The Swiss peasant war of 1653 was a popular revolt by the rural populations of several cantons. The rebellion was suppressed, but it led to a series of reforms. In 1656, tensions between Protestants and Catholics re-emerged and led to the outbreak of the First War of Villmergen. A new conflict in 1712 caused the Second War of Villmergen, which overturned the balance of power to the Protestant cantons. The religious conflicts were renewed in 1847, resulting in the Sonderbund War and leading to the formation of Switzerland as a federal state.