated into the [[Roman Empire]] and was extensively romanized in the course of the following centuries. The center of Roman administration was at ''Aventicum'' ([[Avenches]]). In 259, [[Alamanni]] tribes overran the [[Germanic Limes|Limes]], putting the settlements on Swiss territory on the frontier of the Roman Empire.

[[File:Historische Karte CH Rome 1.png|thumb|upright=1.2|A map of Switzerland during the Roman period]]

The first Christian bishoprics were founded in the fourth century.

With the [[Decline of the Roman Empire|fall of the Western Roman Empire]], Germanic tribes entered the area. [[Burgundians]] settled in the west; while in the north, [[Alamanni]] settlers slowly forced the earlier Celto-Roman population to retreat into the mountains. Burgundy became a part of the kingdom of the [[Franks]] in 534; two years later, the dukedom of the Alamans followed suit. In the Alaman-controlled region, only isolated Christian communities continued to exist and [[Hiberno-Scottish mission|Irish monks]] re-introduced the Christian faith in the early 7th century.

=== Medieval period ===
{{Main|Switzerland in the Middle Ages}}
Under the [[Carolingian]] kings, the [[feudalism|feudal system]] proliferated, and monasteries and bishoprics were important bases for maintaining the rule. The [[Treaty of Verdun]] of 843 assigned [[Upper Burgundy]] (the western part of what is today Switzerland) to [[Lotharingia]], and [[Alemannia]] (the eastern part) to the eastern kingdom of [[Louis the German]] which would become part of the [[Holy Roman Empire]].

In the 10th century, as the rule of the Carolingians waned, [[Magyars]] destroyed [[Basel]] in 917 and [[St. Gallen]] in 926. Only after the victory of King [[Otto I The Great|Otto I]] over the Magyars in 955 in the [[Battle of Lechfeld]], were the Swiss territories reintegrated into the empire.

In the 12th century, the dukes of [[House of Zähringen|Zähringen]] were given authority over part of the Burgundy territories which covered the western part of modern Switzerland. They founded many cities, including [[Fribourg]] in 1157, and [[Bern]] in 1191. The Zähringer dynasty ended with the death of [[Berchtold V of Zähringen|Berchtold V]] in 1218, and their cities subsequently became ''[[reichsfrei]]'' (essentially a city-state within the Holy Roman Empire), while the dukes of [[House of Kyburg|Kyburg]] competed with the house of [[Habsburg]] over control of the rural regions of the former Zähringer territory.

Under the [[Hohenstaufen]] rule, the alpine passes in Raetia and the [[St Gotthard Pass]] gained importance. The latter especially became an important direct route through the mountains. [[Canton of Uri|Uri]] (in 1231) and [[Canton of Schwyz|Schwyz]] (in 1240) were accorded the ''[[Reichsfreiheit]]'' to grant the empire direct control over the mountain pass. Most of the territory of [[Unterwalden]] at this time belonged to monasteries that had previously become reichsfrei.

The extinction of the [[House of Kyburg|Kyburg]] dynasty paved the way for the Habsburg dynasty to bring much of the territory south of the Rhine under their control, aiding their rise to power. [[Rudolph I of Germany|Rudolph of Habsburg]], who became King of Germany in 1273, effectively revoked the status of ''Reichsfreiheit'' granted to the "Forest Cantons" of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden. The Forest Cantons thus lost their independent status and were governed by [[Vogt|reeves]].

== Old Confederacy (1300–1798) ==
{{main|Old Swiss Confederacy}}

=== Late Medieval period ===
{{main|Growth of the Old Swiss Confederacy}}
[[File:Battle of Laupen.jpg|thumb|The [[Battle of Laupen]] (1339) between Swiss forces and an army of the [[Dukes of Savoy]] ([[Diebold Schilling the Elder]], 1480s)]]

On 1 August 1291, the cantons of [[Uri (canton)|Uri]], [[Schwyz (canton)|Schwyz]], and [[Unterwalden]] united to defend the peace upon the death of Emperor [[Rudolf I of Germany|Rudolf I]] of Habsburg, forming the nucleus of the [[Old Swiss Confederacy]].

By 1353, the three original cantons had been joined by the cantons of [[Canton of Glarus|Glarus]] and [[Canton of Zug|Zug]] and the city-states of [[Lucerne]], [[Zürich]], and [[Bern]], forming the "Old Federation" of eight states that persisted during much of the 15th century. The [[Holy Roman Empire]] built roads and bridges to connect the industrial region of north Italy with the [[Rhine]] (linked with the other industrial area of Middle Age Europe, the [[Burgundian Netherlands]]), making the peasants and bankers on the road rich, allowing them to buy specialized Italian armor and to stop paying the road collecting taxes to the Empire who built the road. At the [[Battle of Sempach]] in 1386, the Swiss defeated the Habsburgs, gaining increased autonomy within the Holy Roman Empire.

