History of Switzerland · Reformation, Napoleon and neutrality
1798: the French and Napoleon
Topic
After the French Revolution of 1789, France wanted to spread its ideas and its power. At the beginning of 1798, French troops marched into the Confederation. On 5 March 1798, Bern fell. The Old Swiss Confederacy collapsed. France mainly wanted to control the Alpine passes to Italy, and wanted money for its wars and Swiss soldiers.
In April 1798, the Helvetic Republic was created. It was a centralised state: the government sat in one place and decided everything. The cantons were now only administrative districts. New were equal rights for all citizens. The subject territories became free. But many people rejected the centralised state. There were uprisings.
The best-known ruler of this time was Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1798 he was still a general. From 1799 he ruled France. In 1803, with the Act of Mediation, he gave Switzerland a new order. The cantons became more independent again. New cantons such as Aargau, Thurgau, St. Gallen, Ticino and Vaud were created. In the test, the answer is usually: Napoleon and the French invasion.
Memory aid: 1798: the French come, the centralised state comes. 1803: Napoleon gives the cantons more power again.
Key terms
- Helvetische Republik
- Helvetic Republic: the centralised state that France set up in Switzerland from 1798 to 1803.
- Zentralstaat
- Centralised state: a state in which a central government decides everything and the regions have little power.
- Mediationsakte
- Act of Mediation: constitution that Napoleon gave Switzerland in 1803; it made the cantons stronger again.
Exam questions on this topic
- In 1798, a European ruler briefly turned the Confederation into a centralised state. What was the ruler's name?Correct answer: D, Napoleon Bonaparte
- What led to the political reorganisation of the Confederation in 1798?Correct answer: C, the French invasion of Switzerland