- Stecklikrieg
The "Stecklikrieg" (" _gs. Stäcklichrieg") of
1802 resulted in the collapse of theHelvetic Republic , the renewed French occupation of Switzerland and ultimately theAct of Mediation dictated byNapoleon on 10 March 1803.The conflict itself was between federalist insurgents, mostly of the rural population, and the official Helvetic Republic. The name " _gs. Stäckli" "wooden club" refers to the improvised weaponry of the insurgents. Following the
Treaty of Lunéville , the French troops left Switzerland during the summer of 1802, resulting in rapid destabilization of the country. The insurgence originated inCentral Switzerland , the cities ofZürich andBerne as well as rural parts of theSwiss plateau (Aargau andSolothurn ).After several hostile clashes with the official forces of the Helvetic Republic, which were lacking both in equipment and motivation (Renggpass at Pilatus on 28 August, artillery attacks on Berne and Zürich during September, and a skirmish atFaoug on 3 October), the central government at first capitulated militarily (on 18 September, retreating from Berne to Lausanne) and then collapsed entirely. It was succeeded by cantonal governments, and aTagsatzung inSchwyz led byAlois von Reding .Napoleon was concerned that the instability of Switzerland could infect Europe at large, and re-occupied Switzerland immediately after the collapse of the central government. His
Act of Mediation however made concessions to the demands of the insurgents, abandoning the centralist structure of the Helvetic Republic in favour of a more federalist approach. French intervention constituted a breach of theTreaty of Lunéville , which was taken as a pretext by theUnited Kingdom to declare war on France on 18 May 1803.William Wordsworth 's poem "Thought of a Briton on the Subjugation of Switzerland" is directly inspired by the events of the "Stecklikrieg".External links
*HLS|41551|Stecklikrieg
* [http://www.stub.unibe.ch/extern/hv/gkb/i/eins.html#I42 Abschnitt in der "Geschichte des Kantons Bern seit 1798"]
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