Zürich was expelled from the Confederation from 1440 to 1450 due to a conflict over the territory of [[Toggenburg (Switzerland)|Toggenburg]] (the [[Old Zürich War]]). The Confederation's power and wealth increased significantly, with victories over [[Charles the Bold]] of [[Duchy of Burgundy|Burgundy]] during the [[Burgundy Wars|Burgundian Wars]] (1474–1477), greatly due to the success of the [[Swiss mercenaries]], a powerful infantry force constituted by professional soldiers originally from the [[Cantons of Switzerland|cantons]] of the [[Old Swiss Confederacy]].<ref name="Gilbert 2013">{{cite book |editor-last=Gilbert |editor-first=Adrian |year=2013 |origyear=2000 |chapter=Medieval Warfare – Toward a Professional Army |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xENdAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA70 |title=Encyclopedia of Warfare: From the Earliest Times to the Present Day |location=London / New York City |publisher=[[Routledge]] |edition=1st |pages=70–71, 74–76 |doi=10.4324/9781315063034 |isbn=978-1-315-06303-4 |access-date=August 5, 2022 |archive-date=January 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116133306/https://books.google.com/books?id=xENdAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA70 |url-status=live}}</ref> They were notable for their service in foreign armies, especially among the military forces of the [[Kings of France]], throughout the [[Early Modern Europe|Early Modern period]] of European history, from the [[Late Middle Ages]] to the [[Renaissance]].<ref name="Gilbert 2013" /> Their service as [[mercenaries]] was at its peak during the Renaissance when their proven battlefield capabilities made them sought-after mercenary troops.<ref name="Gilbert 2013" /> The traditional listing order of the [[cantons of Switzerland]] reflects this state, listing the eight "Old Cantons" first, with the city-states preceding the founding cantons, followed by cantons that joined the Confederation after 1481, in historical order.

The Swiss defeated the [[Swabian League]] in 1499 and gained greater collective autonomy within the Holy Roman Empire, including exemption from the Imperial reforms of 1495 and immunity from most Imperial courts. In 1506, Pope [[Julius II]] engaged the [[Swiss Guard]], which continues to serve the papacy to the present day. The expansion of the Confederation and the reputation of invincibility acquired during the earlier wars suffered its first setback in 1515 with the Swiss defeat in the [[Battle of Marignano]].

=== Reformation ===
{{main|Reformation in Switzerland}}
The [[Reformation in Switzerland]] began in 1523, led by [[Huldrych Zwingli]], priest of the [[Great Minster church]] in Zürich since 1518. Zürich adopted the [[Protestant]] religion, joined by Berne, Basel, and Schaffhausen, while Lucerne, Uri, Schwyz, Nidwalden, Zug, Fribourg, and Solothurn remained Catholic. Glarus and Appenzell were split. This led to multiple inter-cantonal religious wars ([[Wars of Kappel|''Kappeler Kriege'']]) in 1529 and 1531, as each canton usually made the opposing religion illegal, and to the formation of two diets, the Protestant one meeting in Aarau and the Catholic one in Lucerne (as well as the formal full diet still meeting usually in Baden),<ref>Hughes, Christopher, ''Switzerland'' (London, 1975) p.66 ff, 84.</ref><ref>Bonjour, Edgar ''et al.'' ''A short History of Switzerland'' (Oxford, 1952) p.191.</ref> despite this the Confederation survived.

=== Early Modern Switzerland ===
{{Main|Early Modern Switzerland}}

During the [[Thirty Years' War]], Switzerland was a relative "oasis of peace and prosperity" (''Grimmelshausen'') in war-torn Europe, mostly because all major powers in Europe depended on Swiss mercenaries, and would not let Switzerland fall into the hands of one of their rivals. Politically, they all tried to take influence, by way of mercenary commanders such as [[Jörg Jenatsch]] or [[Johann Rudolf Wettstein]]. The ''Drei Bünde'' of [[Grisons]], at that point not yet a member of the Confederacy, were involved in the war from 1620, which led to their loss of the [[Valtellina]] in 1623.

[[File:Leonhard Euler 2.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Leonhard Euler]] (1707–83), one of the most prominent scientists in the Age of Enlightenment]]

At the [[Treaty of Westphalia]] in 1648, Switzerland attained legal independence from the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. The Valtellina became a dependency of the ''Drei Bünde'' again after the Treaty and remained so until the founding of the [[Cisalpine Republic]] by [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] in 1797.

In 1653, peasants of territories subject to [[Lucerne]], [[Bern]], [[Solothurn]], and [[Basel]] revolted because of currency devaluation. Although the authorities prevailed in this [[Swiss peasant war]], they did pass some tax reforms and the incident in the long term prevented an [[Absolutism (European history)|absolutist]] development as would occur at some other courts of Europe. The confessional tensions remained, however, and erupted again in the [[First War of Villmergen]], in 1656, and the [[Toggenburg War]] (or Second War of Villmergen), in 1712.

