To understand the history of Switzerland, we must first understand its geographical position: the geographical position of Switzerland has a great influence on the development of history.
Switzerland as we know it was finally formed in 1848. Before that, the real "Swiss history" did not exist. Accurately speaking, only the history of independent regions gradually formed today's Switzerland.
Prehistoric Switzerland
At present, Switzerland is the activity area of prehistoric Celts. Celts used to be aborigines in Central Europe. Their tribe expanded to France, Belgium, northern Italy, Spain and the Rhine River valley in the 2nd century BC, and successfully captured Rome in its heyday. Living in present-day Switzerland is the Celtic tribe of Hervey.
Switzerland during the Roman Empire
Around A.D., the Germans distributed in northern Europe continued to expand into Celtic residential areas. In 70 BC, the Hervey tribe, feeling the pressure of the Germans, decided to retreat westward to the Atlantic coast southwest of Gaul, thus learning from the Roman Empire ruled by Caesar. Considering the potential threat of the Germans to the Roman Empire, Caesar decided to establish the Hervey State under Roman control in Switzerland. The Roman army not only failed to agree to the Celtics' request to pass through the tunnel, but attacked them, forcing them to become allies of the Roman Empire. The Celtics supported by the Roman Empire defeated the invading Germans.
After Caesar's death, his successor Augustus merged the Hervey tribe into the imperial provinces. Today, Swiss territory was formally incorporated into the Roman Empire, and the local Celts began the Romanization era.
During the Roman-Swiss period, a Roman-style administrative system was established, a series of cities appeared, and the Imperial Avenue leading to Rome was built. The Romans also introduced crops along the Mediterranean coast and the Apennine lifestyle to Switzerland, and then Christianity was introduced.
100-250 was the golden age of Rome and Switzerland, which ended with the invasion of the empire by the Germans.
Germanic invasion
In 259, the Germanic tribal alliance crossed the Rhine and conquered the northern border of the Swiss Empire. From then on, Rome and Switzerland entered the era of war, until the imperial army retreated from the northern Alps in 40 1 year. From then on, Switzerland began the era of Germanic rule.
Switzerland ruled by Germans can be roughly divided into two parts. The west is ruled by Burgundy tribes, with a small population and backward culture. After occupying Switzerland, they accepted the local Roman-Celtic language and cultural traditions. The central and eastern parts were ruled by the aleman-Inner Tribe Alliance, occupying the mountainous areas and less romanized areas in Switzerland, where Germanic language won. This division between the east and the west is also the embryonic form of today's French-speaking and German-speaking areas in Switzerland.
Under the rule of the Germans, many small kingdoms appeared in Switzerland. These kingdoms conquered each other and eventually became the same kingdom as the Frankish kingdom in 536. In 843 AD, according to treaty of verdun, which divided the Frankish Kingdom of Charlemagne, Switzerland split again and belonged to the Frankish Kingdom of China and the Frankish Kingdom of East.
1033, divided Switzerland was once again under the same holy Roman empire. Due to the power struggle between the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the Pope, the German monarchy declined and the influence of local governors increased. In order to expand their power, various rulers established a large number of cities. In today's Switzerland, the Zelingen family has promoted the establishment of many cities and formed a unique urban autonomy system in Switzerland. It laid the foundation for the establishment of the Swiss Federation in the future.
Swiss Confederation
The Rise of Habsburg Family and Swiss Confederation
The Habsburg family originated in central Switzerland. The growing Habsburg family controlled Alsace, Algard and central Switzerland and became one of the most influential princes of the Holy Roman Empire. 1273, Rudolph I of the Habsburg family was elected as the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, ending the great vacancy era from 1254. After he ascended the throne, Rudolph I devoted himself to expanding imperial power and family power. The autonomy of Swiss free workers is seriously threatened. Under the strong pressure of Habsburg dynasty, in August of 129 1, three communities in Swiss valley, Uri, Schwier and Unterwalden, signed the triple alliance agreement. The alliance treaty stipulates that the three must help each other against all internal and external enemies; Ensuring local stability through common law; The differences between alliances must be resolved peacefully through consultation; It also stipulates that the parties to the alliance shall not accept law enforcement personnel who are not local or appointed for money. This alliance agreement is the earliest recorded agreement in Swiss history, so today's Swiss regard August as the birth date of the Swiss Confederation, and August 1 every year is designated as the Swiss National Day. However, some scholars believe that the alliance agreement of 129 1 is a reaffirmation and reinforcement of another earlier agreement, and there should be other similar agreements before it, so the history of the Swiss Confederation should be longer than what is known now, but no earlier alliance agreement text has been found so far.