Geneva

GENEVA, a city and canton of Switzerland, situated at the extreme south-west corner both of the country and of the Lake of Geneva or Lac Leman. The canton is, save Zug, the smallest in the Swiss Confederation, while the city, long the most popu lous in the land, is now surpassed by Zurich and by Basel.

The Canton.

The canton has an area of 108.9 sq.m., of which III are lake. It is entirely surrounded by French territory (the department of Haute Savoie to the south, and that of the Ain west and north), save for about 31 m. on the extreme north, where it borders on the Swiss canton of Vaud. The Rhone flows through it from east to west, and then along its south-west edge. The turbid Arve is its largest tributary and flows from the snows of the chain of Mont Blanc, the only other affluent of any size being the Allondon. Market gardens, orchards, and vineyards occupy a large proportion of the soil, the apparent fertility of which is largely due to the unremitting industry of the inhabi tants. In 1926 there were 6,907 cows, 2,575 horses, 4,585 swine and 2,298 bee-hives in the canton. Besides building materials, such as sandstone, slate, etc., the only mineral to be found with in the canton is bituminous shale, the products of which can be used for petroleum and asphalt. The canton is served by broad gauge railways and electric tramways. It was admitted into the Swiss Confederation in 1815 and ranks as the junior of the 22 cantons. In 1815-1816 it was increased by adding to the old territory belonging to the city (just around it, with the outlying districts of Jussy, Genthod, Satigny and Cartigny) 16 communes (to the south and east, including Carouge and Cherie) ceded by Savoy, and 6 communes (to the north, including Versoix), cut off from the French district of Gex.

In 1930 the canton had 171,366, the city 124,121 inhabitants. (In the following statistics for 1920 those for the city are within brackets.) This population was divided as follows in point of religion: Roman Catholic (57,744), Protestants (68,016) and Jews 2,919 (2,815). In point of language (102,699) were French-speaking, German-speak ing, and 11,539 (10,118) Italian-speaking, while there were also 193 (170) Romansch-speaking. These are the figures for national ity: were Genevese citizens, and 64,376 Swiss citizens of other cantons. Of the 51,721 (42,599) foreigners, there were 26,751 French, 14,744 Italians, 3,061 subjects of the German republic, 851 British subjects, 1,367 Russians, and some citizens of the United States of America. In the canton there were 13,293 (6,639) inhabited houses and 49,626 (40,285) sepa rate households. In 1910 the canton contained 62,611 (51,740) foreigners but the number has fallen in consequence of the emi gration during and after the World War.

In prehistoric times a great lake city, built upon piles which may still be seen, existed where the waters from the Alpine lakes spread out over the plain before narrowing into the channel of the Rhone. This city was the prehistoric Geneva. After the end of the period of lake dwellings the inhabitants established them selves on the hill on the left bank of the lake and the river.

Caesar states that Geneva was a town (oppidum) situated in the extreme north of the country of the Allobroges ; the Rhone separated it from the territory of the Helvetii, whose invasion Caesar repelled. The community (vicus) of Geneva was one of those dependent on the city of Vienne. It was of some size, and had temples, aqueducts, ports and ships. It was built on the usual plan of intersecting roads meeting in a central forum. One road ran from the south to the lake ports, and the other from the east to the bridge over the Rhone. When the district of Vienne was made into a province, Geneva became a Roman city (civitas) with part of what is now Savoy dependent on it. When the empire became Christian, a bishop was appointed at Geneva. After the Barbarian invasions the city shrank to half its former size. It was now concentrated on the high ground ; at the foot of the hill the forum constituted a separate township, the Bourg de Four. The pagan temples were converted into Christian churches. At the top of the hill rose St. Peter's, while St. Victor's was built in the detached part of the town.