== Napoleonic period and aftermath (1798–1848) ==

=== French invasion and Helvetic Republic ===
{{main|Switzerland in the Napoleonic era|Helvetic Republic}}
During the [[French Revolutionary Wars]], the French army [[French invasion of Switzerland|invaded Switzerland]] and turned it into an ally known as the "[[Helvetic Republic]]" (1798–1803). It had a central government with little role for cantons. The interference with localism and traditional liberties was deeply resented, although some modernizing reforms took place.<ref>Marc H. Lerner, "The Helvetic Republic: An Ambivalent Reception of French Revolutionary Liberty", ''French History'' (2004), 18#1, pp. 50–75.</ref><ref>R.R. Palmer, ''The Age of the Democratic Revolution'' 2:394-421</ref>

Resistance was strongest in the more traditional Catholic bastions, with armed uprisings breaking out in spring 1798 in the central part of Switzerland. The French Army suppressed the uprisings but support for revolutionary ideas steadily declined. The reform element was weak, and most Swiss resented their loss of local democracy, centralization, new taxes, warfare, and hostility to religion.<ref>{{cite book|author=Otto Dann and John Dinwiddy|title=Nationalism in the Age of the French Revolution|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qrujM36H7qUC&pg=PA194|year=1988|publisher=Continuum|pages=190–198|isbn=978-0-907628-97-2|access-date=November 12, 2015|archive-date=January 16, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116133307/https://books.google.com/books?id=qrujM36H7qUC&pg=PA194|url-status=live}}</ref>

Major steps taken to emancipate the Jews included the repeal of special taxes and oaths in 1798. However, many such reforms were turned back in 1815, and not until 1879 were the Jews granted equal rights with the Christians.<ref>Holger Böning, "Bürgerliche Revolution und Judenemanzipation in der Schweiz", ''Jahrbuch des Instituts für Deutsche Geschichte'' (1985), Vol. 14, pp. 157–180</ref>

In 1803, Napoleon's [[Act of Mediation]] partially restored the sovereignty of the cantons, and the former tributary and allied territories of [[Aargau]], [[Thurgau]], Grisons, [[Canton of St. Gallen|St. Gallen]], [[Vaud]], and [[Ticino]] became cantons with equal rights. Napoleon and his enemies fought numerous campaigns in Switzerland that ruined many localities.

=== Restoration and Regeneration ===
{{main|Restoration and Regeneration in Switzerland}}
The [[Congress of Vienna]] of 1814–15 fully [[Restoration and Regeneration in Switzerland|re-established Swiss independence]] and the European powers agreed to recognize permanent Swiss neutrality. At this time, [[Valais]], [[Canton of Neuchâtel|Neuchâtel]], and [[Canton of Geneva|Geneva]] also joined Switzerland as new cantons, thereby [[Enlargement of Switzerland|extending Swiss territory]] to its current boundaries.

The long-term impact of the French Revolution has been assessed (by William Martin):
:It proclaimed the equality of citizens before the law, equality of languages, and freedom of thought and faith; it created Swiss citizenship, the basis of our modern nationality, and the separation of powers, of which the old regime had no conception; it suppressed internal tariffs and other economic restraints; it unified weights and measures, reformed civil and penal law, authorized mixed marriages (between Catholics and Protestants), suppressed torture and improved justice; it developed education and public works.<ref>William Martin, ''Histoire de la Suisse'' (Paris, 1926), pp. 187–188, quoted in Crane Brinson, ''A Decade of Revolution: 1789–1799'' (1934), p. 235</ref>

On 6 April 1814, the so-called "[[Long Diet]]" (delegates from all the nineteen cantons) met at [[Zürich]] to replace the constitution.<ref>Wilhelm Oechsli, ''History of Switzerland 1499–1914'', Cambridge University Press, 2013, p. 365.</ref>

Cantonal constitutions were worked out independently from 1814, in general restoring the late feudal conditions of the 17th and 18th centuries. The [[Tagsatzung]] was reorganized by the [[Federal Treaty]] (''Bundesvertrag'') of 7 August 1815.

The liberal [[Free Democratic Party of Switzerland]]  was strong in the largely Protestant cantons and obtained the majority in the [[Tagsatzung|Federal Diet]] in the early 1840s. It proposed a new Constitution for the Swiss Confederation which would draw the several cantons into a closer relationship.  In addition to the centralization of the Swiss government, the new Constitution also included protections for trade and other progressive reform measures. The Federal Diet, with the approval of a majority of cantons, had taken measures against the Catholic Church such as the closure of monasteries and convents in [[Aargau]] in 1841,<ref name="EB">{{cite EB1911 |first=William Augustus Brevoort |last=Coolidge |wstitle = Switzerland/History/Constitution |volume = 26 |page = 259}}</ref> and the seizure of their properties. Catholic Lucerne, in retaliation,1844 recalled the [[Society of Jesus|Jesuits]] to head its education. That succeeded and seven Catholic cantons formed the "Sonderbund." This caused a liberal-radical move in the Protestant cantons to take control of the national Diet in 1847.  The Diet ordered the Sonderbund dissolved, igniting a small-scale civil war against rural cantons that were strongholds of pro-Catholic [[ultramontanism]].<ref>William L. Langer, ''Political and social Upheaval 1832–1852'' (1969): 133-37.</ref>

