Republic of the Swiss

Old Swiss Confederacy
Eidgenossenschaft République des Suisses Res publica Helvetiorum
c. 1300 – 1798
Swiss cross (field sign c. 1470–1500)
The Old Swiss Confederacy in the 18th century
Capital		see Vorort
Languages		Middle French / French, Alemannic German, Lombard, Rhaeto-Romansh
Political structure		Confederation
Legislature		Tagsatzung
History
•	Death of Rudolf I	15 July 1291
•	Rütlischwur, Burgenbruch	1307/1291 (traditional dates) 1291
•	Charles IV's Golden Bull	1356
•	Battle of Marignano	13–14 September 1515
•	Wars of Kappel	1529 and 1531
•	Formal independence from the HRE	15 May/24 October 1648
•	Swiss peasant war	January–June 1653
•	Collapse	5 March 1798
Preceded by Succeeded by House of Habsburg House of Zähringen House of Kyburg House of Werdenberg Imperial Abbey of Saint Gall Duchy of Milan Duchy of Savoy Duchy of Burgundy Helvetic Republic

The Old Swiss Confederacy (Modern German: Alte Eidgenossenschaft; historically Eidgenossenschaft, after the Reformation also République des Suisses, Res publica Helvetiorum "Republic of the Swiss") was a loose confederation of independent small states (cantons, German or ) within the Holy Roman Empire. It is the precursor of the modern state of Switzerland.

It formed during the 14th century, from a nucleus in what is now Central Switzerland, expanding to include the cities of Zurich and Berne by the middle of the century. This formed a rare union of rural and urban communes, all of which enjoyed imperial immediacy in the Holy Roman Empire.

This confederation of eight cantons (Acht Orte) was politically and militarily successful for more than a century, culminating in the Burgundy Wars of the 1470s which established it as a power in the complicated political landscape dominated by France and the Habsburgs. Its success resulted in the addition of more confederates, increasing the number of cantons to thirteen (Dreizehn Orte) by 1513. The confederacy pledged neutrality in 1647 (under the threat of the Thirty Years' War), although many Swiss served privately as mercenaries in the Italian Wars and during the Early Modern period.