Helvetic Republic

The Helvetic Republic (République

helvétique (French); Helvetische Helvetic Republic
Republik (German); Repubblica Elvetica (Italian); Helvetische Republik (German)
Republica helvetica (Romansh)) was a sister République helvétique (French)
republic of France that existed between 1798 and Repubblica Elvetica (Italian)
1803, during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was Republica helvetica (Romansh)
created following the French invasion and the
1798–1803
consequent dissolution of the Old Swiss
Confederacy, marking the end of the ancien régime
in Switzerland.[4] Throughout its existence, the
republic incorporated most of the territory of
modern Switzerland, excluding the cantons of
Geneva and Neuchâtel and the old Prince-Bishopric
of Basel.[1]

The Swiss Confederacy, which until then had

consisted of self-governing cantons united by a loose
Official seal of the
military alliance (and ruling over subject territories "smaller council" (Kleiner
such as Vaud), was invaded by the French Rath)
Revolutionary Army and turned into an ally known
as the "Helvetic Republic". The interference with Top: Front flag
localism and traditional liberties was deeply Bottom: Reverse
resented, although some modernizing reforms took flag

place.[5][6] Resistance was strongest in the more

traditional Catholic cantons, with armed uprisings
breaking out in spring 1798 in the central part of
Switzerland. The French and Helvetic armies
suppressed the uprisings, but opposition to the new
government gradually increased over the years, as
the Swiss resented their loss of local democracy, the
new taxes, the centralization and the hostility to
religion. Nonetheless, there were long-term effects to The Helvetic Republic, with borders according
to the first Helvetic constitution of 12 April
the Helvetic citizens.[7] 1798. Modern Swiss borders are outlined in
orange.
The Republic's name Helvetic, after the Helvetii, the
Status Client state of
Gaulish inhabitants of the Swiss Plateau in antiquity, France
was not an innovation; rather, the Swiss Confederacy
Capital Aarau (1798)
had occasionally been dubbed Republica
Lucerne (1798–
Helvetiorum in humanist Latin since the 17th 1799)
century, and Helvetia, the Swiss national Bern (1799–
1803)[1]
personification, made her first appearance in 1672. Official languages French, German,
In Swiss history, the Helvetic Republic represents an Italian[2][3]
early attempt to establish a centralized government Other languages Romansh,
in the country. Lombard, Arpitan

Government Directorial
republic
History Historical era French
Revolutionary
Wars
• Confederation 5 March 1798
collapsed on French
invasion
• Proclaimed 12 April 1798
• Elections in Zürich 14 April 1798
• Mutual defence treaty 19 August 1798
with France
• Diplomatic recognition 19 September
by French allies 1798
Strategic situation of Europe in 1796
• Malmaison constitution 29 May 1801
• Federal constitution 27 February
1802
• Act of Mediation 19 February
1803
Currency Swiss franc

ISO 3166 code CH

Preceded by Succeeded by
Old Swiss Swiss
Confederacy Confederation
Republic of (Napoleonic)
the Seven Valais
Tithings Republic
Phrygian cap, cockade and seal
Three
stamp from the Helvetic Republic
Leagues

During the French Revolutionary Wars of the 1790s, Note: See below for a full list of predecessor
the French Republican armies expanded eastward. states
In 1793, the National Convention had imposed
friendship with the United States and the Swiss Confederation as the sole limit while delegating its
powers in foreign policy to the Committee of Public Safety, but the situation changed when the
more conservative Directoire took power in 1795 and Napoleon conquered Northern Italy in 1796.
The French Republican armies enveloped Switzerland on the grounds of "liberating" the Swiss
people, whose own system of government was deemed feudal, especially for annexed territories
such as Vaud.

Some Swiss nationals, including Frédéric-César de La Harpe, had called for French intervention on
these grounds. The invasion proceeded largely peacefully since the Swiss people failed to respond
to the calls of their politicians to take up arms.
On 5 March 1798, French troops completely overran Switzerland and the Old Swiss Confederation
collapsed. On 12 April 1798, 121 cantonal deputies proclaimed the Helvetic Republic, "One and
Indivisible". On 14 April 1798, a cantonal assembly was called in the canton of Zürich, but most of
the politicians from the previous assembly were re-elected. The new régime abolished cantonal
sovereignty and feudal rights. The occupying forces established a centralised state based on the
ideas of the French Revolution.

