History of the Canton of Geneva
The history of the canton of Geneva deals with the historical events in the area of today's canton of Geneva .
Ancient and early Middle Ages
Geneva (Genava) appears first in history as a fortified border town of the Allobrogians against the Helvetii and arrived with them around 120 BC. Under the rule of the Romans . From Geneva, Julius Caesar prevented 58 BC The transition of the Helvetii over the Rhone . Christianity penetrated the city early from Lyon, which is said to have been the seat of a bishop in 381. In 443 Geneva fell to the Burgundians and became one of their capitals; In 532 it came with Burgundy to the Franks , 888 to the New Burgundian and 1032 with this to the Holy Roman Empire .
The city's bishops obtained their exemption from the jurisdiction of the Counts of Geneva Gaues ( pagus genevensis , Genévois) at an early stage , and Friedrich Barbarossa formally recognized them as Prince of Geneva in 1162; but they always had to fight against the encroachments of the Counts of Geneva, until these were pushed aside by the more powerful Counts of Savoy , who in 1291 obtained the right to establish the Vidomne ( vicedominus ) who, in the name of the Bishop, did justice to the secular inhabitants of the city spoke. Around the same time, the citizens of Geneva laid the foundation of their freedom by giving themselves a council with syndics at their head, an organization recognized by the bishop in 1309; In 1364 she already had the blood spell.
Reformation and aristocracy
From 1415: Savoy threat
But after the Savoy family came into possession of the Genévois region due to the extinction of the Counts of Geneva and acquired the title of duke in 1415, it sought to take the city, which was the keystone of the area surrounding Lake Geneva , entirely under its control bring. The courtesy of the Roman Curia made it possible for the dukes to occupy the bishopric towards the end of the 15th century with younger sons or bastards of their family; but because of the sense of freedom of the citizens of Geneva, all of their attacks failed.
1519–1530: rapprochement with the Confederation
The patriotic association of the «Children of Geneva» (enfants de Genève), headed by Philibert Berthelier , Bezanson Hugues and François Bonivard , sought against the acts of violence committed by Duke Charles III. (1504–53) Rescued by joining the Confederation . When Friborg in the Üechtland was persuaded to form an alliance in 1519, the Duke succeeded in persuading the Swiss Diet to repeal it, after which he occupied Geneva with troops. It is true that he soon had to vacate it again before the threats from Freiburg. The bishop alone gave himself up as the Duke's instrument, Berthelier was beheaded, and the tyranny of Savoy weighed on the city for several years until the escaped Bezanson Hugues succeeded in gaining Bern as well as Friborg on March 11, 1526 to form an alliance with Geneva . When the citizens no longer recognized the power of the Vidomne and Bishop, the latter left the city, and the city was heavily harassed by the " Spoonbill ", a union of the Savoy nobility, until an exodus of Bern and Friborg forced the Duke, in the peace of St. Julien to recognize Geneva's independence on October 19, 1530.
reformation
Reformation ideas developed in the Geneva church even before the Reformation: Antoine Champion , Bishop of Geneva, stated in front of the clergy on May 7, 1493, years before Luther, which also became important demands of the reformers:
«People dedicated to the service of God must be distinguished by a pure life; but now our priests have surrendered to all vices and lead a wicked life than the rest of the flock. Some wear open clothes, others put on warrior helmets, put on red casaks or cuirasses, visit the markets, frequent the pubs and brothels, behave like comedians or wandering actors, take false oaths, borrow on pledges and viciously sell perjuries and murderers Indulgences. "
The Reformation plunged Geneva into new turmoil. While Berne demanded that Guillaume Farel preach freely, Friborg demanded that it be forbidden and, when the Council of Geneva wavered, his alliance had expired in May 1534. This encouraged the Duke, in agreement with the Catholic Swiss cantons, to resume his plans against Geneva, which was now turning entirely to the Reformation, and he brought it into dire straits again. When the French King Franz I made an appearance to occupy the city, Bern preceded him, took Vaud away from the Duke and liberated or occupied Geneva in February 1536.
