Abstract
HISTORY. On 1 Aug. 1291 the men of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwaiden entered into a defensive league. In 1353 the league included 8 members and in 1513, 13. Various territories were acquired either by single cantons or by several in common, and in 1648 the league became formally independent of the Holy Roman Empire, but no addition was made to the number of cantons till 1798. In that year, under the influence of France, the unified Helvetic Republic was formed. This failed to satisfy the Swiss, and in 1803 Napoleon Bonaparte, in the Act of Mediation, gave a new Constitution, and out of the lands formerly allied or subject increased the number of cantons to 19. In 1815 the perpetual neutrality of Switzerland and the inviolability of her territory were guaranteed by Austria, France, Great Britain, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, Spain and Sweden, and the Federal Pact, which included 3 new cantons, was accepted by the Congress of Vienna. In 1848 a new Constitution was passed. The 22 cantons set up a Federal Government (consisting of a Federal Parliament and a Federal Council) and a Federal Tribunal. This Constitution, in turn, was on 29 May 1874 superseded by the present Constitution. In a national referendum held in Sept. 1978, 69•9% voted in favour of the establishment of a new canton, Jura, which was established on 1 Jan. 1979.
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Statistical Information: Bureau fédéral de statistique (Hallwylstr. 15, 3003 Bern) was established in 1860. Director: Carlo Malaguerra. Its principal publications are:
Annuaire statistique de la Suisse. From 1891
Bibliographie Suisse de statistique et d’économie politique. Annual, from 1937
Swiss Confederation
Annuaire: Budget: Message du Budget: Compte d’Etat (annual) Feuille Fédérale: Recueil des Lois fédérales (weekly)
Recueil systématique des lois et ordonnances. 1848-I947 (in German, French and Italian). Bern, 1951
Sammlung der Bundes- und Kanlonsverfassungen (in German, French and Italian). Bern, 1937
Federal Department of Economics
La vie économique (and supplements). Monthly. From 1928
Legislation sociale de la Suisse. Annual, from 1928
Meier, H. K. and Meier, R. A., Switzerland. Ibibliography] London and Santa Barbara, 1990
Schwarz, U., The Eye of the Hurricane: Switzerland in World War Two. Boulder, 1980
Wildblood, R., What mates Switzerland tick? London, 1988
National Library: Bibliothèque Nationale Suisse, Hallwylstr. 15, 3003, Bern. Director: Dr Jean Frédéric Janslin.
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© 1991 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
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Hunter, B. (1991). Switzerland. In: Hunter, B. (eds) The Statesman’s Year-Book. The Statesman’s Yearbook. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230271203_158
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230271203_158
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
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