Many Swiss citizens resisted these "progressive" ideas, particularly in the central areas of the
country. Some of the more controversial aspects of the new regime limited freedom of worship,
which outraged many of the more devout citizens.

In response, the Cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Nidwalden raised

an army of about 10,000 men led by Alois von Reding to fight
the French. This army was deployed along the defensive line
from Napf to Rapperswil. Reding besieged French-controlled
Lucerne and marched across the Brünig pass into the Berner
Oberland to support the armies of Bern. At the same time, the
French General Balthasar Alexis Henri Antoine of Schauenburg
marched out of occupied Zürich to attack Zug, Lucerne and the
Sattel pass. Even though Reding's army won victories at
Rothenthurm and Morgarten, Schauenburg's victory near
Sattel allowed him to threaten the town of Schwyz. On 4 May
1798, the town council of Schwyz surrendered.[8]
Alois von Reding led Central Swiss
troops against the French.
On 13 May, Reding and Schauenburg agreed to a cease-fire, the
terms of which included the rebel cantons merging into a single
one, thus limiting their effectiveness in the central government.
However, the French failed to keep their promises in respecting religious matters and before the
year was out there was another uprising in Nidwalden which the authorities crushed, with towns
and villages burnt down by French troops.

No general agreement existed about the future of the Swiss. Leading groups split into the
Unitaires, who wanted a united republic, and the Federalists, who represented the old aristocracy
and demanded a return to cantonal sovereignty. Coup attempts became frequent and the new
régime had to rely on the French to survive. Furthermore, the occupying forces insisted that the
accommodation and feeding of the soldiers be paid for by the local populace, which drained the
economy. The treaty of alliance of 19 August with France, which also reaffirmed the French
annexation of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel and imposed French rights over the Upper Rhine and
the Simplon Pass for evident strategic reasons towards Germany and Italy, also broke the tradition
of neutrality established by the Confederation. All this made it difficult to establish a new working
state.

In 1799, Switzerland became a virtual battle-zone between the French, Austrian, and Imperial
Russian armies, with the locals supporting mainly the latter two, rejecting calls to fight with the
French armies in the name of the Helvetic Republic.

Instability in the Republic reached its peak in 1802–1803; it included the Bourla-papey uprising
and the Stecklikrieg civil war of 1802. By then, the Republic was 12 million francs in debt, having
started with a treasury of 6 million francs.[9] This, together with local resistance, caused the
Helvetic Republic to collapse, and its government took refuge in Lausanne.
At that time, Napoleon Bonaparte, then First Consul of France, summoned representatives of both
sides to Paris in order to negotiate a solution. Although the Federalist representatives formed a
minority at the conciliation conference, known as the "Helvetic Consulta", Bonaparte characterised
Switzerland as federal "by nature" and considered it unwise to force the country into any other
constitutional framework.

On 19 February 1803, the Act of Mediation abolished the Helvetic Republic and restored the
cantons. With the abolition of the centralized state, Switzerland became a confederation once
again, called the Swiss Confederation.

Constitution
Before the advent of the Helvetic Republic, each individual canton had exercised complete
sovereignty over its own territory or territories. Little central authority had existed, with matters
concerning the country as a whole confined mainly to meetings of leading representatives from the
cantons: the Diets.[10]

The constitution of the Helvetic Republic came mainly from the design of Peter Ochs, a magistrate
from Basel. It established a central two-chamber legislature which included the Grand Council
(with 8 members per canton) and the Senate (4 members per canton). The executive, known as the
Directory, comprised 5 members. The Constitution also established actual Swiss citizenship, as
opposed to just citizenship of one's canton of birth.[10] Under the Old Swiss Confederacy,
citizenship was granted by each town and village only to residents. These citizens enjoyed access to
community property and in some cases additional protection under the law. Additionally, the
urban towns and the rural villages had differing rights and laws. The creation of a uniform Swiss
citizenship, which applied equally for citizens of the old towns and their tenants and servants, led
to conflict. The wealthier villagers and urban citizens held rights to forests, common land and
other municipal property which they did not want to share with the "new citizens", who were
generally poor. The compromise solution, which was written into the municipal laws of the
Helvetic Republic, is still valid today. Two politically separate but often geographically similar
organizations were created. The first, the so-called municipality, was a political community formed
by-election and its voting body consists of all resident citizens. However, the community land and
property remained with the former local citizens who were gathered together into the
Bürgergemeinde.[11]