In July, John Calvin came to Geneva and, asked by Farel to stay, began to teach the message of the Reformation from the pulpit with him, which, in addition to beliefs such as salvation by grace alone through Christ, also essential elements for modern understanding of the state, for example freedom of belief, the separation of church and state, and marriage as a civil law union. Calvin was never a citizen of Geneva and he never held any political office. Despite the doctrine of the two separate domains of government, church and state, which he represented, he advocated moral responsibility for the political authorities. This led to a reshaping of political and social life. The church was directed by the consistory , independent of the Geneva government , consisting of the clergy and "twelve elders". According to his main work, the "Institutio", he advocated the enjoyment of the good in gratitude to God, but frowned on excessive pleasure, which, according to the experience at the time, led to feasts, drunkenness and sex outside of marriage. A party called Libertins (roughly: "Freedom Party"), among them the most respected citizens of Geneva, tried to counteract this.
After Calvin was expelled with Farel in 1538, he was recalled in 1541. This was also an expression of a gradual change in the political balance of power in the city.
Michael Servetus (a doctor and scholar) was convicted in 1553 for his public rejection of the Trinity of God ( Trinity ) by the Geneva government and burned at a stake; the sources regarding a conviction of a son of Philibert Berthelier († 1519) in 1555 is less clear.
In 1559 Calvin and Farel founded the famous academy for Reformed clergymen, from which many leaders emerged during the international expansion of the Reformation, e. B. in France, the Netherlands , England and Scotland . After his death in 1564, Théodore de Bèze followed him as head of the Geneva Church and Academy.
The role of Reformed Geneva as a refuge for religious refugees, as a center for Reformed theological training, and as a French-speaking city independent of France with a progressive political orientation led to the city's international appeal, which was later described as "Protestant Rome".
1584–1602: Burgrecht and Escalade
Geneva's connection to Switzerland was made even closer by an "eternal castle law" with Bern and Zurich on August 30, 1584; All the more stubbornly, however, the five Catholic towns rejected all applications to accept the city as a member of the entire Confederation, and the Dukes of Savoy, who had been in league with them since 1560, recently threatened Geneva's freedom. On the night of December 11th to 12th (old calendar) 1602, Charles Emanuel I tried to take the city by surprise; 300 Savoyers had already climbed the walls using blackened ladders when they were discovered and rubbed open. Geneva is still celebrating the anniversary of this happily beaten Escalade de Genève .
17th century: aristocracy
In Geneva, too, the state became increasingly aristocratic after the Reformation. Acquiring citizenship was made almost impossible; the powers of the general assembly of citizens ( Conseil général ) were finally limited to the fact that they could elect the four syndics, the highest officials, according to the proposals of the councils. The sovereignty of the state passed completely to the Small Council , Petit Conseil and the Council of Two Hundred , Conseil des Deux-Cents , who mutually confirmed each other on the annual election days and filled the empty places with relatives. The population, however, was divided into certain rank classes. From the old, rich families capable of regimentation, the Citoyens , the later naturalized families were distinguished as bourgeois . The numerous natifs , d. H. the descendants of non-naturalized residents born in Geneva, and the mere Habitants , the residents who are tolerated in the city in return for a fee; Both classes were excluded not only from all government offices, but also from trade and the higher professions. In addition there were the subjects , the inhabitants of the few subordinate localities of the city.
18th century: Revolutionary conflicts
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But by the 18th century, Geneva began to attract European attention through a series of revolutionary movements. 1707 citizenship demanded under the guidance of lawyers and council member Pierre Fatio a on the principle of indestructible popular sovereignty constructed constitution ; the councils, however, knew how to divide the same through a few concessions, whereupon Fatio et al. a. executed for alleged conspiracy.