Order had been restored by the Burgundian kings in the 5th century, but Gundibald was defeated by Clovis and his sons were dethroned by the Franks (534)• Geneva owed its impor tance to its bridge over the Rhone. In 563 the bridge was carried away by a flood caused by a landslide at the other end of the lake : it was, however, immediately rebuilt. Geneva lay on the path of the armies marching to the conquest of Italy. Charle magne held an assembly there in 773. After the break-up of his empire, a new kingdom was set up in Burgundy, that of the Rudolphians. During the feudal period the Burgundian kings had more to fear from the hereditary counts of Geneva than from the elected bishops. Rudolph III. conferred estates on the bishops and favoured them at the expense of the counts. On his death in 1032 the emperors of the Holy Roman empire inherited his lands. Frederick Barbarossa confirmed the temporal powers of the bishop of Geneva, who became a prince of the empire, and made the Church independent of the nobles of the district. The count of Geneva had a residence in the town, the old royal château, but had to do homage to the bishop for the château and for other fiefs.

The sole direct ruler of Geneva was the prince bishop. But the Genevese were always characterised by their passion for inde pendence, and imitating the example of the Italian towns, with which they traded, they attempted towards the end of the 13th century to create a municipal organization for themselves. They were able to play off against one another the rival rulers of the district.

Savoy.

In Maurienne, a remote district of the country, there presently arose a count, who came to be known as the count of Savoy and was on bad terms with both the count of Geneva and the bishop. Peter of Savoy, who was well received in England by the queen, his niece, acquired the rights of the elder branch of the counts of Geneva, succeeded in depriving the younger branch of the county of Vaud, and entered into relations with the city of Geneva. His nephew Amadeus the Great declared himself the protector of the citizens, who had formed themselves into a municipality with syndics and other officers. The count of Geneva was reduced to a mere vassal of his cousin of Savoy, while the bishop was compelled to yield to the latter his palace, together with the vidomnat, the office empowering him to administer summary justice in the city. Finally the bishop recognized the municipality, after the citizens, posted on the towers of St. Peter's, had withstood bom bardment by the count of Geneva from his castle. This castle was dismantled in 1320. In the meantime the citizens had de feated the count's army near the lake (June 6, 1307), a victory comparable with that of the Swiss over the duke of Austria at the other end of Switzerland (Morgarten, 1315). But by calling in the count of Savoy the Genevese had fallen out of the fry ing pan into the fire. They had been able to free themselves from the count of Geneva and to defy the bishop, but they discovered that their protector, not content with the office of vidomne, intended to make himself "prince" of the city. He still retained some partisans, however, although some of the bishops did more to deserve the support of the citizens—Guillaume de Marcossey, who rebuilt the walls, and Adhemar Fabry, who codified the privileges of the town (1387) . The counts of Savoy, successors to the counts of Geneva and created dukes of Savoy, endeavoured to obtain election to the bishopric of Geneva either for themselves (Amadeus VIII., Pope Felix V.), or for a cadet of the family or for a prelate devoted to its interests. In volved in the struggle between France and Burgundy by the policy of the House of Savoy, the town was ransomed by the Swiss of ter their victory over Charles the Bold (1477). The measures taken by Louis XI. had destroyed the fairs at Geneva, and the prevalent distress of the 15th century became still worse in the 16th, when Duke Charles III., in 1525, went so far as to impose his will on the assembly of the citizens (Conseil des Hallebardes).

Better times came at last thanks to the commercial relations established between Geneva and the Swiss. Some of the citizens arranged an alliance with Fribourg. A few of the leaders were executed by the duke and the bishop, including Berthelier and Levrier, but this did not prevent the two cities from being united, after several attempts, by a treaty of combourgeoisie (1526). The name of Eiguenots (Eidgenossen, confederates), was given to the patriotic party, and that of Mamelus to the remaining partisans of the duke, who were supported, outside the city, by the gentilshommes de la Cuiller.

The Reformation and Independence.

The situation was complicated by the Reformation. The canton of Berne had in the meantime joined the combourgeoisie of Geneva and Fribourg.

