As the power of the German emperors de clined, the nobles and priests grew ambitious of independence and eager to enrich themselves at the expense of their neighbors. Those of the Swiss towns and smaller communities which had preserved their freedom were compelled by considerations of safety to conclude treaties with the feudal lords of the soil. At the be ginning of the 13th century the three forest cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden were subject to the then unimportant counts of Haps burg, who, they were properly only imperial bailiffs (Vogte), yet regarded them selves as sovereign rulers. This claim the three cantons constantly refused to admit, and event ually (1291) leagued themselves together to oppose the usurpations of the house of Haps burg. Tradition says that on the night of 7 Nov. 1307, 33 representatives, with Fiirst of Uri and his son-in-law Tell, Stauffacher of Schwyz, and Arnold of Melchthal in Unterwalden at their head, met at Riitfi, a solitary spot on the Lake of Uri, swore to maintain their ancient independence, and projected a rising of these cantons for 1 Jan. 1308. On the day fixed the rising took place, and the Austrian gov ernors were deposed and expelled. But the events related of Tell are purely legendary. (See TELL ) . A few years later the three cantons were invaded by the Hapsburgs; but the signal victory at the pass of Morgarten on 15 Nov. 1315, secured the independence of the cantons. The three united cantons were joined by the cities of Lucerne (1332) and Zurich (1351), the cantons of Glarus and Zug (1352), and the city of Bern (1353)'. Austria, which claimed juris diction over three.of the newly-added members, namely, the city of Lucerne and the cantons of Glarus and Zug, again invaded the territory of the confederation, but was completely defeated at Sempach (where Arnold of Winkeiried is said to have sacrificed his life for the sake of his fel low-countrymen) in 1386, and in 1388 at Nifels. The canton of Appenzell joined the confedera tion in 1411, and Aargau was wrested from the Austrians in 1415. The third war with Austria terminated in 1460, in favor of the confedera tion, which obtained Thurgau, Austria being thus deprived of all its possessions in the regions over which Switzerland now extends. Haps burg Castle still dominates the canton of Argau — a monument of Swiss independence. In 1474, at the instigation of Louis XI of France, the Swiss turned their arms against Charles of Burgundy, invading his country and defeating his army near Hericourt. Charles, in revenge,. invaded Switzerland, but the Swiss inflicted severe defeats upon the Burgundians at the three battles of Grandson in Vaud, Morat (Murten) and Nancy in 1476 and 1477, in the last of which Charles, was slain. They admitted Freiburg and Solothurn into the confederation in 1481, and about the same time they con cluded defensive alliances with several of the neighboring states. Their prosperity rose to such a height that all the courts around, even Austria, sought their friendship and alliance. The last war with Austria broke out in 1498. The Swiss had to undergo a severe struggle, but, victors in six sanguinary battles, they were, by the Peace of Basel in 1499, practically sepa rated from the empire, a separation to which formal and international sanction was given in 1648. That peace ended a triumphant strug gle of two centuries. After this war they had no longer any enemy to fear, and their future wars were waged on behalf of foreign powers. In 1501 Basel and Schaffhausen, and in 1513 Appenzell (which had long been an ally), were admitted into full federation. The number of the cantons was thus brought up to 13, at which it remained till 1798. The town and the abbot of Saint Gall and the town of Bienne had seats and votes in the diet without being in full federation; . and there were besides six allies of the confederation not enjoying these privileges — the Grisons, .Valais, Geneva, Neuf chatel, Miihlhausen, and the bishopric of Basel. In 1516 France gave up' to Switzerland the whole of the present canton of Ticino. An alli ance between the two countries was formed which lasted until the French Revolution.
In 1518 the Reformation began to make its way into Switzerland, chiefly through the efforts of Zwingli at Zurich. He fell at Kappel (1531), but his work was carried on by Calvin at Geneva. The effect of the Reformation for long was to divide Switzerland into separate camps. Aristocracy and democracy, Protestant
ism and Catholicism, struggled for the superior ity. Internal dissensions, religious and political, continued for nearly 200 years. The last time the two great parties met in arms was at Will mergen in 1712, when victory declared itself for Protestants. The period of tranquillity that followed was alike favorable to the progress of commerce, agriculture and manufactures, and to the arts and sciences. In almost every depart ment of human knowledge the Swiss of the 18th century, both at home and abroad, acquired dis tinguished reputation. In the last years of the century the ferment of the French Revolution spread to Switzerland; and in 1798 the ancient confederation was replaced by the Helvetian Republic, founded on the ruins of the ancient liberties of the nation, which lasted four years. In 1803 Napoleon I organized a new confedera tion, composed of ,19 cantons, by the addition of Aargau, Grisons, Saint Gall, Ticino, Thur gau and Pays de Vaud. In 1815, by the Federal Pact of Zurich Neufchatel, Geneva and Valais were into the confederacy, and the number of the cantons was thus brought up to 22. This confederacy was acknowledged by the Congress of Vienna, which proclaimed the perpetual neutrality of Switzerland, and the in violability of its soil. Again in 1830 and in 1848, Switzerland was affected by the revolu tionary movement in France, and a new federal constitution was introduced in the latter year. During the revolutionary commotions of 1848 Neufchatel set aside its monarchical form of government and adopted a republican one, and in 1857 it was put upon the same footing with the other cantons. Since that time the annals of Switzerland have little to record beyond the fact of constant moral and material prog ress. A revision of the federal constitution was adopted after a protracted agitation on 19 April 1874, froth which time the cantons grad ually adopted the referendum and the initiative. While this agitation was going on several of the individual cantons set the example of re vising their constitutions. In this proceeding Zurich led the way, appointing a special council for the purpose in January 1868. It was fol lowed by Bern, Aargau, Thurgau, Solothurn, and other cantons. All the modifications made were in a democratic direction. The chief oppo sition to the project of a revision of the federal constitution proceeded from the French cantons and the Ultramontane party, the former fearing that in consequence of a revision of the consti tution in the direction aimed at, that of giving more power to the central authorities, they would be gradually Germanized, the latter be lieving that the influence of their party in those i cantons where it was numerically strong would be curtailed. But in spite of this opposition the Federal Assembly, on 21 Dec. 1869, adopted the principle of a revision, and elected a committee to prepare a scheme 'for the purpose. The proj ect of revision drawn up by this committee was laid before the Federal Assembly in the session of 1871-72, and after being accepted there was submitted to the people on 12 May 1872, an article of the constitution then in force requir ing that any proposed alteration of it must. before being adopted, be sanctioned by a ma jority of people and of the cantons. On this occasion the project was rejected by a small majority; but a new one was drawn up and accepted on the date already mentioned,19 April 1874. The new constitution gives more homo geneity to the confederacy by assigning to the federal authorities more power in matters re lating to law, the army, the church, and educa tion. The laws of the various cantons are par tially assimilated; the management of the can tonal contingents to the army is no longer left entirely to the cantons themselves; the ecclesi astical authorities are completely subjected to the civil power; and primary education is made compulsory and secular. Since then two or three partial revisions have been carried out. A constitutional modification, for instance, was passed by the National Council in 1890 to the effect that in future when a revision of the fed eral constitution, or the admission into it of a new article, is proposed by popular initiative, this proposal must be supported by the votes of at least 50,000 citizens possessed of the right of voting, and not 30,000 as previously. In 1891 the 600th anniversary of Swiss nationality was celebrated.