1734 it came to new unrest between the so-called. Representatives , d. H. Citizens who lodged complaints against the government, the negatifs , the supporters of the latter, who refused to give a hearing to those ideas, and the natifs , who sometimes stood by the former, sometimes by the latter. One of the spokesmen was Jacques-Barthélemy Micheli du Crest , who was sentenced to death in 1735. Only after three years of civil quarrel, through the mediation of France, Bern and Zurich, a settlement was reached in 1738, which gave back the right to decide on war and peace, laws and taxes, whose wisdom is praised by Jean-Jacques Rousseau .
There was now undisturbed calm in Geneva until the condemnation of Rousseau's Émile and Contrat social in 1763 renewed the struggle between the Représentants and Négatifs , as a result of which in 1768 the Conseil général obtained the right to elect half of the members of the two hundred. Now the Natifs also appeared with the desire for betterment; When the council refused to confirm the concessions they had obtained from the civil parish with the help of the representatives , the two parties united to overthrow the government and on April 9, 1782, handed over the state leadership to a "security committee". But at the invitation of the overthrown rulers drew 6,000 French, 3,000 Berner and 2500 Sardinians into the city, the leaders of the People's Party (Clavière, Duroveray, Dumont, Reybaz u. A.) Fled to the employee later Mirabeau an important role in the French Revolution to play . In July 1782 the old state was restored.
1791–1815: Effects of the French Revolution
It was not until the French Revolution that the ruling aristocracy gave way; on March 22, 1791 the government granted a liberal constitution. But that did not quench the revolutionary fever; as early as December 28, 1792, "revolutionary committees" took the place of the legal government, and a "national convention" worked out a constitution which, adopted on February 5, 1794, abolished all class differences. Geneva had its clubs, its Montagnards , its sans-culottes and, after a mob uprising on July 19, 1794, also its time of horror, in which a revolutionary tribunal sentenced 37 people to death within 18 days, 11 of whom were executed, then after Robespierre's fall its counter-revolution , which was also not bloodless . It was not until 1796 that orderly conditions returned. After a first attempt by the French Republic to seize Geneva in September 1792 failed due to the vigilance of Bern and Zurich, the annexation was forcibly carried out on April 15, 1798 after the French armies entered Switzerland.
19th century
1815–1830: restoration
After the fall of Napoleon, Geneva was reunited with Switzerland on April 6th, 1815 as the 22nd canton and was reunited by the powers at the Congress of Vienna and in the Second Peace of Paris, respectively. in the Treaty of Turin in 1816 intended a small area expansion at the expense of Savoy and France, which it put in direct connection with the same. In order not to cut off the city economically, France and the Kingdom of Sardinia each granted a duty-free zone that encompassed the surrounding area. This was significantly expanded in 1860 on the occasion of the transition from Savoy to France, so that it finally encompassed almost the entire area of the former Léman department , the center of which was Geneva during the French period.
After the withdrawal of the French authorities, the better elements of society came together and on August 24, 1814, an oligarchical constitution was imposed on the city. The violence was in the hands of a "Council of State" of 28 lifelong members; at his side was a rather impotent "council of representatives" of 250 members, which, instead of the abolished Conseil général, represented sovereignty and, due to its high census and complicated voting, was itself of an aristocratic nature. But the leading statesmen knew how to compensate for these shortcomings through liberal and intelligent handling of the constitution. Science and the arts therefore flourished in Geneva like nowhere else in Switzerland, and trade, industry and agriculture also flourished.
1830–1842: Liberalism
Therefore, in 1830, the population was satisfied with a few slight modifications to the constitution, such as lowering the census and shortening the term of office of the Council of State to eight years. It was not until 1841 that the government refused to allow the city of Geneva its own municipal authority, a large reform association ( Association du 3 mars ), headed by Colonel Rilliet-Constant and the journalist James Fazy . The unprincipled attitude of the government in the Aargau monastery question caused the dissatisfaction to break out; the association of March 3rd demanded the convening of a constitutional council based on the general right to vote, and a threatened riot forced the council of state and representatives to give in to it at the end of November. The new constitution, adopted by the people on June 7, 1842, introduced general voting rights, representation in the Grand Council according to the number of heads, a state council of 15 members with limited term of office and authority, community autonomy and separate church administration for each denomination; but the new elections to the authorities were largely conservative.