The latter town remained attached to the old faith, while Berne embraced the Reformation. One party in Geneva showed a similar tendency, and this was encouraged by Berne. The French theologian Guillaume Farel was sent to convert the French speaking districts. After a certain amount of conflict, the people of Geneva declared definitely in favour of the Reformed faith on May 21, 1536. The bishop, Pierre de la Baume, had already left the city, never to return (July . The syndics and the council took over the reins of authority, and claimed the sovereign powers of the bishop. The Fribourgeois, who, together with the Bernese, had again come to the help of Geneva in 153o, now seceded from the alliance. The Bernese had their hands full with their obligations to other cantons, and the Genevese had to defend their new republic unaided in the war which was waged without mercy from 1534 to 1536.

The bishop rallied his supporters at the château of Peney (they were therefore known as the peneisans) and joined forces with the duke to attack Geneva. The Genevese were on the point of succumbing in the unequal struggle when, in Jan. i 536, the Bernese at last came to their aid. They occupied the Vaud, which Charles III. had promised six years earlier to hand over to them as a pledge if he attacked Geneva. They also seized the Gex district, and, in combination with the Genevese, took the castle of Chillon, from which they delivered Bonivard, the prior of St. Victor. The Valaisans and even the Fribourgeois themselves joined in the struggle. The duke was on the point of losing his lands on the shores of Lake Leman and the bishop of Lausanne his city when King Francis I. undertook the conquest of the remainder of Savoy and Piedmont. The little war waged round Geneva was the match which set alight a larger conflagration. Francis I.'s rival, Charles V., took a hand in the quarrel. When peace was restored between the two potentates, Charles III. had lost his lands. Once the Genevese were rid of him they were able to organize their independent Protestant republic in peace.

Calvin.

It was at this stage that Calvin appeared on the scene. He was passing through the town and was induced by Farel to remain. The great reformer was not immediately suc cessful, and was obliged to leave the town. He was, however, recalled by his partisans, and he undertook the task of imposing on the Genevese, who were intoxicated with their newly-won freedom, a severe moral discipline. He succeeded in subduing the liberties, though not without some executions, as was the manner of the day. One of his most lasting achievements was the foundation of the Academy of Geneva, which he set up with the assistance of Theodore de Beze 0559). It became a sort of training school for Protestant missionaries. Geneva came to be to Protestantism what Rome was to Catholicism. It was a city of refuge for the persecuted from Italy, England and France, and it thus acquired a cosmopolitan character, and the love of learn ing was fostered. Calvin was the virtual ruler of the city, and from that fastness, through his emissaries and a voluminous cor respondence, he directed his disciples in all parts of Europe. His influence was particularly great in France, and the Huguenots (q.v.) promised if necessary to send an army to the assistance of Geneva, "the holy city of Jerusalem," as Sully called it.

The gains of the war of 1536 were not lasting, Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy recovered his lands ; Berne only retained the Vaud; Geneva was once more encircled by enemies; and finally, Calvin died in 1564. On the other hand, Berne renewed the treaty of combourgeoisie, and Zurich entered the alliance in 1584. Some time before this Henry III. of France had made an alliance with Berne and Solothurn for the "conservation" of Geneva (1579). Civil war broke out in France. Henry I II.'s envoy Sancy brought a Swiss contingent to his aid, and Geneva entered the struggle. Sometimes in concert with Sancy's troops and the Bernese, sometimes alone, the Genevese fought and held their ground in the devastated districts like Gex. Henry of Navarre, the former Huguenot leader, presently succeeded Henry III. In spite of his former friendship with Geneva, he deprived the Genevese of the Gex district, which they had conquered, when he made peace with Savoy (16o1).

With complete disregard of treaties, Duke Charles Emmanuel attempted to take Geneva by surprise by scaling the walls with ladders (night of the Escalade, Dec. 12, 1602). He was checked, and after peace had been concluded the king of France and the Swiss came to realize that they must keep good guard over the town which served them as a door of communication. Henry IV. hoped to discharge the considerable debt which the crowns of France and Navarre owed Geneva by paying the garrison of the town.

Development.