After an uprising led by Alois von Reding in 1798, some cantons were merged, thus reducing their
anti-centralist effectiveness in the legislature. Uri, Schwyz, Zug and Unterwalden together became
the canton of Waldstätten; Glarus and the Sarganserland became the canton of Linth, and
Appenzell and St. Gallen combined as the canton of Säntis.

Due to the instability of the situation, the Helvetic Republic had over 6 constitutions in a period of
four years.[10]

Legacy
The Helvetic Republic did highlight the desirability of a central authority to handle matters for the
country as a whole (as opposed to the individual cantons which handled matters at the local level).
In the post-Napoleonic era, the differences between the cantons (varying currencies and systems of
 weights and
measurements) and the
perceived need for better
co-ordination between
them came to a head and
culminated in the Swiss
Federal Constitution of
1848. The Republic's 5-
member Directory
resembles the 7-member
Swiss Federal Council,
Switzerland's present-day
executive.

The awakening of the Swiss (1798), The Helvetic Republic is William Tell fights the revolution
by Midart, celebrates the still very controversial (1798), by Dunker, praises the
transformation of the Old within Switzerland. [12] Carl struggle of the Old Confederation
Confederation into the Helvetic against the Helvetic revolution
Hilty described the period
Republic. It shows a Swiss who supported by French invasion. It
as the first democratic
wakes up from his sleep (the ancien depicts the Swiss folk hero William
régime) and is handed his weapons
experience in Swiss Tell, carrying a shield with the
by Liberty. In the background, the territory, while within Rütlischwur, and his son fighting the
rising sun and the Gallic rooster conservatism it is seen as a revolution, represented as a
herald the new era time of national weakness chimera wearing a phrygian cap
and loss of independence.
For cantons such as Vaud,
Thurgau and Ticino, the three who in 1898 celebrated the centenary of their independence, the
Republic was a time of political freedom and liberation from the rule of other cantons. However,
the period was also marked by foreign domination and instability, and for the cantons of Bern,
Schwyz and Nidwalden it signified military defeat.[12] In 1995, the Federal Assembly chose not to
celebrate the 200 year anniversary of the Helvetic Republic but to allow individual cantons to
celebrate if they wished. The Federal Councilors took part in official events in Aargau in January
1998.[12]

The Helvetic period represents a key step toward the modern federal state. For the first time, the
population was defined as Swiss, not as inhabitants of a specific canton.

Administrative divisions
The Helvetic Republic reduced the formerly sovereign cantons
to mere administrative division, though keeping the
denomination of cantons, while also raising to such status
unrepresented territories previously ruled as subjects of the
Confederation. In order to weaken the old power-structures, it
defined new boundaries for some cantons. The Act of 1798 and
subsequent developments resulted in the following cantons:
The provisional constitution of 15
Aargau (without Baden and Fricktal) January 1798
Baden
 Basel
Bellinzona
Bern (without Oberland)
Fribourg
Fricktal, created in 1802
Léman (corresponding to Vaud)
Linth
Lugano The constitution of 12 April 1798
Lucerne
Oberland
Raetia (corresponding to Graubünden/Grisons)
Säntis
Schaffhausen
Solothurn
Thurgau
Waldstätten
Valais The constitution of 25 May 1802
Zürich

Predecessor states
As well as the Old Swiss Confederacy, the following territories became part of the Helvetic
Republic:

Associate states
There were four associated states:

Republic of the Seven Tithings

Imperial Abbey of St Gall
Imperial City of St Gall
Free state of the Three Leagues
League of God's House
Grey League
League of the Ten Jurisdictions

Condominiums
There were 21 condominiums:

