The History of the Canton of Neuchatel -

    In the page on the History of Switzerland, some information concerning the canton of Neuchatel was included. However, the subject is so rich in details that it is best presented
in a separate section.

   The natural defensive situation of the high ridge, bounded by the Seyon river as it enters
Lake Neuchatel where the castle sits today was undoubtedly used for a fortress and village
from earliest times. The prison tower is the oldest surviving construction in the town. The
large carved stone blocks used in the base of the prison tower of the castle are from some Roman temple or public building in the region. It is thought that the the large rough stones
which are placed on top of the Roman base are erratic boulders left scattered on the ridge
by the last glacier and were added at about 1000 A.D.
   Some ten kilometers westward along the lake shore, in the forest at La Lance large marble (limestone) blocks can still be seen laying in the old Roman quarry where they were shaped before being transported by barge across the lake to the now disappeared port of Avenche where they were used to build the Roman city.
   No ruins of Roman constructions have been found in Neuchatel, except for several large mausoleums  surrounding some Roman era farms, which in those days were selfsufficient
small settlements. It is known that a main Roman road to Basel (Raurica) and into Germania, the Vy d'Etra, passed through the town. The route can still be seen in some of the vineyards
in the area.

   The canton has had the present borders since at least 1373, and actually from much earlier, since the borders were determined by the geographic situation - delimited by the Jura chain of low mountains and the lake. In fact, the canton predates the formation of Switzerland (traditionally given as 1291) by some 300 years. The first recorded document concerns the
wine for the abbey of Bevaix from 998 A.D. and another from 1092 A.D. concerning the
village of Corcelles. It is certain that the villages of Neuchatel and Auvernier were also in existence at this time.

  The Late Middle Ages -

   The canton was long a part of Burgundy (Bourgogne), which throughout the Middle Ages, occupied the eastern part of present day France. The Germanic tribe of the Burgunder
moved into the present western Switzerland and Savoyen (north western Italy) as a result
of the defeat by the Huns in 443 AD. and adopted the romanic (Early French) language in contrast to the neighboring Germanic Alemann tribe to the east which continued with the
Germanic language. This cultural divide exists to the present day.The present Swiss roman cantons originated during the period 933 - 1032 AD. The large kingdom of Burgundy (capital was present day Nancy in France) extended from Holland to Italy and was a buffer between
the Francs to the west and the Germans to the east. The kingdom finally disappeared (was taken over by the French kings in the 15th century) as a result of the disastrous military campaign by Charles the Bold into western Switzerland in 1475 (attacking Neuchatel and
other towns in the region).
   In 1032 the Holy Roman Emperor Conrad (Conrad le Salique) set new borders for
Bourgogne and installed the noble family of Fenis over a region which included the present canton. Around 1125 the family separated into two branches which divided into the French
and the German speaking parts. Being on the border of two cultures and different economic interests throughout the Middle Ages was a dangerous position in those unsettled times.
   In general, it can be said that the politics of the canton down to the French Revolution was
a continually shifting series of alliances and treaties with the French kings and the ever more powerful Bern, ie. Swiss German confederation of cantons which were watchful that the
French did not profit politically or militarily in the region.
   All through the Middle Ages this relative independence was helpful as a commercial and cultural bridge or buffer between the two very different powers. This cultural openness made
it especially receptive to the new ideas of liberty and religion which were spreading throughout Europe in the XVIII century. While it was allied with the Swiss cantons since the XII century, it
did not officially join the Swiss Federation until 1815. Full sovereignty was finally achieved in 1848 after a final revolt against the Prussian king who had retaken possession after the collapse of the French Revolution.

   Before listing the various seigneurs and noble families who ruled the area throughout the Middle Ages, it would perhaps be interesting to recall what life was like during this period.
As in all of Europe, it can be summarized for probably 90% as "nasty and short".
   The life expectancy was about 35 years and child death 75% - both essentially unchanged since Roman times. There was a small caste of families serving the nobles and princes which assured the functioning of the territory and profited from a limited independence. They were permitted to hold land and profit from the receipts. The great majority of the population was bonded to the land, ie. forbidden to exercise a profession or change their residence. They
were subjected to the "mainmort" laws which forbid the heritage of their possessions and
which became the property of the nobles upon death. The noble representatives supervised
the courts and the land and commerce taxes. Even marriage was allowed only within the
same social level - all things aimed at assuring power and privilege remained firmly in the hands of the chosen few.

