Switzerland

Switzerland is a small countrv in the centre of Europe, bounded on the west by France, on the north by Baden, on the east by the Austrian empire, and on the south by Italy. It lies between 6° and 10° 30' east longitude, and 45° 50' and 47° 50' north latitude. Its greatest length is about 220 miles, and its greatest breadth 135 miles. Its area is about 15,000 square miles. On the south it is traversed from south-west to north-east by the main chain of the Alps. Parallel to this, and separated from it only by the upper valley of the Rhone, is the range of the Bernese Alps. On the French frontier runs the parallel but much lower range of the Jura. Between the Bernese Alps and the Jura is the plain of Switzerland. The highest summit is Monte Rosa (15,217 ft.) and the lowest point is the northern end of Lago Maggiore (646 ft.) Switzerland is composed of the upper basins of several important European rivers. On the east and the north it is drained by the Rhine; on the south-west by the Rhone; south of the main chain by the Ticino to the Po; and on the southeast by the Inn to the Danube. The areas of these river-basins in Switzerland are in the proportion of 18, 4, 2 and 1. Switzerland consists of 22 commonwealths (cantons), of which Zug (92 sq. miles) is the least, and Graubunden (2,774 sq. miles) the largest. The cantons Bern, Valais, and Graubunden or Grisons contain between them nearly half of Switzerland. This part of Europe was in the hands of the Romans, who made roads across the Alps and settled several flourishing towns. After the fall of the Roman Empire the region was overrun by the Allemanni on the north, by the Burgundians on the south and west, and by the Ostrogoths on the south-east. Then for several centuries it was under the Frankish kings. When their power declined in the 10th century it fell partly to the Dukes of Swabia and partly to the Kings of Burgundy. In the next century it came under the German emperors, who ruled it by various nobles, to whom privileges were granted which made tbem absolute masters of the districts which they administered. Some of the towns, Bern, Zurich, Lucerne, early obtained exemption from all save the Imperial authority. At the beginning of the 13th century tho cantons of Schwyz, Uri, and Unterwalden were under the Habsburgs, then an unimportant family. But in 1273 Rudolph of Habsburg, who in 1283 had made his son Albert Duke of Austria, and being also bailiff of the three lands, became empcror and king, and these, to defend their liberties, concluded the Eternal League on August 1, 1291. In 1313 the Imperial throne was disputed by Louis of Bavaria and Frederick of Habsburg. The three cantons sided with the former, and Frederick commissioned his brother Leopold to punish them. In the attempt he was completely defeated at Morgarten on November 15th, 1315, and the supremacy of Austria was destroyed. They had still to fear her attacks, and they looked round for help. In 1332 Lucerne joined them; in 1351 Zurich; in 1352 Glarus and Zug, and in 1353 Bern. Thus allied, they were nearly independent, but they vere still not united. Thirty years later the four cantons were left alone to meet the attack of the Austrians, whom they completely defeated at Sempach in 1386. The legends of William Tell and Arnold von Winkelried are of late origin, and are now generally discredited. The Swiss defeated the French, at St. Jacob in 1444, the Burgundians at Granson and Morat in 1476, and at Nancy in 1477. The fame of the Swiss valour was spread abroad, and their help was eagerly sought by the Great Powers. In 1481 Fribourg and Soleure joined them; in 1501 Basel, Schaffhausen, and Appenzell. In this century conquests were made by the thirteen cantons both to the north and the south. These were administered (and often harshly) by bailiffs appointed by the ruling cantons. This state of things continued till 1798, when the French imposed a new constitution upon Switzerland, and the subject lands became independent cantons after various modifications, St. Gall, Grisons, Aargau, Thurgau, Vaud, and Ticino were added in 1803, and Valais, Geneva, and Neuchatel in 1815. Owing to religious differences Basel, Unterwalden, and Appenzell have each been divided into two half-cantons. Christianity was preached in this part of Europe by monks from Ireland in the 6th century, and by the end of the 8th century most of the great monasteries were founded. In the 16th century the Reformation spread to Switzerland, and the differences between Protestants and Catholics led to many disputes and to several civil wars. In 1531 the Catholics were victorious at Kappel, and in 1712 the Protestants at Vilmergen. On both occasions toleration was guaranteed but not observed. The last