The True European Union of 26 cantons
11 December 2024
The Celts and Romans
Celtic and Rhaetian tribes populated the territory of present-day Switzerland centuries before the arrival of the Romans. They were in close (trade) contact with Germanic tribes, the Mediterranean region and northern countries.
After Rome’s occupation (15-13 BC, Geneva (Genava 122 BC), the construction of towns and roads and transport over mountain passes, rivers, and lakes began. Four centuries of Roman rule led to the ‘Romanisation’ of the local Celtic and Rhaetian population. A Gallo-Roman culture and language appeared. Only the elite Romanised entirely, including the use of the Latin language.
The area became an important European trade and transport hub. Several Alpine passes were already used in Roman times (the Gotthard Pass became accessible around 1230).
The Middle Ages
After the Romans had left, German-speaking tribes invaded the country. The area had around 200,000 inhabitants in the year 500 and around 500,000 in the year 1,000.
The Alemanni replaced the Gallo-Roman language and culture in Eastern-, Central- and Northern Switzerland. The development in canton Graubünden was different. The Romansh language replaced Latin as the primary language until the nineteenth century (apart from a few Walser enclaves ), after which German replaced Romansh as the first language, except for five Romansh-speaking regions and idioms.
In the western part of the country, French became the primary language. Italian was the language of the territories conquered in the 15th and 16th centuries. The French, Italian, and German language borders hardly changed in the centuries after 1500, though Freiburg became increasingly Fribourg and some other exceptions.
Merovingians, Carolingians, Zwabian Dukes and Burgundian kings, abbeys, bishoprics (Geneva, Lausanne, Sion, Chur, Basel and Constance (nowadays Germany) played a prominent political (and military) role in the centuries following the departure of the Romans in the fifth century.
The political map of the cantons (the name canton appears for the first time in the sixteenth century) and Orte took shape after the 13th century in a process of centuries. The significance of the Jura, the Three Lakes region, the Alps, the rivers, and the mountain passes for goods and passenger traffic became increasingly important for European transport of goods and persons.
The Holy Roman Empire and noble dynasties, including those of Kyburg, Habsburg, Savoy and, Zähringen came to the fore after the tenth century. Popes, bishoprics, abbeys, Burgundian dukes, German kings, and (mainly) Habsburg emperors of the Holy Roman Empire were their main secular and religious antagonists or allies until 1499 (Peace of Basel) and 1648 (Peace of Westphalia).
Habsburg, the Holy Roman Empire and other dynasties had no actual and legal power after 1499, apart from a few areas (Engadin (until 1652), Fricktal (until 1803), Tarasp (until 1803), Rhäzuns (until 1819) and through the appointments of abbots, bishops and friendly/related local rulers.
The Confederation
From the 14th century onwards, the ancient Confederation of cantons developed into a uniquely decentralised and democratic structure.
It was a long way with many (military, religious (after 1525), economic and social) conflicts between the cantons and against foreign powers, between urban and rural elites and within cantons.
From 1798 to 1813, the French occupation triggered reforms that could not be reversed, eventually leading to the present-day Confederation of 26 cantons and four languages.
Change may not always come overnight in Switzerland. The country’s strength lies in its decentralised structure, centuries of ‘co-habitation’, its subsidiarity, industrial and innovative centres in the most remote villages and areas, centuries-old export networks, excellent (vocational) education, the world’s best universities and research institutes, adequate public transport, militia system and direct influence of citizens at the municipal, cantonal and national levels. The citizens are ultimately the sovereign.
Switzerland is a bottom-up society. In this context, the presence of 2 million residents without a Swiss pass, the reception of a relatively large number of asylum seekers and the daily commute of nearly 400,000 (!!!) employees from Germany, France, Italy and Austria show the cosmopolitan and open character of the society. Switzerland is the true European Union of 26 sovereign cantons.