County of Baden
Vogtei of Bellinzona
Vogtei of Blenio
Freie Ämter
Vogtei of Gams / Hohensax
 Lordship of Grandson
Vogtei of Leventina
Landvogtei of Locarno
Landvogtei of Lugano
Landvogtei of Mendrisio
Vogtei of Murten
Vogtei of Orbe-Échallens
Imperial Abbey of Pfäfers
Vogtei of Rheintal
Vogtei of Rivera
County of Sargans
Schwarzenburg / Grasburg
Landgraviate of Thurgau
County of Uznach
Landvogtei of Valmaggia
Vogtei of Windegg

Protectorates
There were five protectorates:

Engelberg Abbey
Republic of Gersau
City of Rapperswil
Barony of Sax-Forstegg
County of Werdenberg

Unassociated territories
The Helvetic Republic also annexed two territories not previously part of Switzerland:

Fricktal, a part of the Breisgau, within the Habsburg Further Austria, retained by Aargau
Konstanz, a part of the Bishopric of Constance, later restored to the Grand Duchy of Baden

See also
Switzerland in the Napoleonic era
List of officials of the Helvetic Republic
 Valais History

References
1. Helvetic Republic in German (http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/d/D009797.php), French (http://
www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/f/F009797.php) and Italian (http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/i/I0097
97.php) in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
2. The constitution of the Helvetic Republic (https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/fr/articles/009797/2011-01-27/#
HLaConstitutionhelvE9tique) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20210608180931/https://hl
s-dhs-dss.ch/fr/articles/009797/2011-01-27/#HLaConstitutionhelvE9tique) 8 June 2021 at the
Wayback Machine, as described in the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
3. Ayres-Bennett, Wendy; Carruthers, Janice (2018). Manual of Romance Sociolinguistics (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=EOR8DwAAQBAJ). De Gruyter. p. 529.
ISBN 9783110365955. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20211208031432/https://books.g
oogle.com/books?id=EOR8DwAAQBAJ) from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved
17 November 2021.
4. Lerner, Marc H. (2023), "Switzerland: Local Agency and French Intervention: The Helvetic
Republic" (https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-history-of-the-age-of-atlantic-revo
lutions/switzerland-local-agency-and-french-intervention-the-helvetic-republic/A0F8E6C8FF685
BFC10457A75302DD52D), The Cambridge History of the Age of Atlantic Revolutions, vol. 2,
Cambridge University Press, pp. 303–328, doi:10.1017/9781108599405.015 (https://doi.org/10.
1017%2F9781108599405.015), ISBN 978-1-108-47598-3
5. Marc H. Lerner, "The Helvetic Republic: An Ambivalent Reception of French Revolutionary
Liberty," French History (2004) 18#1 pp 50–75.
6. R.R. Palmer, The Age of the Democratic Revolution 2:394-421
7. Otto Dann; John Dinwiddy (1988). Nationalism in the Age of the French Revolution (https://boo
ks.google.com/books?id=qrujM36H7qUC&pg=PA194). Continuum. pp. 190–98.
ISBN 9780907628972. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20160430080558/https://books.g
oogle.com/books?id=qrujM36H7qUC&pg=PA194) from the original on 30 April 2016. Retrieved
12 November 2015.
8. The French Invasion in German (http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/d/D8915.php), French (http://
www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/f/F8915.php) and Italian (http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/i/I8915.p
hp) in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
9. Hughes, Christopher, Switzerland (London, 1975) p.98
10. Histoire de la Suisse, Éditions Fragnière, Fribourg, Switzerland
11. Bürgergemeinde in German (http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/d/D26443.php), French (http://w
ww.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/f/F26443.php) and Italian (http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/i/I26443.p
hp) in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
12. Helvetic Republic, Historiography and commemorations in German (http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/t
extes/d/D9797.php), French (http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/f/F9797.php) and Italian (http://w
ww.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/i/I9797.php) in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.

External links
Marabello, Thomas Quinn (2023) "Challenges to Swiss Democracy: Neutrality, Napoleon, &
Nationalism," Swiss American Historical Society Review, Vol. 59: No. 2. Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/sahs_review/vol59/iss2/5. Pg. 46-48.
Helvetic Republic in German (http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/d/D9797.php), French (http://w
ww.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/f/F9797.php) and Italian (http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/i/I9797.ph
p) in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
Divisions of Switzerland under Napoleon (http://www.histoire-empire.org/departements/suisse.
htm) (in French)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Helvetic_Republic&oldid=1263762892"