What country did Switzerland gain independence from in19688?

Answer 1

Originally Switzerland is a confederation of many different independent states established in 1291. Switzerland truly became an independent national state during European state building in 1848 with its first constitution. Before all that, several parts of Switzerland had been temporarily under the rule of different dukedoms. And Switzerland established itself by fighting together against all those foreign dukedoms like the Habsburg etc. For a while around 1800 Switzerland as a whole was also run over by Napoleons Army. So in the end Napoleon played a role because he made them adopt a French influenced constitution. This constitution was the first that treaty Switzerland like a centralised state rather than a confederation of states. Of course this constitution was abolished as soon as Napoleon was gone.

External Sovereignity was granted to Switzerland at the Congress of Vienna in 1815.

Further information:

Originally known as Helvetia, the land was Romanised after being overrun by Julius Caesar during the 1st Century BC. When the Roman Empire began to decline three centuries later, the area was invaded by Germanic forces, under which it remained until 1276, when the Austrian House of Habsburg took over the crown of the Holy Roman Empire. The Swiss struggled for independence against the Austrians for two hundred years, and the Swiss Confederation was founded in 1291 as a defence measure. Originally uniting three cantons, other localities also joined, eventually enabling the Swiss to bring down the Austrian forces.

Following the Battle of Dornach, in which Emperor Maximilian I's troops were decisively beaten, the Swiss Confederacy, or Confederation gained its independence from the Holy Roman Empire. This was sealed in the treaty of Basel on 22 September 1499, although the Treaty was not formally recognised until the Peace of Westphalia, two peace treaties of 1648 which affected a number of European states.

The Confederation was replaced by a central federal government following a new constitution in 1848, which was updated in 1874.

Answer 2

The central forming states of Switzerland gained their independance mainly from the earls of Habsburg when the agreed to defend their territory and rights together in 1291 giving birth to Switzerland as a country... later joining states in some parts gained independance from other Swiss states (occupying each other), etc. But overall Switzerland was long time an occupied agricultural - and north to south Europe linking - territory. The Habsburg - originally with roots from Switzerland, too - or other occupants mainly from Austria or Germany such as the Zaehringer are one of the reasons why the countries are culturally linked together, but in the time have some feelings against each other... especially Switzerland against the not-so-liked bigger brother (looking at most of the Swiss territory) Germany... even influencing the opposition against Germany in ww2.

Answer 3

The German Empire, or specifically the Hapsburg family.

The Swiss Confederation was founded in 1291. At that time it was an agreement for mutual self-defence between 4 small mountain cantons (states) within the German Empire who wanted to defend themselves from takeover by more powerful states and feudal rulers within the empire.

Over the next few centuries Switzerland grew as new territories joined. It gradually became effectively a group of independent countries, but legally they were all parts of the German Empire.

In 1648, at a peace treaty after the 30 years war, the German Empire finally recognised that the members of the Swiss Confederation were not part of the empire.

This continued until Napoleon invaded. He annexed parts of Switzerland and turned the rest into a client state.

The previous state (many independent cantons) was re-instated in 1815.

It was only in 1848 that the members of the Swiss confederation agreed to form a federal state and have a permanent federal government. This is when Switzerland became one country.

Answer 4

It didn't.

Switzerland wasn't a country in 1648. It was a military alliance of independent states (called cantons) - a sort of medieval NATO. It didn't finally merge into a country until 1848.

The cantons of the Swiss Confederation had been de facto independent for centuries. The first alliance of 3 cantons was in 1291, and more cantons joined the alliance over the following centuries. These cantons were all semi-independent parts of the German empire, and joined the Confederation in order to protect their independence both from the Emperor and from the rulers of other German states. The modern concept of sovereign states did not exist at the time, it was much more complex.

In 1648 the Emperor recognised that the Swiss cantons (plural) were no longer part of his empire. But each canton gained its own independence from whichever local lord previously tried to dominate it at different times.

Answer 5

From The Netherlands. When Dutch King William III died in 1890, Luxemburg succesfully claimed that Salic law was in force in their country, which forbid women (in this case William's only surviving child, princess Wilhelmina) to succeed him as Grand Duke of Luxemburg.

Answer 6

Sure you have the right country? Switzerland has existed as a state in its present form since the adoption of the Swiss Federal Constitution in 1848. The precursors of Switzerland established a protective alliance at the end of the 13th century (1291), forming a loose confederation of states which persisted for centuries.