Helvetic Republic
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The Helvetic Republic was a state formation in the area of Switzerland. It existed between 1798 and 1803.
On 5 March 1798, French troops entered what is today Switzerland. As a result, the existing Swiss Confederation collapsed. On 12 April 1798 the Helvetic Republic, 'One and Indivisible', was proclaimed; cantonal sovereignty and feudal rights were abolished. The occupying forces established a centralised state based on the ideas of the French Revolution. These 'progressive' ideas were widely resisted by the local population, particularly in the central areas of the confederation. In Nidwalden an uprising was crushed by the occupying forces.
There was no unity within the old confederation about the future of Switzerland. Coup attempts were frequent, but the French remained in power. The occupying forces plundered many towns and villages, as well as the old state. This made it difficult to establish a new working state. Together with the local resistance, financial problems caused the Helvetic Republic to fail as a state. Instability in the Republic reached its peak in 1802-1803; in 1803 additional French troops entered the country.
On February 19, 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte introduced the act of Mediation. This was essentially a compromise between the old and the new order. The centralized state was abolished.
There are remainders of the Helvetic Republic in modern Switzerland, such as some of the cantons and constitutions.
See also: Switzerland in the Napoleonic era