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The Old Swiss Confederacy, also known as Switzerland or the Swiss Confederacy, [6] was a loose confederation of independent small states (cantons, German Orte or Stände [7]), initially within the Holy Roman Empire. It is the precursor of the modern state of Switzerland.
The Swiss government announced its intention to develop and build a nuclear arsenal. 1963: 6 May: Switzerland joined the Council of Europe, a body dedicated to the promotion of good governance and human rights in Europe. 1971: 7 February: A referendum granting women the right to vote in federal elections was approved with sixty-six percent of ...
Following the capture and execution of Ludovico Sforza in April 1500 and seeking protection from France, Bellinzona joined the Swiss Confederation on 14 April 1500. [26] Bellinzona would remain under the joint administration of Uri, Schwyz and Nidwalden until the creation of the Helvetic Republic after the French invasion of Switzerland in 1798.
The Confederation's power and wealth increased significantly, with victories over Charles the Bold of Burgundy during the Burgundian Wars (1474–1477), greatly due to the success of the Swiss mercenaries, a powerful infantry force constituted by professional soldiers originally from the cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy. [6]
Map of the Helvetic Republic (1798) Map of Switzerland in 1815 New cantons were added only in the modern period, during 1803–1815; this mostly concerned former subject territories now recognized as full cantons (such as Vaud, Ticino and Aargau), and the full integration of territories that had been more loosely allied to the Confederacy (such as Geneva, Valais and Grisons).
The Swiss loot the camp of Charles the Bold after the Battle of Grandson of 2 March 1476 (Berner Schilling, 1480s).. The earliest works of Swiss history are the battle songs and folk songs in which the earliest Confederates celebrated their deeds, as well as the Swiss chronicles written mostly in the 15th and 16th centuries, especially the illustrated chronicles produced in the late 15th and ...
The Habsburg possessions in Switzerland (pink) and the core territories of the Swiss Confederacy (yellow/orange) as of 1315. With the opening of the Gotthard Pass in the 13th century, the territory of Central Switzerland , primarily the valley of Uri , had gained great strategical importance and was granted Reichsfreiheit by the Hohenstaufen ...
In 1663, the Confederation agreed to a new treaty with France which granted Swiss mercenaries certain rights and protections as well as promised French neutrality in Swiss religious conflicts. [7] However, as a consequence of this treaty Switzerland could do nothing when Louis XIV took Alsace (in 1648), Franche-Comté (in 1678 during the Franco ...