From 1843: radicalism
The radicals were not satisfied with this, and on February 13, 1843, there was an uprising in the working-class district of Saint-Gervais and fighting with the military until the insurgents laid down their arms in return for an amnesty. The refusal of the Grand Council to vote in favor of the dissolution of the Sonderbund aroused new bitterness, which was expressed in stormy popular assemblies, and when Fazy, the leader of the radicals, was to be arrested, the Saint-Gervais quarter erected barricades and defended himself on March 6. and on October 7, 1846 successfully against the government troops. As the rest of the citizenry protested against the continuation of the struggle, the government placed its power in the hands of the city council. A large popular assembly elected a provisional government headed by James Fazy as Conseil général and ordered the election of a new Grand Council.
The constitution, which was revised by the new radical Grand Council and adopted on May 24, 1847 by 5541 votes against 3186, also gave the people the choice of the 7-member State Council, which should change annually with that of the Grand Council, and set the constituencies from 10 out of 3 and introduced free primary school instruction, jury courts and complete freedom for the Catholic cult as well. This upheaval was of the utmost importance for the whole of Switzerland, as Geneva won the necessary number of votes for the dissolution of the Sonderbund.
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1846–1864: Geneva under James Fazy
Transformation of the cityscape
The new radical system of government, led by the gifted but not personally immaculate Fazy, did its best to transform old Calvinist Geneva into a gleaming modern city. The fortifications were razed, new streets, quays, the imposing Mont Blanc Bridge, a number of magnificent public buildings were built, a part of the public land for a new cathedral church was given to the Catholics, a major component of the Fazyans, a national institute for the arts and sciences was built, etc. a. Only Fazy's lavish financial economy and his dictatorial and not always unselfish attitude alienated from him a section of the radicals who united with the conservatives to form the party of the "Independents".
Conflicts
After the annexation of Savoy on the part of France in 1861 had caused an uncommon excitement in Geneva, which was threatened by it, which was expressed in popular assemblies and conflicts with the border population, it was thrown into new turmoil by the fall of Fazy. In May 1861 the entire Council of State resigned because the jury had not judged and punished an assault committed by a worker against the dictator as an assassination attempt against a functioning magistrate . All members were re-elected, but Fazy with the lowest number of votes, and in the regular new elections on November 12th, which took place that same year, he saw himself completely ignored. In 1862, at the instigation of the "Independent", a decision was made to revise the constitution and a constitutional council was elected, in which they received a majority; but since its work was rejected at the instigation of the Fazyans, the old constitution remained in force. Fazy remained in the minority in 1863 and also in 1864 when a vacancy in the State Council was filled. When the Fazyan electoral bureau allowed itself to cash in on the election of its opponent Chenevière because of alleged irregularities, a bloody conflict broke out between the parties on August 22nd. Geneva was now occupied by federal troops, Chenevière's election was declared valid by the Federal Council and a judicial investigation was ordered, which ended with the acquittal of all the accused. Fazy's influence, however, remained broken forever, and both grand and state council elections gave the independents the upper hand until 1870.
1864–1880: Kulturkampf
International charisma
The cosmopolitan character of the new Geneva received its sanction, as it were, as several important conferences met there, namely from August 8 to 21, 1864 the international congress to improve the lot of the military wounded in war, and in 1867 the first congress of international peace and security Freedom League , in which Giuseppe Garibaldi participated, and in 1872 the Alabama Court of Arbitration . On August 19, 1873, the ex-Duke Karl von Braunschweig died in Geneva, making the city the heiress of his fortune, which according to the city council's public accounts of May 25, 1876, after deducting all costs, amounted to 16½ million Swiss francs and for the construction of a magnificent one Memorial for the testator, for the repayment of 7 million francs of debts, building of a new theater etc. was spent.