=== Sonderbund War of 1847 ===
{{main|Sonderbund War|Switzerland as a federal state}}
[[File:Religion map of Switzerland in 1800 - en.jpg|thumb|350px|Religious geography in 1800 (orange: Protestant, green: Catholic)]]
The Radical–liberal–Protestant element charged that the ''Sonderbund'' violated the [[Federal Treaty]] of 1814, §&nbsp;6 of which expressly forbade such separate alliances. Forming a majority in the Tagsatzung they decided to dissolve the Sonderbund on October 21, 1847.<ref>W. B. Duffield, "The War of the Sonderbund" ''English Historical Review'' 10#40 (1895), pp. 675-698 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/548178 in JSTOR] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717183447/https://www.jstor.org/stable/548178 |date=July 17, 2018}}</ref><ref>Joachim Remak, ''A Very Civil War: The Swiss Sonderbund War of 1847'' (Westview, 1993) [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=97651664 online edition] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626012243/http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=97651664 |date=June 26, 2012}}</ref> The odds were against the Catholics, who were heavily outnumbered in population; they were outnumbered in soldiers by 79,000 to 99,000 and lacked enough well-trained soldiers, officers, and generals. When the Sonderbund refused to disband, the national army attacked in a brief civil war between the Catholic and the Protestant cantons, known as the ''Sonderbundskrieg'' ("Sonderbund War".) The national army was composed of soldiers from all the other cantons except [[Canton of Neuchâtel|Neuchâtel]] and [[Appenzell Innerrhoden]] (which remained neutral).  The Sonderbund was easily defeated in less than a month; there were about 130 killed.  Apart from small riots, this was the last armed conflict on Swiss territory.<ref>Ralph Weaver, ''Three Weeks in November: A Military History of the Swiss Civil War of 1847'' (2012) [https://www.amazon.com/Three-Weeks-November-Military-History/dp/1908916575 excerpt] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220134947/https://www.amazon.com/Three-Weeks-November-Military-History/dp/1908916575 |date=December 20, 2016}}</ref>  Many Sonderbund leaders fled to Italy, but the victors were generous. They invited the defeated cantons to join them in a program of federal reform, and a new constitution was drafted along American lines. National issues were to be under the control of the national parliament, and the Jesuits were expelled. The Swiss voted heavily in favor of the new constitution by 2 million against 300,000. Switzerland became calm. However, conservatives around Europe became frightened and prepared their forces to meet possible challenges, which indeed soon exploded the [[Revolutions of 1848]]. In those violent revolutions, outside Switzerland, the conservatives were always successful.<ref>Langer, ''Political and Social upheaval'', pp. 135–137</ref>

== Modern Switzerland (1848–present) ==
{{main|Modern history of Switzerland}}

=== Industrialisation ===
As a consequence of the civil war, Switzerland adopted a [[Swiss Federal Constitution|federal constitution]] in 1848, amending it extensively in 1874 and establishing federal responsibility for defense, trade, and legal matters, leaving all other matters to the cantonal governments. From then, and during much of the 20th century, continuous political, economic, and social improvement has characterized Swiss history.

While Switzerland was primarily rural, the cities experienced an industrial revolution in the late 19th century, focused especially on textiles. In Basel, for example, textiles, including silk, were the leading industry. In 1888 women made up 44% of the wage earners. Nearly half the women worked in the textile mills, with household servants as the second-largest job category. The share of women in the workforce was higher between 1890 and 1910 than it was in the late 1960s and 1970s.<ref>Regina Wecker, "Frauenlohnarbeit – Statistik und Wirklichkeit in der Schweiz an der Wende zum 20", ''Jahrhundert Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Geschichte'' (1984), 34#3, pp. 346–356.</ref>

[[File:Dampfzug Göschenen.jpg|thumb|[[Gotthard Rail Tunnel|Gotthard line]] in 1882]]

Swiss universities in the late 19th century are notable for the number of female students receiving medical education.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Holmes |first=Madelyn |title=Go to Switzerland, young women, if you want to study medicine |journal=[[Women's Studies International Forum]] |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=243–245 |date=1984 |pmid=11618313 |doi=10.1016/0277-5395(84)90048-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Bonner |first=Thomas N. |title=Medical women abroad: a new dimension of women's push for opportunity in medicine, 1850–1914 |journal=[[Bulletin of the History of Medicine]] |volume=62 |issue=1 |pages=58–73 |date=Spring 1988 |pmid=3285925}}</ref>

=== World Wars (1914–1945) ===
{{main|Switzerland during the World Wars}}
The major powers respected Switzerland's neutrality during [[World War I]]. In the [[Grimm–Hoffmann Affair]], the Allies denounced a proposal by one politician to negotiate peace on the Eastern Front; they wanted the war there to continue to tie Germany down.

{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Swiss Confederacy
| common_name            = Switzerland
| native_name            = {{collapsible list
|titlestyle = background:transparent;text-align:center;line-height:normal;
|title = {{resize|1.0 em|Five official names}}
|{{center|
{{smalldiv|{{ubl|{{native name|de|{{nowrap|Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft}}}}|{{native name|fr|Confédération suisse}}|{{native name|it|Confederazione Svizzera}}|{{native name|rm|Confederaziun svizra}}|''Confoederatio helvetica'' ([[Latin]])}}}}
 }}
}}
| image_flag             = Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg
| image_coat             = Coat of Arms of Switzerland (Pantone).svg
| national_anthem        = "[[Rufst du, mein Vaterland]]"<br/>{{center|[[File:Rufst du, mein Vaterland (1938).oga]]}}
| image_map              =
| capital                = None
| largest_city           = Zurich
| year_end               = 1939
| year_start             = 1848
| title_leader           = [[President of Switzerland|President]]
| year_leader1           = 1848-1849
| leader1                = [[Jonas Furrer]]
| year_leader2           = 1939
| leader2                = [[Philipp Etter]]
| event_start            = End of the [[Restoration and Regeneration in Switzerland]]
| event_end              = Start of [[World War II]]
| p1                     = Restoration and Regeneration in Switzerland{{!}}Switzerland
| s1                     = Switzerland
| flag_p1                = Flag of Switzerland 2-3.svg
| flag_s1                = Flag of Switzerland 2-3.svg
}}