Geneva now entered on a period of tranquil lity. It enjoyed the friendship of the last of the Huguenot leaders, Agrippa d'Aubigne, who died in the city, and Henry de Rohan, who was buried there. Industry prospered, particularly the clock making industry, with the assistance of the refugees who fled to Geneva at the time of the St. Bartholomew massacre and of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (qq.v.). There grew up a patrician class, which constantly became more exclusive. The cultivated middle classes, however, claimed a share in the man agement of affairs.

The Seigneurie was governed by a Petit Conseil of 25 members, from among whom the four syndics were appointed annually. Although they were elected, or their elections were confirmed, by the other councils (which they appointed themselves), they were always chosen from a small group of families. The councils con sisted of larger bodies including smaller ones; the "Sixty" in cluded the "Twenty-five," and this again any smaller number of members considered suitable to deal with difficult cases; the "Two hundred" included the "Sixty," with a sufficient number of depu ties to make up the total. The assembly of the citizens and burghers, which gradually became less and less influential, was called the Conseil General.

The citizens were constantly restive under the rule of the Petit Conseil; during the i8th century there were sometimes such seri ous disturbances that the allies of Geneva were obliged to act as mediators or even to intervene and to guarantee the treaties of pacification which were concluded. The citizens had the right of protest (representation) against the decisions of the Petit Conseil, but the latter did not consider itself obliged to take notice of the protests. Hence the terms representants and negatifs which often occur in connection with the measures taken against Jean Jacques Rousseau.

The fame of Geneva had grown greatly. To Russia she had given Lefort, to France, Necker, to America, Gallatin, to the world, Rousseau. Among Rousseau's friends the physicist De Luc became reader to the queen of England, and the publicist D'Iver nois, who also lived in London, was, like Mallet du Pan, an opponent of the French Revolution. Voltaire, Rousseau's rival, made the château of Ferney, not far from Geneva, a centre of European intellectual society, and Dr. Tronchin attracted many distinguished guests to his native country. Later, Horace Benedict de Saussure undertook the scientific conquest of Mont Blanc ; and a school of painters began to flourish. And on her exile, Madame de Stael, Necker's daughter, was to transfer to the château at Coppet, near Geneva, the salon she had formerly held at Paris.

The 19th Century.

Just as this Genevan school was develop ing, the French Revolution occurred. Revolutionary clubs were formed and under the influence of incitements from abroad, began to persecute the aristocrats. Geneva, imitating the example of Paris, had its "Terror." An attempt was made to remedy the situ ation by the egalitarian constitution of 1794, but an end was not put to disorder until the French occupation of 1798.

On the fall of Napoleon Geneva became the 22nd canton of Switzerland. Its territory was increased by the inclusion of certain Catholic communes, both Sardinian and French, and this linked it up directly with the rest of Switzerland. Geneva made an im portant contribution to the confederation in the person of General Dufour, who defeated the seceding league of Catholic cantons, the Sonderbund. The first Government of the Restoration period was regarded as reactionary. Democratic agitation in the 19th cen tury resulted in the constitution of 1842, which set up the Conseil d'Etat as the executive authority and the Grand Conseil as the legislative body, and established municipal autonomy. In 1847 James Fazy instituted a pure radical regime ; his failure to obtain re-election to the Conseil d'Etat led to the disturbances of Aug. 22, 1864.

The radical party returned to power under Antoine Carteret, and supported the church of Pere Hyacinthe Loyson against the Catholics. The Catholic cure Gaspard Mermillod, who later became a cardinal, was exiled in 1873. A later radical leader, Henri Fazy, was more in sympathy with the Catholics. The separation of Church and State was voted in 1907. The conservative party, now known as the Democrats, has sometimes held office under Arthur Cheneviere, Gustave Ador, and Theodore Turrettini. It has introduced certain reforms such as the referendum, the popu lar initiative and proportional representation. The socialist party and other party formations have since come into existence.

Culture.

