Helvetic Republic

 

(hĕlvē'tĭk) , 1798–1803, Swiss state established under French auspices. In Sept., 1797, several exiled Swiss leaders in France (notably Frédéric César de La Harpe) formally urged the French Revolutionary government (the Directory) to help in liberating the subject districts of Switzerland and in overthrowing the aristocratic cantonal governments. The Directory, eager to secure the Alpine passes as well as the treasury of Bern, ordered the invasion of Switzerland (Jan., 1798); resistance was brief. A unified state, the Helvetic Republic, was set up. Lack of funds and constant French political and military intervention proved troublesome; finally, the French Revolutionary Wars shifted (1799) into Switzerland. An Austrian army defeated the French at Zürich (June), but Austro-Russian discord led to the victory (Sept.), again at Zürich, of André Masséna over a Russian army under General Korsakov. General Suvorov, who arrived from Italy to aid Korsakov, was obliged to retreat to Lindau in Germany. The survival of the Helvetic Republic until 1803 was largely due to the presence of French troops, since the Swiss were hostile to centralization. In Feb., 1803, Napoleon, imposing the Act of Mediation, established a confederation of 19 cantons, with a federal diet subservient to France.

French Revolutionary Wars Swiss Campaign, 1799
1st Zürich – 2nd Zürich

The Helvetic Republic was a state lasting for five years, from 1798 to 1803. Its name came from the Helvetii people.

During the French Revolutionary Wars, the revolutionary armies boiled eastward, enveloping Switzerland in their battles against Austria. On 5 March 1798, Switzerland was completely overrun by the French and the Swiss Confederation collapsed. On 12 April 1798 the Helvetic Republic, 'One and Indivisible', was proclaimed; cantonal sovereignty and feudal rights were abolished. The occupying forces established a centralised state based on the ideas of the French Revolution. These 'progressive' ideas were widely resisted, particularly in the central areas of the confederation, and an uprising in Nidwalden was crushed by the occupying forces.

There was no unity within the old confederation about the future of Switzerland. Coup attempts were frequent, but the French remained in power. The occupying forces plundered many towns and villages, as well as the old state. This made it difficult to establish a new working state. Together with the local resistance, financial problems caused the Helvetic Republic to fail as a state. Instability in the Republic reached its peak in 1802–1803; in 1803 additional French troops entered the country.

On February 19, 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte introduced the act of Mediation. This was essentially a compromise between the old and the new order. The centralized state was abolished.

There are remainders of the Helvetic Republic in modern Switzerland, such as certain aspects of some of the cantons and constitutions.^{[citation needed]}

Administrative divisions

The formerly sovereign cantons were reduced to mere administrative districts, and in order to weaken the old power structures, new boundaries were defined for some cantons. The act of 1798 resulted in the following 19 cantons:

• Aargau (without Baden and Fricktal)
• Baden
• Basel
• Bellinzona
• Bern (without Oberland)
• Fribourg
• Léman (corresponding to Vaud)
• Linth
• Lugano
• Luzern
• Oberland
• Raetia (corresponding to Graubünden/Grisons)
• Säntis
• Schaffhausen
• Solothurn
• Thurgau
• Waldstätten
• Valais
• Zürich

See also

• Switzerland in the Napoleonic era

Client states of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1792–1815)
French client republics	Alba · Ancona · Batavia · Bergamo · Bologna · Boulon · Brescia · Cisalpinia · Cispadania · Cisrhenia · Connaught · Crema · Danzig · Etruria · Helvetia · Illyria · Italy · Lemania · Liguria · Mainz · Parthenopaea · Pescara · Rauracia · Rhodania · Rome · Subalpinia · Tiberina · Transpadania
Other Napoleonic creations	Germany Confederation of the Rhine · Kingdom of Westphalia · Grand Duchy of Berg · Grand Duchy of Frankfurt · Grand Duchy of Würzburg · Principality of Leyen Italy Etruria · Italy · Naples Netherlands Holland Poland Duchy of Warsaw

Donate to Wikimedia