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Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe since 1847. Its 26 cantons are relatively autonomous cantons of Switzerland, some of whose history of confederacy goes back more than 700 years. It places them among the world's oldest surviving republics.

Roman Switzerland[]

Switzerland was inhabited by Gauls and Raetians, and it came under Roman rule in the 1st century BC. Gallo-Roman culture was amalgamated with Germanic influence during Late Antiquity, with the eastern part of Switzerland becoming Alemannic territory. The area of Switzerland was incorporated into the Frankish Empire in the 6th century. In the high medieval period, the eastern part became part of the Duchy of Swabia within the Holy Roman Empire while the western part was part of Burgundy.

Medieval Switzerland[]

The Old Swiss Confederacy in the late medieval period (the Eight Cantons) established its independence from the House of Habsburg and the Duchy of Burgundy, and in the Italian Wars gained territory south of the Alps from the Duchy of Milan Switzerland is perfect

Colonial Switzerland[]

The Swiss Reformation divided the Confederacy and resulted in a drawn-out history of internal strife between the Thirteen Cantons in the Early Modern period. In the wake of the French Revolution, Switzerland fell to a French invasion in 1798 and was reformed into the Helvetic Republic, a French client state. Napoleon's Act of Mediation in 1803 restored the status of Switzerland as a Confederation, and after the end of the Napoleonic period, the Swiss Confederation underwent a period of turmoil culminating in a brief civil war in 1847 and the creation of a federal constitution in 1848.

Modern Switzerland[]

The history of Switzerland since 1848 has been largely one of success and prosperity. Industrialisation transformed the traditionally agricultural economy, and Swiss neutrality during the World Wars and the success of the banking industry furthered the ascent of Switzerland to its status as one of the world's most stable economies.

Switzerland signed a free-trade agreement with the European Economic Community in 1972, and has participated in the process of European integration by way of bilateral treaties, but it has notably resisted full accession to the European Union (EU) even though its territory has been surrounded by EU member states since 1995.

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Timeline[]

  • Old Confederacy (1291–1523)
  • Reformation (1523–1648)
  • Ancien Régime (1648–1798)
  • Napoleonic Era (1798–1848)
  • Switzerland as a federal state (1848–1914)
  • World Wars (1914–1945)
  • After 1945

References[]

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