While the industrial sector began to grow in the mid-19th century, Switzerland's emergence as one of the most prosperous nations in Europe—the "Swiss miracle"—was a development of the [[short 20th century]], among other things tied to the role of [[Switzerland during the World Wars]].<ref>Roman Studer, ''"When Did the Swiss Get so Rich?" Comparing Living Standards in Switzerland and Europe, 1800–1913'', ''Journal of European economic history'' (2008), 37#2, pp. 405–452. [http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/32448/ online] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807234101/http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/32448/ |date=August 7, 2020}}</ref>

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-02454, Genf, Schlusssitzung des Völkerbundrates.jpg|thumb|[[League of Nations]] conference in Geneva (1926)]]

Germany [[Operation Tannenbaum|considered invading]] Switzerland during [[World War II]] but never attacked.<ref>''Let's Swallow Switzerland'' by Klaus Urner (Lexington Books, 2002).</ref> Under General [[Henri Guisan]], the Swiss army prepared for the mass mobilization of [[militia]] forces against invasion and prepared strong, well-stockpiled positions high in the Alps known as the ''[[National Redoubt (Switzerland)|Réduit]]''. Switzerland remained independent and neutral through a combination of military deterrence, economic concessions to Germany, and good fortune, as larger events during the war delayed an invasion.

Attempts by Switzerland's small Nazi party to cause an ''[[Anschluss]]'' with Germany failed miserably, largely due to Switzerland's multicultural heritage, a strong sense of national identity, and long tradition of direct democracy and civil liberties. The Swiss press vigorously criticized the Third Reich,<ref>Georges André Chevallaz, ''The Challenge of Neutrality: Diplomacy and the Defense of Switzerland'' (2001), pp. 120. [https://books.google.com/books?id=-MtdoOfwQqUC&dq=The+Swiss+press+criticized+the+Third+Reich&pg=PA120] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116133308/https://books.google.com/books?id=-MtdoOfwQqUC&lpg=PA120&ots=1O5RfEPPzN&dq=The%20Swiss%20press%20criticized%20the%20Third%20Reich&pg=PA120#v=onepage&q=The%20Swiss%20press%20criticized%20the%20Third%20Reich&f=false|date=January 16, 2023}}</ref> often infuriating German leaders. Switzerland was an important base for espionage by both sides in the conflict, and it often mediated communications between the Axis and Allied powers.

Switzerland's trade was blockaded by both the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] and the [[Axis Powers|Axis]]. Both sides openly exerted pressure on Switzerland not to trade with the other. Economic cooperation and extension of credit to the Third Reich varied according to the perceived likelihood of invasion, and the availability of other trading partners. Concessions reached their zenith after a crucial rail link through [[Vichy France]] was severed in 1942, leaving Switzerland surrounded by the Axis. Switzerland relied on trade for half of its food and essentially all of its fuel, but controlled vital trans-alpine rail tunnels between Germany and Italy.

Switzerland's most important exports during the war were precision machine tools, watches, jewel bearings (used in bombsights), electricity, and dairy products. During World War Two, the [[Swiss franc]] was the only remaining major freely convertible currency in the world, and both the Allies and the Germans sold large amounts of gold to the [[Swiss National Bank]]. Between 1940 and 1945, the German [[Reichsbank]] sold 1.3 billion francs worth of gold to Swiss Banks in exchange for Swiss francs and other foreign currency.<ref>The Bergier Commission Final Report, page 238 http://www.uek.ch/en/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311054503/http://www.uek.ch/en/ |date=March 11, 2007 }}.</ref>

Hundreds of millions of francs worth of this gold was [[Gold standard|monetary gold]] plundered from the [[central bank]]s of occupied countries. 581,000 francs of "Melmer" gold taken from [[The Holocaust|Holocaust]] victims in eastern Europe was sold to Swiss banks.<ref>The Bergier Commission Final Report, page 249 http://www.uek.ch/en/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311054503/http://www.uek.ch/en/ |date=March 11, 2007 }}.</ref> In total, trade between Germany and Switzerland contributed about 0.5% to the German war effort but did not significantly lengthen the war.<ref>The Bergier Commission Final Report, page 518 http://www.uek.ch/en/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311054503/http://www.uek.ch/en/ |date=March 11, 2007 }}.</ref>

