Old Swiss Confederacy

The Old Swiss Confederacy, also known as Switzerland or the Swiss Confederacy,(Modern German: ; historically , after the Reformation also ,  "Confederation of the Swiss") was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German  or In the charters of the 14th century described as "communities" (, ), the German term Orte becomes common in the early 15th century, used alongside  "estate" after the Reformation. The French term  is used in Fribourg in 1475, and after 1490 is increasingly used in French and Italian documents. It only enters occasional German usage after 1648, and only gains official status as synonym of  with the Act of Mediation of 1803. ) that were in the Holy Roman Empire. The area is now centralSwitzerland.

The confederacy formed in the late 13th century and eventually included Zürich and Bern by the mid-14th century. It was one of the few times thsa rural and urban communes were combined. All of those communes had imperial immediacy in the Holy Roman Empire, meaning that they had no higher ruler other than the Emperor.

The confederacy had eight cantons () and was very successful in politics and military for over a century. It became very important in the Burgundy Wars in the 1470s. The confederacy was very powerful in a very confusing Europe.

By 1513, the confederacy had 13 cantons. ()  It became neutral in 1647 (after the threat of the Thirty Years' War). However, many Swiss people mecame private mercenaries in the Italian Wars and the early modern period.

After the Swabian War of 1499, the confederacy became an independent country de facto throughout the early modern period. The confederacy was still part of the Holy Roman Empire until 1648, when the Treaty of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years' War. The Swiss Reformation split the confederates into Protestant and Catholic parties. Eventually, there was much conflict in the confederacy until the 1700s. In 1798, the French Revolutionary Army took over the confederacy, which then became the Helvetic Republic.

 List of cantons 


The confederation grew many times. It started with 8 cantons (Acht Orte). In 1481, it had 10 cantons. In 1501, it had 12 cantons. At the end, it had 13 cantons (Dreizehn Orte).Im Hof, U.. Geschichte der Schweiz, 7th ed., Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer, 1974/2001. . 
Founding cantons (Urkantone):
 20px Uri, founding canton named in the Federal Charter of 1291
 20px Schwyz, founding canton named in the Federal Charter of 1291
 20px Unterwalden, founding canton  named in the Federal Charter of 1291, later split into 20px Obwalden and 20px Nidwalden
14th century: expansion to the Achtörtige Eidgenossenschaft following the battles of Morgarten and Laupen:
 20px Lucerne, city canton, since 1332
 20px Zürich, city canton, since 1351
 20px Glarus, rural canton, since 1352
 20px Zug, city canton, since 1352
 20px Bern, city canton, since 1353; associate since 1323
15th century: expansion to the Zehnörtige Eidgenossenschaft following the Burgundian Wars:
 20px Fribourg, city canton, since 1481; associate since 1454
 20px Solothurn, city canton, since 1481; associate since 1353
16th century: expansion to the Dreizehnörtige Eidgenossenschaft  following the Swabian War:
 20px Basel, city canton, since 1501
 20px Schaffhausen, city canton, since 1501; associate since 1454
 20px Appenzell, rural canton, since 1513; associate since 1411; later split into 20px Appenzell Innerrhoden and 20px Appenzell Ausserrhoden

 References 

 Further reading 
 Aubert, J.-F.: Petite histoire constitutionnelle de la Suisse, 2nd ed.; Francke Editions, Bern, 1974. 
 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
 Peyer, H. C.: Verfassungsgeschichte der alten Schweiz, Schulthess Polygraphischer Verlag, Zürich, 1978. . 

 Other websites 


Category:Former countries in Europe
Category:States of the Holy Roman Empire
Category:Former countries
Category:Switzerland
Category:1790s disestablishments in Europe
Category:History of Switzerland
Category:1290s establishments in Europe