struggle was in 1847, when tbe four Forest Cantons, with Zug, Fribourg, and Valais, were defeated by the Protestant cantons. At present the Protestants form about 3/5, and the Roman Catholics 2/5, of the population. The government of Switzerland has from the earliest times been republican. In the old cantons all business was transacted by an assembly (Landesgemeinde) which met once a year and appointed the president (Landamman), council, etc. In several cantons this meeting is still retained. Each canton manages its own internal affairs, but cannot make war or peace, form alliances, fix customs' dues, or coin money. These are in the hands of the Federal Assembly; which is composed of an upper and a lower house. To the former each canton sends two members, and each half-canton one, elected either by the council or by the whole electoral body. To the latter (147 members) every 20,000 inhabitants send a member. The elections are triennial, and the electoral age is 20. The Federal and most of the Cantonal electorates also take a direct share in legislation by the Referendum (q.v.) and Initiative (a petition for a specific change in the law, signed by a certain number of electors within a given time, obliging the legislature to take a vote on the desirability of the change, and legislate accordingly). The Federal executive is in the hands of the Federal Council, a committee of seven, elected by the chambers for three years. The population of Switzerland is over 3,000,000. The chief town is Bern (49,030). The most important commercial town is Zurich (151,944). Other important towns are Basel (89,687), Geneva (86,535), and Lausanne (40,671), St. Gall (34,025) and Lucerne (23,060) There is no regular army in Switzerland, but every able-bodied man on reaching the age of 20 has to undergo military training, and up to the age of 32 is in the first line (Auszug-elite), up to 44 in the second line (Landwehr), and up to 50 in the third line (Landsturm). The number of these is over 500,000, and the annual cost about 1-3/4 millions sterling. Switzerland has six universities, largely attended by foreign students, more than 8,000 primary and about 480 secondary schools. The greater part of the population is engaged in agricultural and pastoral pursuits, but there are some flourishing trades, as cotton-spinning, silk-weaving, watch-making, and machine-making. Up to 1830 each canton had a special costume, but these have since almost disappeared. To the student of history Switzerland is perhaps the most interesting country in Europe.

Ethnology. That Switzerland has been inhabited since the remotest times is evident from the numerous remains of the Stone, Bronze, and Iron ages continually turning up, especially about the sites of the old lake-dwellings. It is no longer possible to determine the affinities of these lacustrine populations, fishers, hunters, and pastors, though the bulk of them appear to have been Celts. At least at the dawn of history, about 100 B.C., the present Switzerland was mainly occupied by Celtic peoples, such as the Helvetii of the southern, central, and north-eastern districts, the Rauraci of the Bernese Jura and left bank of the Rhine as far as Alsace, and the Sequani of the southern Jura. The Genavae, whose name survives in the city of Geneva, were a branch of the Celtic Allobroges, and the neighbouring Nantuates, Veragri, and Seduni were all either pure or mixed Celts. But the Lepontii, who dwelt about the sources of the Rhone, were Ligurians, while the Rhaeti of the eastern districts were supposed to be immigrants from Etruria. Under the Empire all became Romanised, as did also the Burgundian Teutons, who occupied the western parts during the invasions of the barbarians; but the Allemanni, who seized all the northern districts; preserved their Teutonic speech and nationality, and later encroached largely on the Roman domain in the central and eastern cantons. Thus it is that Switzerland still continues to be divided between peoples of German and Latin speech, the former all speaking Allemannic (High German) dialects, the latter various Romance (Neo-Latin) dialects, French and Vaudois in the west, Italian in the south, Ladin or Roumansch in the east. German, dominant in fifteen cantons, is the language of two-thirds of the whole population, 2,083,000 in 1888; French is spoken in five cantons by 635,000; Italian in one (Ticino) by 155,000, and Ladin in one (the Grisons) by over 38,000. Most of the Germans and some of the French are Protestants (1,716,500), the rest Catholics (1,184,000). Amid these profound racial, religious, and linguistic differences the main bond of union is the common sense of nationality and love of freedom, fostered by long-established democratic institutions.