   After the separation of the heritage within the Fenis family in 1218 successive generations
ruled until 1395 when power passed in to the hands of the de Hochberg dynasty. In 1504
Jeanne de Hochberg married Louis d'Orleans, a French noble and power passed into
French hands. The territory was governed by royal representative. Louis opposed the Swiss
Confederation in the war with Italy (1529) and on his death the Confederation refused that
territory be returned to the de Hochberg family. It continued to be administered on the local
level for many generations as the property of the French d'Orleans dynasty.

             

                                  La Maison des Halles de Neuchatel  (1570)
                                   -still standing  today at the marketplace-
                     
    In 1707, with the death of the childless Marie de Nemours, last daughter of Henri II
d'Orleans, a process was opened to find a successor. Some 15 different families from
across Europe who all had some family ties with the d'Orleans filed their claims. It was
finally decided by the Magistrates Council that the best choice would be the Protestant
King Frederik I of Prussia located far away in northern Germany. As a result, independence
was preserved and the the administration remained mainly in the hands of the local State Counsel. This relatively calm and economically stable situation continued for the next 100
years until the outbreak of the French Revolution and the engagement of the French
speaking cantons in the Napoleonic wars, as detailed in the page on Napoleon-.

     The French Revolution Period -

In 1806, as the French armies were busy conquering the old empires of Europe, the
Prussian King Frederik-Wilhelm III agreed to exchange the embryonic canton Neuchatel
for the German state of Hannover located nearby in northern Germany. As he did with
several of his favorite generals and his family members, Napoleon gave Neuchatel to one
of this most loyal and successful generals, Louis-Alexander Berthier.
 
  As a result of the exchange, in1806 the French general Oudinot occupied Neuchatel with
5000 men and took control in place of the Prussian commisioner d'Oleyres.
   The citizens of Neuchatel greeted this change of events with enthusiasm. Again much
control remained at the local level since Bertier was too occupied to directly attend to
state affairs but was well informed of the developments. Actually, he was never able to
visit his territorial property in Switzerland.
    He appointed Francois-Jean, baron de Lesperut as his representative which was a wise choice. During the 10 years of the occupation there were significant infrastructure projects
such as in roads, bridges (some still in use today), agriculture and commerce. Also in Neuchatel, as in all of the French occupied countries the cost of the Napoleon wars were
deeply felt. Troops must be garrisoned at public expense and a contingent of troops
supplied for the army. Many from Neuchatel never returned from the  battles in Spain,
Germany and the disastrous Russian campaign. 
                                                                 
                                            
                                  

                                              

                      Louis Alexander Berthier

                      Prince of Neuchatel and Wagram
                       1753 - 1815     

                                                                                                                                 
          General Berthier was at the right hand of Napoleon throughout most of the battles of
the French Revolution. His particular talent was the translation of the complex battle plans
into simple and effecient large scale operations. In the course of his military career he
served with the French forces in America (1781) and was later expeled from the army for
sheltering the Royal Family from revolutionary extremists at the outbreak of the Revolution.
He returned to command during the Italian war and participated in all the following campaigns throughout Europe. He possessed exceptional bravery and stayed behind in the retreat from Russia to aid in rear guard actions. Gradually, he became convinced that Napoleon must be removed from power for the sake of France. Napoleon refused to surrender after the defeat
at Leipzig and Berthier was active in the battles during the retreat into France. He was
wounded in the battle of Brienne (the town where Napoleon received his military schooling)
and began to actively support the return of the Bourbons to power. He refused to rally to Napoleon upon his return from Elba which, after the One-Hundred-Days, ended in defeat at Waterloo.

   Strangely, his death shortly thereafter - a fall from a window in Bamberg, Germany - was
never explained. It is not known if it was a suicide due to remorse at not supporting Napoleon
at Waterloo and perhaps saving the French Revolution or whether he was murdered.

   The Restauration-

     In October 1813 in the battle of Leipzig (Battle of Nations), the 180,000 French, not yet
recovered from the disastrous winter retreat from Russia, were crushed by the the 300,000 strong armies of Austria, Russia and Prussia. This sealed the fate of Napoleon rule (exile to
Elba) and the coalition troops moved to occupy France and restore the Bourbon monarchy.
This development placed the government of Neuchatel in a difficult political situation.

Several options  were possible-
   -  forget the "treason" of 1806 and invite Frederik-Wilhelm III of Prussia to retake his
      Swiss principality.
   -  considerer the decision of 1806 as a permanent rejection of Prussian rule and apply
       immediately for full integration into the Swiss Confederation.
   -   Negotiate some mixed form of a Prussian principality with a binding affiliation with the
       Confederation.  

