Helvetic Republic

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Helvetic Republic Helvetische Republik (German) République helvétique (French) Repubblica Elvetica (Italian) Republica helvetica (Romansh)
1798–1803
Flag Official seal of the "smaller council" (Kleiner Rath)
The Helvetic Republic, with borders according to the first Helvetic constitution of 12 April 1798
Status	Client state of France
Capital	Aarau (1798) Lucerne (1798–1799) Bern (1799–1803)[1]
Official languages	French, German, Italian[2][3]
Other languages	Romansh
Government	Directorial republic
Historical era	French Revolutionary Wars
• Confederation collapsed on French invasion	5 March 1798
• Proclaimed	12 April 1798
• Elections in Zürich	14 April 1798
• Mutual defence treaty with France	19 August 1798
• Diplomatic recognition by French allies	19 September 1798
• Malmaison constitution	29 May 1801
• Federal constitution	27 February 1802
• Act of Mediation	19 February 1803
Currency	Swiss franc
ISO 3166 code	CH
Preceded by Succeeded by Old Swiss Confederacy Republic of the Seven Tithings Three Leagues Swiss Confederation (Napoleonic) Valais Republic
Note: See below for a full list of predecessor states

The Helvetic Republic (French: République helvétique, German: Helvetische Republik, Italian: Repubblica Elvetica, Romansh: Republica helvetica) was a sister republic of France that existed between 1798 and 1803, during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was created following the French invasion and the consequent dissolution of the Old Swiss Confederacy, marking the end of the ancien régime in Switzerland.^[4] Throughout its existence, the republic incorporated most of the territory of modern Switzerland, excluding the cantons of Geneva and Neuchâtel and the old Prince-Bishopric of Basel.^[1]

The Swiss Confederacy, which until then had consisted of self-governing cantons united by a loose military alliance (and ruling over subject territories such as Vaud), was invaded by the French Revolutionary Army and turned into an ally known as the "Helvetic Republic". The interference with localism and traditional liberties was deeply resented, although some modernizing reforms took place.^[5][6] Resistance was strongest in the more traditional Catholic cantons, with armed uprisings breaking out in spring 1798 in the central part of Switzerland. The French and Helvetic armies suppressed the uprisings, but opposition to the new government gradually increased over the years, as the Swiss resented their loss of local democracy, the new taxes, the centralization and the hostility to religion. Nonetheless, there were long-term effects.^{[7][clarification needed]}

The Republic's name Helvetic, after the Helvetii, the Gaulish inhabitants of the Swiss Plateau in antiquity, was not an innovation; rather, the Swiss Confederacy had occasionally been dubbed Republica Helvetiorum in humanist Latin since the 17th century, and Helvetia, the Swiss national personification, made her first appearance in 1672.^{[citation needed]} In Swiss history, the Helvetic Republic represents an early attempt to establish a centralized government in the country.