Over the course of the war, Switzerland interned 300,000 refugees.<ref>{{HDS|10374|Asylum}}</ref> 104,000 of these were foreign troops interned according to the Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers outlined in the [[Hague Conventions (1899 and 1907)|Hague Conventions]]. The rest were foreign civilians and were either interned or granted tolerance or residence permits by the cantonal authorities. Refugees were not allowed to hold jobs. 60,000 of the refugees were civilians escaping persecution by the Nazis. Of these, 26,000 to 27,000 were Jews.<ref>The Bergier Commission Final Report, page 117 http://www.uek.ch/en/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311054503/http://www.uek.ch/en/ |date=March 11, 2007 }}.</ref> Between 10,000 and 25,000 civilian refugees were refused entry.<ref>{{HDS|10374|Asylum}} states 24,000</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Imre |last=Karacs |title=Switzerland refused to help 24,500 Jews in war |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/switzerland-refused-to-help-24500-jews-in-war-1131689.html |newspaper=The Independent |date=December 11, 1999 |access-date=February 4, 2009 |archive-date=May 29, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120529150828/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/switzerland-refused-to-help-24500-jews-in-war-1131689.html |url-status=live }}</ref> At the beginning of the war, Switzerland had a Jewish population of between 18,000<ref>[http://www1.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft%20Word%20-%206062.pdf Switzerland from the Shoah Resource Foundation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226114620/http://www1.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft%20Word%20-%206062.pdf |date=February 26, 2009 }} accessed Feb 4, 2009</ref> and 28,000<ref>{{HDS|8927<!--Section 1-5-->|Second World War-Refugees}} states 28,000</ref> and a total population of about 4 million.

Within Switzerland at the time of the conflict, there was moderate polarization. Some were pacifists. Some took sides according to international capitalism or international communism. Others leaned more towards their language group, with some in French-speaking areas more pro-Allied, and some in Swiss-German areas more pro-Axis. The government attempted to thwart the activities of any individual, party, or faction in Switzerland that acted with extremism or attempted to break the unity of the nation. The Swiss-German speaking areas moved linguistically further away from the standard (high) German spoken in Germany, with more emphasis on local Swiss dialects.

In the 1960s, significant controversy arose among historians regarding the nation's relations with Nazi Germany.<ref>Hadrien Buclin, "'Surmonter le passé?': les intellectuels de gauche et le débat des années soixante sur la deuxième guerre mondiale," ["Overcoming the Past?": Intellectuals on the Left and the Debate of the 1960s About the Second World War] ''Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Geschichte'' (2013), 63#2, pp. 233–249.</ref>

By the 1990s the controversies included a [[World Jewish Congress lawsuit against Swiss Banks|class-action lawsuit]] brought in New York over Jewish assets in Holocaust-era bank accounts. The government commissioned an authoritative study of Switzerland's interaction with the Nazi regime. The final report by this independent panel of international scholars, known as the [[Bergier Commission]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.uek.ch/en/|title=Independent Commission of Experts Switzerland – Second World War ICE|website=www.uek.ch|access-date=August 6, 2021|archive-date=August 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210806204012/https://www.uek.ch/en/|url-status=live}}</ref> was issued in 2002.

=== History after 1945 ===
{{further||Politics of Switzerland}}
During the [[Cold War]], Swiss authorities [[Switzerland and weapons of mass destruction|considered the construction]] of a Swiss [[nuclear bomb]].<ref>[http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Nwfaq/Nfaq7-4.html 7.4 States Formerly Possessing or Pursuing Nuclear Weapons<!-- Bot generated title -->] Retrieved March 5, 2014</ref> Leading nuclear physicists at the [[ETH Zurich|Federal Institute of Technology Zurich]] such as [[Paul Scherrer]] made this a realistic possibility. However, financial problems with the defense budget prevented substantial funds from being allocated, and the [[Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty]] of 1968 was seen as a valid alternative. All remaining plans for building nuclear weapons were dropped by 1988.<ref>[http://peaceandhealthblog.com/2010/10/09/swiss-nuclear-bomb/ Swiss nuclear bomb] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140305115926/http://peaceandhealthblog.com/2010/10/09/swiss-nuclear-bomb/ |date=March 5, 2014}} ''International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War'' October 9, 2010. Retrieved March 7, 2014</ref>

[[File:Pascal Couchepin - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Davos 2008.jpg|thumb|Opening speech by president [[Pascal Couchepin]] at the [[World Economic Forum]], one of the many international organizations based in Switzerland]]

From 1959, the [[Swiss Federal Council|Federal Council]], elected by the parliament, is composed of members of the four major parties, the Protestant [[Free Democratic Party of Switzerland|Free Democrats]], the Catholic [[Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland|Christian Democrats]], the left-wing [[Social Democratic Party of Switzerland|Social Democrats]], and the right-wing [[Swiss People's Party|People's Party]], essentially creating a system without a sizeable [[parliamentary opposition]] (see [[concordance system]]), reflecting the powerful position of an opposition in a [[direct democracy]].

In 1963, Switzerland joined the [[Council of Europe]]. In 1979, parts of the canton of [[Bern]] attained independence, forming the new [[canton of Jura]].