   By December 1813 the coalition forces had reached the Rhine (French frontier) and the Swiss Confederation had signed a peace treaty and renounced the Acts of Mediation
regime. The future status of Neuchatel was not clear as the Austrian army (some 20,000)
passed through the area (January 1814) during the advance into Bourgogne and to Paris.
Would this French principality be spared enemy status by the long association with Prussia?
   The situation was further complicated by the fact that General Berthier had changed sides
and supported the return of Louis XVIII to Paris and had been appointed to the important
post of Captain of the Kings Guards. Both Berthier and Louis XVIII were interested that the
strategically located Neuchatel remain allied as a French department.
   As explained elsewhere, these and other difficult issues concerning the restoration and reordering of the boundaries and monarchies after the firestorm of the French revolution throughout Europe were being discussed and decided at the Vienna Congress. The former
Prussian governor Chambier d'Oleyres argued at Vienna that Neuchatel should revert to the earlier status as a Prussian territory.

   Finally, it was decided that a solution would be integrated into an overall reordering of the political system for Switzerland. Besides the establishment of independent cantons, a weak central government, armed neutrality status, etc., it was decided that the cantonal boundries
set up by Napoleon would be kept (no large dominating regions) and that Neuchatel, along
with Wallis and Geneva would become full members of the Swiss Confederation.
  Then on June 3, 1814 General Berthier renounced his claim to Neuchatel in exchange for
a pension from the Prussian state and on June 18, 1814 Frederik-Wilhelm III agreed to the
entry of Neuchatel into the Confederation together with a guarantee of local autonomy.

                   Frederik-Wilhelm III                                               visit in July 1814 to Neuchatel

   In July 1814 the King made the long voyage from Berlin to Neuchatel for a visit to his "recycled" subjects and on September 12, 1814 the authorities officially declared Neuchatel
as the 21st Swiss canton. The long turbulent engagement from the Middle Ages with the
Swiss Confederation had at last resulted in a happy marriage, one which continues to
the present day.
    In 1814 however, the honeymoon was quickly over as all of Europe were caught up in new political unrest and economic difficulties. It was soon clear that there could never be a return
to the prenapoleon era for Neuchatel. Old ideas and institutions were increasingly questioned and the payment of taxes to a king in Berlin polarized the canton into Republicans and
Royalists on all subjects. The Revolution of July 1830 in Paris against the last Bourbon
King Charles X (who succeeded Louis XVIII and was replaced by Louis-Philippe d'Orleans)
was a signal also in Switzerland that the political order was not working as it should for the
best interests of the citizens.
   In September 1831, Republicans attacked the castle (seat of the government in Neuchatel) but were defeated and Federal troops were called to restore order. The Royalists continued
in power by declaring a state of emergency, censure of the press, increase police powers,
and other repressive measures. Also even within the Swiss Confederation (as mentioned in History-) liberal versus conservative ideas were divided along religious lines and in 1847
lead to the Sonderbund War in the Catholic cantons of central Switzerland.

  The final act though, which closed the long aristocratic past of Neuchatel took place on
February 29, 1848. When news arrived that on Feb. 24,  Louis-Philippe had been forced to
abdicate and that the Second Republic had been proclaimed in Paris, a group of Republicans seized the castle with no opposition. The acting goverment immediately wrote a new constitution and renounced loyalty to Prussia. In fact, the Swiss Confederation of the 22
cantons also revised the old definitions of liberty and democracy from 1814 and wrote a new
constitution which continues to the present day. The effect of the Second Republic and the ideals of 1848 on all the countries of Europe is an important subject but too large to be addressed here. 

  Even after the proclamation as a Republic there continued to be strong Royalist support
in the canton and in September 1856 a group attempted to overthrow the government.
Federal troops were again called upon to quell the unrest which finally resulted in some
8 dead and 25 wounded. The conflict continued also at the diplomatic level where Prussia threatened the use of force if the Confederation did not intervene to stop the rebellion and reinstall Royalist rule.
  Troops were sent to the Swiss border in preparation for war - but finally on May 26, 1857
Frederik-Wilhelm III signed the Treaty of Paris and officially renounced any claim to his
Swiss possessions in Neuchatel. 

End of an era and beginning of another - but that is a subject for another web page!

And, as they say in Prussia - Ende gut, alles gut!