Geneva’s Choice in 1815

5 July 2022

On December 30, 1813, the Austrian general Count Ferdinand Bubna von Littiz (1768-1825) entered Geneva, ending fifteen years of French domination.

In 1798, the city enthusiastically welcomed the French revolutionary troops. After fifteen years of French annexation, French-speaking Geneva stood at a crucial crossroads in its two-thousand-year existence.

On January 1, 1814, the regents who had been in power since before 1798 proclaimed the independent republic of Geneva, and there was no turning back. Due to the major powers’ preference at the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) and despite resistance from some Catholic cantons, Geneva was admitted to the Swiss Confederation. Geneva became the twenty-second canton in 1815.

The superpowers ratified the agreement in international treaties in 1815 (Paris) and 1816 (Turin), and Switzerland gained its final borders, neutrality, and sovereignty.

Moreover, Geneva was Protestant, a heritage shared with other Swiss cantons. There was also a shared political and economic history with other Swiss cantons, for example, during the Burgundian Kingdom in the Middle Ages, and centuries of common enemies, such as the Dukes of Savoy; however, the city always maintained its political independence.

Geneva was never under French rule until 1798, and this experiment was not to be repeated. It was a good choice. Geneva escaped two world wars, French centralism and the euro. The canton is also embedded in a federal, multicultural, decentralised, and democratic welfare system.