Switzerland's role in many United Nations and international organizations helped to mitigate the country's concern for neutrality. In 2002, Switzerland voters gave 55% of their vote in favour of the UN and joined the United Nations. This followed decades of debate and its previous rejection of membership in 1986 by a 3-1 popular vote.<ref>See [http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/Moving_towards_the_UN_in_slow_motion.html?cid=291972 "Moving towards the UN in slow motion" ''SWI'' May 25, 2007] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113033826/http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/Moving_towards_the_UN_in_slow_motion.html?cid=291972 |date=November 13, 2013}}</ref>

[[Women's suffrage in Switzerland|Swiss women gained the right to vote]] in national-level elections in 1971, and an equal rights amendment was ratified in 1981;<ref>{{cite book | last = Banaszak | first = Lee Ann | title = Why movements succeed or fail: Opportunity, culture, and the struggle for woman suffrage | publisher = Princeton University Press | location = Princeton, NJ | year = 1996 | isbn = 978-0-691-02639-8 }}</ref> however, not until 1990 did the courts establish full nationwide voting rights for women in all elections.<ref>{{cite web |title=Appenzell Inner Rhodes: the last Swiss canton to give women the vote |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/a-visit-to-appenzell-inner-rhodes--the-last-canton-to-grant-women-the-right-to-vote-in-switzerland-/46328984 |website=SWI swissinfo.ch |date=February 2, 2021 |access-date=24 September 2022 |archive-date=September 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220921205736/https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/a-visit-to-appenzell-inner-rhodes--the-last-canton-to-grant-women-the-right-to-vote-in-switzerland-/46328984 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Switzerland is not a member state of the [[European Union|EU]] but has been (together with [[Liechtenstein]]) surrounded by EU territory since the accession of Austria in 1995. In 2005, Switzerland agreed to join the [[Schengen treaty]] and [[Dublin Convention]] by popular vote. In February 2014, Swiss voters approved [[Swiss immigration referendum, February 2014|a referendum]] to reinstitute quotas on immigration to Switzerland, setting off a period of finding an implementation that would not violate the [[European Single Market#Free movement of persons|EU's freedom of movement accords]] that Switzerland adopted.

Following the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]], Switzerland decided to adopt all EU sanctions against Russia. According to the [[Swiss President]] [[Ignazio Cassis]], the measures were "unprecedented but consistent with [[Swiss neutrality]]". The administration also confirmed that Switzerland would continue to offer its services to find a peaceful solution to the conflict. Switzerland only participates in humanitarian missions and provides relief supplies to the Ukrainian population and neighbouring countries.

== Order of accession of the cantons ==
{{Main|Cantons of Switzerland}}
{{Further|Flags and arms of cantons of Switzerland}}
The [[Swiss order of precedence|order of precedence]] of the Swiss cantons given in the federal constitution follows the historical order of accession except for the three city cantons of Zürich, Bern and Lucerne placed at the top.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Swiss Federal Statistical Office |title=Regional Portraits: Cantons |date=2011 |url=http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/regionen/thematische_karten/maps/uebersichtskarte.html |location=Neuchâtel, Switzerland |access-date=2015-12-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430051050/http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/regionen/thematische_karten/maps/uebersichtskarte.html |archive-date=April 30, 2009 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

;''[[Eight Cantons]]''
*1291 founding cantons – [[File:Wappen Uri matt.svg|20px]] [[Canton of Uri|Uri]], [[File:Wappen des Kantons Schwyz.svg|20px]] [[Canton of Schwyz|Schwyz]], [[File:Wappen Unterwalden alt.svg|20px|]] [[Unterwalden]]
*1332 – [[File:Wappen Luzern matt.svg|20px]] [[Canton of Lucerne|Lucerne]]
*1351 – [[File:Wappen Zürich matt.svg|20px]] [[Canton of Zürich|Zürich]]
*1352 – [[File:Wappen Glarus matt.svg|20px]] [[Canton of Glarus|Glarus]], [[File:Wappen Zug matt.svg|20px]] [[Canton of Zug|Zug]]
*1353 – [[File:CHE Bern COA.svg|20px]] [[Canton of Bern|Bern]]
;expansion to ''[[Thirteen Cantons]]''
*1481 – [[File:Wappen Freiburg matt.svg|20px]] [[Canton of Fribourg|Fribourg]], [[File:Wappen Solothurn matt.svg|20px]] [[Canton of Solothurn|Solothurn]]
*1501 – [[File:Wappen Basel-Stadt matt.svg|20px]] [[Canton of Basel|Basel]], [[File:Wappen Schaffhausen matt.svg|20px]] [[Canton of Schaffhausen|Schaffhausen]]
*1513 – [[File:Wappen Appenzell Innerrhoden matt.svg|20px]] [[Appenzell]]
;[[Act of Mediation]] {{Further|Cantons of the Helvetic Republic}}
*1803 – [[File:Coat of arms of canton of St. Gallen.svg|20px]] [[Canton of St. Gallen|St. Gallen]], [[File:Wappen Graubünden.svg|20px]] [[Graubünden]], [[File:CHE Aargau COA.svg|20px]] [[Aargau]], [[File:Wappen Thurgau matt.svg|20px]] [[Thurgau]], [[File:Wappen Tessin matt.svg|20px]] [[Ticino]], [[File:Wappen Waadt matt.svg|20px]] [[Vaud]]
;[[Restoration and Regeneration in Switzerland|Restoration period]]
*1815 – [[File:Wappen Wallis matt.svg|20px]] [[Valais]], [[File:Wappen Neuenburg matt.svg|20px]] [[Canton of Neuchâtel|Neuchâtel]], [[File:Wappen Genf matt.svg|20px]] [[Canton of Geneva|Geneva]]
;[[Switzerland as a federal state]]
*1979 – [[File:Wappen Jura matt.svg|20px]] [[Canton of Jura|Jura]] ([[Jura separatism|secession from Bern]])
*1999 – official status of the six [[half-canton]]s as cantons ([[File:Wappen Obwalden matt.svg|20px]] [[Obwalden]] and [[File:Wappen Nidwalden matt.svg|20px]] [[Nidwalden]], [[File:Wappen Appenzell Ausserrhoden matt.svg|20px]] [[Appenzell Ausserrhoden]] and [[File:Wappen Appenzell Innerrhoden matt.svg|20px]] [[Appenzell Innerrhoden]], [[File:Wappen Basel-Stadt matt.svg|20px]] [[Basel-City|Basel-Stadt]] and [[File:Coat of arms of Kanton Basel-Landschaft.svg|20px]] [[Basel-Country|Basel-Landschaft]])

