Switzerland (German: die Schweiz [ˈʃvaɪts]; French: Suisse [sɥis(ə)]; Italian: Svizzera [ˈzvit͡sːɛra]; Romansh: Svizra [ˈʒviːtsrɐ] or [ˈʒviːtsʁːɐ]), in its full name the Swiss Confederation (Latin: Confoederatio Helvetica, hence its abbreviation CH), is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western Europe[n 1], where it is bordered by Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to the south, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east.
The Swiss Confederation has a long history of armed neutrality—it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815—and did not join the United Nations until 2002.
Switzerland achieved de facto independence from the Holy Roman Empire on September 22, 1499. That independence was formally recognized in the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years' War.
Switzerland in 1632[]
In the 1630s, Switzerland was the Swiss Confederacy, a loose confederation of largely independent cantons. There was a legislative and executive council (Tagsatzung), but its powers were limited. In addition to the thirteen cantons which were full members of the Confederacy, there were a number of "associates", states which were close allies of some or all of the cantons, and which were generally considered to be Swiss. Associates could send delegates to the Tagsatzung, but those delegates had no vote. At least one long-time associate, Mülhausen[n 2] was not contiguous with any other Swiss area, and some parts of Swabia were making noises about "turning Swiss".
The Swiss Confederacy was neutral in the Thirty Years' War, and was largely untouched by it, but Swiss mercenaries fought on both sides. It was, however, affected by tensions between Catholic and Protestant, usually Calvinist, areas. In August of 1634, Henri, Duke of Rohan was engaged in an attempt to reconcile the Catholic and Protestant cantons.[1]
Due to Gaston's coup, Henri prepares both Switzerland and the Huguenot community (which occupies both France and Switzerland) for any negative effects such as an invasion
Notes[]
References[]
- ↑ 1635: The Dreeson Incident, Prologue, ch. 2