Savoy trade
The Savoy trade (also: Savoy trade ) was a conflict between the French Empire under Napoleon III. and Switzerland in 1859 and 1860 . The point of contention was the strategically important region south of Lake Geneva with around 275,000 inhabitants at the time, which corresponds to today's French department of Haute-Savoie .
prehistory
Savoy , annexed by France between 1792 and 1815 , was returned to the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont at the Congress of Vienna . Switzerland was granted the right to occupy the northern Savoy provinces of Chablais and Faucigny in the event of war to protect Swiss neutrality .
The crisis
During the Second Italian War of Independence , in which Sardinia-Piedmont was in league with France against Austria , neutral Switzerland made no use of its occupation rights and tolerated the transport of French troops through Haute-Savoie. However, when it became clear at the end of 1859 that the alliance had been preceded by a secret agreement according to which Piedmont would cede its highly Savoyard provinces to France, the Swiss government saw this as a serious violation of neutrality and became diplomatically active.
At the beginning of 1860 the Swiss ambassador in Paris, Johann Konrad Kern , held talks with the aim of annexing Haute-Savoie to Switzerland. The French Foreign Minister informed him that "in the event of the still very dubious annexation, which would have to be preceded by a vote by the Savoyards, out of sympathy for Switzerland, the emperor would take pleasure in leaving Chablais and Faucigny as its own territory."
Jakob Stämpfli , an influential member of the government, mistrusted this declaration, insisted on written guarantees and - contrary to diplomatic practice - sparked a campaign at the same time that campaigned for the military occupation and annexation of Haute-Savoie. He found great resonance on the radical wing of the liberals , especially since Napoleon was hated there as the despot and destroyer of the French Republic . Voices were raised to give up neutrality as the “bastard of restoration ”, but the will to maintain it prevailed. Only opinions differed widely about what would be more conducive to maintaining neutrality and what better suited their spirit, violent action or toleration of the "country chancellor"; both in public and in government, where Federal Councilor Friedrich Frey-Herosé advocated a non-military solution. At the same time, the willingness of the population to let it come down to a war was much lower than in the previous Neuchâtel trade , where a general popular movement had taken place to militarily counter the Prussian threat of intervention.
On March 24, 1860 King Victor Emmanuel II ceded Savoy and Nice to France in the Treaty of Turin . Thereupon Stämpfli asked the Federal Assembly to give the government power to forestall the French occupation by invading Haute-Savoie. The assembly decided against it and voted in favor of the proposal of the moderate-liberal politicians Alfred Escher and Jakob Dubs , rapporteurs of the commission set up to clarify the legal questions. This request declared that diplomatic resources had not been exhausted and committed the government to further negotiations.
The Swiss historian Edgar Bonjour wrote about this decision :
“It was the cool Eastern Swiss , the representatives of trade and industry, who caused the Federal Council this blatant defeat. If they hadn't fallen into his arms, Switzerland would have had to occupy Savoy without a clear legal title, without proof of a claim, and thus have to go to war with two opponents, France and Sardinia, without help from the (other) powers ; Moreover, the people and the authorities would have entered this armed conflict in disagreement. Switzerland was only entitled to occupy Savoy in war for the sake of neutrality and only temporarily, but not in full peace; she had no rulership rights there. It was therefore an untenable intention to forbid Sardinia to sell the land and to prevent France from entering the country, all the more so since Napoleon had long since consented to accept servitude . Of course, it would have been a great advantage for Switzerland's neutrality if the Haute-Savoie, and with it the whole of the vast Lake Geneva basin, had become Swiss. The possibility of such a solution was now completely forfeited. "
As the crisis progressed, an incident occurred on March 30th when 150 militants, Geneva and Savoyard, hijacked a steamboat and landed in Evian . They were immediately escorted back by the regular Swiss military.
Napoleon organized the announced plebiscite on April 22nd, 1860 , at which the Haute-Savoie promised a free trade zone with Switzerland. In view of this prospect and the already accomplished facts, the majority of those eligible to vote (adult men) voted with “oui et zone”.
Aftermath
The bitterness in Switzerland was great and lasted for a long time. Many saw their distrust confirmed and accused the French ruler of breaking their word and manipulating the election. The government stepped up the active service that had already been ordered , primarily to prevent further provocations from Swiss and Savoyard irregulars. In the autumn of 1860, Frey-Herosé only barely reached his re-election. In Zurich, under the leadership of Gottfried Keller, an election initiative against Escher and Dubs' support in the National Council was formed , but it was unsuccessful. The situation only gradually eased when Napoleon kept the renewed guarantee of neutrality for Haute-Savoie in the Treaty of Turin and settled for the establishment of a civil administration. On November 9, 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War , it became known that the Federal Council was playing with the intention of military occupation of Northern Savoy . Switzerland was granted such a right under international law, but only defensively in the event of a violation of neutrality , as National Councilor Alfred Escher emphasized in parliament, which denied the Federal Council the project.
Since Switzerland did not recognize the annexation, the Savoy question remained unresolved for a long time. In 1919 it was still occupied with the Versailles Peace Conference - in that year the free trade area was also abolished - and the International Court of Justice in The Hague several times until 1932 .
literature
- Edgar Bonjour: History of Swiss Neutrality. Three centuries of federal foreign policy . Published by Helbing and Lichtenhahn. Basel 1946.
Web links
- Rita Stöckli: Savoy trade. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- Jean-Jacques Bouquet: Chablais. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- Article Geneva under the protection of the Lucerne artillery (PDF; 297 kB) by Werner Lustenberger.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Quoted from Edgar Bonjour: History of Swiss neutrality. Basel 1946, p. 261.
- ↑ Here: respect for Swiss neutrality.
- ↑ Edgar Bonjour: History of Swiss neutrality. P. 266.
- ↑ a b Cf. the article Geneva in the protection of Lucerne artillery under web links.
- ↑ See Art. 2 of the contract text (French) .
- ^ Ernst Gagliardi : History of Switzerland. 1927, volume 3, p. 92 ff.