== See also ==
{{Portal bar|History|Switzerland}}
*[[Historiography of Switzerland]]
*[[History of the Grisons]]
*[[History of Zürich]]
*[[History of the Canton of Aargau]]
*[[List of presidents of the Swiss Confederation]]
*[[Politics of Switzerland]]
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of Switzerland]]

'''General''':
*[[History of the Alps]]
*[[History of Europe]]

== Notes and references ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* Balsiger, Jörg. ''Uphill Struggles: The Politics of Sustainable Mountain Development in Switzerland and California'' (2009)
* Bonjour, E., [[H. S. Offler]], G. R. Potter. ''A Short History of Switzerland'' (1952) [https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofsw00bonj online]
* Burnett, Amy Nelson and Campi, Emidio (eds). ''A Companion to the Swiss Reformation'' (Brill, 2016). {{ISBN|978-90-04-30102-3}}
* Church, Clive H., and Randolph C. Head. ''A Concise History of Switzerland'' (Cambridge University Press, 2013). pp. 132–161 [http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521194440&ss=fro online]
* Codevilla, Angelo M. ''Between the Alps and a Hard Place: Switzerland in World War II and the Rewriting of History'' (2000) [https://www.amazon.com/dp/089526238X/  excerpt and text search]
* Dawson, William Harbutt. ''Social Switzerland: Studies of Present-day Social Movements and Legislation'' (1897) 302 pp; with focus on social and economic history, poverty, labour [https://archive.org/details/socialswitzerlan00dawsrich online]
* Fahrni, Dieter. ''An Outline History of Switzerland. From the Origins to the Present Day'' (8th ed. 2003, Pro Helvetia, Zürich). {{ISBN|3-908102-61-8}}
* Halbrook, Stephen P. ''Target Switzerland: Swiss Armed Neutrality in World War II'' (2003) [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0306813254/ excerpt and text search]
* Lerner, Marc. ''A Laboratory of Liberty: The Transformation of Political Culture in Republican Switzerland, 1750–1848'' (Brill, 2011).
* Luck, James Murray. ''A History of Switzerland. The First 100,000 Years: Before the Beginnings to the Days of the Present.'' SPOSS, Palo Alto CA. (1985) {{ISBN|0-930664-06-X}}
* Lüthi, Barbara, and Damir Skenderovic, eds. ''Switzerland and Migration: Historical and Current Perspectives on a Changing Landscape'' (Springer, 2019).
* Marabello, Thomas Quinn.(2023) "The Origins of Democracy in Switzerland," ''Swiss American Historical Society Review'', Vol. 59: No. 1, Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/sahs_review/vol59/iss1/4
* Marabello, Thomas Quinn. "Challenges to Swiss Democracy: Neutrality, Napoleon, & Nationalism," ''Swiss American Historical Society Review'', Jun. 2023, Vol. 59: No. 2. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/sahs_review/vol59/iss2/5
* Oechsli, Wilhelm. ''History of Switzerland, 1499–1914'' (1922) [https://books.google.com/books?id=oS1pAAAAMAAJ full text online]
* [[Steven Ozment|Ozment, Steven E]]. ''The Reformation in the Cities: The Appeal of Protestantism to Sixteenth-Century Germany and Switzerland'' (1975)
* Remak, Joachim. ''A Very Civil War. The Swiss Sonderbund War of 1847.'' (1993).
* Schelbert, Leo. ''Historical Dictionary of Switzerland'' (2007) [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0810849313 excerpt and text search]
* Wilson, John. ''History of Switzerland'' (1832) [https://archive.org/details/historyofswitzer00wilsiala online]

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
{{EB1911 poster|Switzerland/History}}
*[http://www.swissworld.org/en/history/ History of Switzerland] on Swissworld.org
*[http://www.dodis.ch/ Swiss Diplomatic Documents (DDS)]
*[http://eudocs.lib.byu.edu/index.php/History_of_Switzerland:_Primary_Documents History of Switzerland: Primary Documents]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110309035235/http://swissamericanhistoricalsoc.org/ Swiss American Historical Society]
* [[Henry Smith Williams|Williams, Henry Smith (Ed.)]] 1905, [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/73369 The historians' history of the world in twenty-five volumes, volume 17: Switzerland (concluded), Russia and Poland], New York: The Outlook Company. 
{{History of Europe}}
{{European history by country}}
{{Switzerland topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:History of Switzerland| ]]