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Aug 1, 1291
Formation of the old Confederation
The official date of birth of the Old Swiss Confederation is August, 1st 1291 -
Period: Jan 1, 1315 to Jan 1, 1388
The battles of Morgarten, Sempach and Näfels
The counts of Habsburg tried to reach their goals by military force but were defeated several time. The three battles: Morgarten, Sempach and Näfels -
Period: Jan 1, 1332 to Jan 1, 1412
The confederacy of 8 member states
Lucerne entered into the confederacy in 1332, Zürich in 1351, Zug in 1352, Berne and Glarus in 1353. Appenzell signed an alliance as associated member in 1411, the city of St. Gall in 1412Uri, Unterwalden and Lucerne allied with the bishop of Sion and the inhabitants of the upper Rhone valley in 1403. -
Period: Jan 1, 1403 to Jan 1, 1513
The Milan wars and mercenary troops
In 1403 Uri had bought the Leventina valley of Tessin, in 1410 and 1417 they conquered some other valleys, in 1419 bought Bellinzona, but in 1422 the duke of Milan re-conquered Bellinzona. The Burgundy wars 1474-1477 propagated the glory of the Swiss soldiers. The French kings and the Italian dukes recruited mercenary troops in central Switzerland. In 1512 the Swiss conquered Milan and Pavia and in 1513 they won the battle of Novarra. The old Swiss confederacy was at the summit of it's power. -
Jan 1, 1415
The conquest of Aargau
Habsburg
Duke Friedrich IV. of Habsburg took sides with the antipope on the council of Constance in 1415, but the German king Sigismund supported the other side - and won. So Sigismund encouraged the confederates to conquer the native territories of Habsburg in Aargau in 1415. The same year, the city of Lucerne where Habsburg had still exercised some jurisdictional rights became a free city. -
Jan 1, 1440
The war of Zurich
When the last Count of Toggenburg died in 1436 without heirs in his family, Schwyz, Glarus and Zurich quarreled with each other on the subject of the heritage. In 1440 this even lead to a civil war between the three confederates (called old Zurich war). They valleys of Schwyz and Glarus won and could expand their territory in 1446. -
Jan 19, 1460
The conquest of Thurgau
In 1460 the confederates profitted once again from a dispute between church and higher nobility. This time Pope Pius II. excommunicated duke Sigismund of Habsburg. The confederacy used the occasion for the conquest of a territory named Thurgau and of the region of Sargans. Zurich bought the city of Winterthur. Now the borders of the confederacy had reached the Rhine with few exceptions from Basel to Chur. -
Period: Jan 1, 1476 to Jan 1, 1477
The wars against duke Charles of Burgundy
Berne and the French king pushed the confederacy to a war against the duke Charles of Burgundy who was allied to the dukes of Habsburg and to the comtesse of Savoye. Duke Charles of Burgundy was defeated in three battles (Grandson 1476, Murten 1476, Nancy 1477, where the duke was killed). -
Jan 1, 1477
The confederacy of 13 members Admission of Fribourg and Solothurn
In 1477 the confederates disagreed on the future of the confederacy: The rural communes Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Zug and Glarus allied to the bishop of Constance, the cities of Berne, Lucerne and Zurich to the cities of Fribourg and Solothurn. Finally in 1481 a suggestion of Niklaus of Flüe, a former peasant, commander of troops, politician and respected judge to Obwalden, liberated the way to the admission of Fribourg and Solothurn. The treaty is called "Stanser Verkommnis" -
Jan 1, 1499
The Swabian War Switzerland's Independence
The Swabian War of 1499 didn't have any cause in the relations between Switzerland and its neighbours, the Swabians. Once more the real reason was the German king Maximilian I. of Habsburg. The Swiss confederacy, formally still part of the German Empire, refused to obey the new rules and when attacked, defeated the the king in several battles. De facto Switzerland was now independent from the German Empire, but it seems that at the time nobody was interested to declare independence formally. -
Jan 19, 1515
The Roots of Switzerland's Neutrality
The lesson learnt at Marignano was that taking different sides in foreign affairs may result in being defeated. Most historians regard Marignano as the key event leading to Switzerland's neutrality. -
The End of Switzerland's Power Politics
But then the French king came with troops in numerical superiority to Italy to fight a decisive battle against the Italian dukes. The confederates disagreed once more. Berne, Fribourg and Solothurn regarded this conflict primarily as a risky commercial affair and withdrew their mercenary troops. The troops of central Switzerland were partly engaged as mercenary troops and partly stakeholders. So they sought the battle and lost. The defeat of Marignano in 1515 set the end to Swiss expansion.