Geneva is noted for its intellectual activities. One of the best-known periodicals was the old Bibliotheque britan nique, or Bibliotheque universelle, now amalgamated with the Revue de Geneve. The Academy founded by Calvin has been transformed into a university with six Faculties. An Institute of Higher International Studies was founded in the year 1927. Great interest is taken in intellectual and social questions of all kinds. The International Red Cross Society was founded at Geneva in 1864. This institution, together with the more recently founded League of Red Cross Societies, exists to tend the sick in time of peace and to mitigate the horrors of war.

It is not surprising that such a city, with its tradition of inde pendence, and its fame as an intellectual centre and as a focus of international movements, should have been chosen as the seat of the League of Nations (q.v.), which has been housed in the Hotel National since Nov. 192o. Designs for a new building and conference hall (the latter for the joint use of the League of Na tions and the International Labour Office) were approved by the Council in 1927, after an international competition. The plans were subsequently changed owing to a gift of £400,00o from Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., for a new Library, but the site was finally selected in 1928. The International Labour Office was at first housed at Pregny, i ; m. out of Geneva. A new building (ad joining the League of Nations new site) was begun in 1923—and finally opened in June 1926.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Documents, etc.: Societe d'Histoire et d'Archeologie Bibliography. Documents, etc.: Societe d'Histoire et d'Archeologie de Geneve, Memoires et documents (1841, etc.) , Regeste Genevois avant l'annee 1312 (ed. P. Lullin and C. Le Fort, 1866), and Docu ments sur l'Escalade de Geneve, tires des Archives de Simancas, Turin, Milan, Rome, Paris, et Londres, 1598-1603 (1903) ; Institut National Genevois, Memoires (1854, etc.) ; Registres du Conseil de Geneve (I goo-2 5) ; Les sources du droit a Geneve jusqu'en 1462 (1927). For general history see: G. Fatio, Geneve a travers les siecles (with bibl., I9o0) ; H. Denkinger, Histoire populaire du Canton de Geneve (Ge neva, 1905) ; F. Gribble, Geneva (1908) ; L. Blondel, Les Faubourgs de Geneve (Geneva, 1919) ; E. Choisy, Esquisse de l'histoire religieuse de Geneve (Geneva, 1928). For separate periods, etc., see R. Montandon, Geneve, des origines aux invasions barbares (with bibl., Geneva, 1922) ; J. A. Gautier, Histoire de Geneve des origines a l'annee 16go (new ed., 8 vol., Geneva, 1895-1912) ; F. de Crue, Relations diplo matiques de Geneve avec la France, Henri IV. et les deputes de Geneve (Geneva, 1901) , La guerre f eodale de Geneve et l'establissement de la commune, 1285-1320 (Geneva, 1912) , La deliverance de Geneve en 1536 (Zurich, 1916), and Necker, Mirabeau, et les Genevois (with bibl., Lausanne, 1923) ; E. Favre, Combourgeois, Geneve, Fribourg, Berne, 1526, publ. by the Soc. d'Hist. et d'Arch. de Geneve (Geneva 1926) ; E. Doumergue, La Geneve Calviniste (Lausanne, 1905) ; L. Cramer, La Seigneurie de Geneve et la Maison de Savoie de a 1603, 2 vol. (Geneva, 1912) ; H. Naef, La Conjuration d'Amboise et Geneve in Soc. d'Hist. et d'Arch. de Geneve, Memoires et documents, vol. xxxii. (1922) ; H. Fazy, Histoire de Geneve a l'epoque de l'Escalade (Geneva, 1902) ; L. Achard and E. Favre, La Restauration de la Republique de Geneve 1813-1814 (Geneva, 1913) ; F. D'Ivernois and C. Pictet de Rochement, Geneve et les traites de 1815, Correspondance diplomatique (1914). See also C. Martin, La Maison de ville de Geneve, publ. by the Soc. d'Hist. et d'Arch. de Geneve (with bibl., 1906), and A. Babel, Histoire corporative de l'horlogerie, de l'orfevrerie et des industries annexes, in Soc. d'Hist. et d'Arch. de Geneve, Memoires et documents, vol. xxxiii. 0916). (F. DE C.)