Ultramontanism
After the fall of Fazy, his party had dissolved into its elements, the radicals and the ultramontanes . The former, under Carteret's leadership, won the Grand Council elections in 1870, whereupon the State Council, whose “independently” -minded members resigned, was appointed in their favor. The Carteret government earned merit by introducing compulsory primary education (1872) and expanding the old Geneva Academy into a full university with four faculties ( University of Geneva ). It caused a sensation through the struggle that it had to wage against the former allies of the radicals, the ultramontanes, who, under the leadership of the ambitious Catholic pastor Gaspard Mermillod Geneva, tried to convert the famous bulwark of Protestantism back into a Catholic bishopric.
Conflicts over Gaspard Mermillod
As early as 1864, Bishop Marilley of Friborg, to whose diocese of Lausanne-Geneva Geneva had belonged since 1821, had to delegate episcopal powers over Geneva to Mermillod as his "auxiliary bishop" on higher orders. When in 1871 Marilley, at the direct request of the Council of State, refused to assume any responsibility for the Geneva part of his diocese, the Council of State forbade Mermillod all episcopal functions and horrified him on September 20, 1872, because he refused to obey his position Pastor ( see: Kulturkampf in Switzerland ). The Pope countered by officially appointing Mermillod as Apostolic Vicar of Geneva on January 16, 1873, whereupon the Swiss Federal Council declared this appointment null and void on February 11 and ordered his expulsion on February 17 due to the insubordination of Mermillod, which immediately was carried out.
The final stage of the struggle
In Geneva, after the national parties had a brilliant victory over the ultramontanes in the grand elections on November 10, 1872, two laws on the Catholic cult were passed in 1873, which also based the constitution of the Catholic Church on the community and an oath from the clergy on the state laws required. All pastors who refused to do so were removed and, since only the Old Catholic tendency obeyed the laws, they were recognized as a regional church (today the Christian Catholic Church ), while the Roman Catholic cooperatives saw themselves forced into the position of private associations. These events had a beneficial effect on Geneva's attitude towards federal affairs; While the Federal Constitution of 1872 was rejected as too centralistic with 7908 votes against 4541, there were 9674 votes in 1874, 2827 against.
In the face of Mermillod's agitation from French territory, the Council of State held fast to the position it had taken with iron consistency; The Old Catholics in ultramontane villages were protected by military intervention, recalcitrant municipal authorities were appalled, and pastors who published Mermillod's edicts were referred to the judge. The Grand Council decided on August 23, 1875, to completely dissolve the religious corporations, which had already been restricted by a law of 1871, and to confiscate their property, and on August 28, banned all public religious functions. The impotence of the ultramontanes gradually caused the governmental majority to be released; A coalition of conservatives and independents was formed, which as a "democratic" party made the authoritarian politics of the Radical Opposition a complete victory in the new elections to the Grand Council in 1878 and a partial victory in those to the State Council in 1879.
Constitutional issues
A partial revision adopted on May 18, 1879 introduced the optional referendum into the constitution; on the other hand, the people rejected the aspiration of the ultramontans, the Fazyans and the Protestant Orthodox to abolish the religious budget and the associated separation of church and state on July 4, 1880 with 9,306 votes to 4,064.
1880 until today
Web links
- Martine Piguet, Jean Terrier, editor, Liliane Mottu-Weber, Irène Herrmann, Charles Heimberg: Geneva (Canton). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
Individual evidence
- ^ - Antoine Champion, Bishop of Geneva, May 7, 1493 :: Of Huguenots and Mammelukes. Ed .: Merle d'Aubigné :.
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