Rhodanic Republic
Encyclopedia
The Rhodanic Republic was a state that existed in the French speaking part of Switzerland during the Napoleonic wars
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Napoleon had long sought to make Switzerland dependent on him in order to facilitate his military operations in Italy and around the Alps. Therefore he had been trying various options in order to subjugate its territory or at least a part of its territory. The lands of French-speaking and French-oriented cantons of Geneva, Vaud
and Valais
seemed to him as especially convenient to fulfill these aims. Napoleon planned to form several puppet states in the realm of these three cantons. When the canton Leman was formed, Napoleon tried to push through his idea of making a part of its territory into the so called Rhodanic Republic.
In March 1798 the French general Guillaume Brune went to the canton Leman in order to implement the idea of creating of the Rhodanic Republic. The capital of the canton Leman was Lausanne
, with the prefet's residence, the administrative chamber and the judicial tribunal. The canton was divided into 17 administrative districts, each with a sous-prefet. Leman was also one of the five cantons - purely administrative subdivisions - of the Rhodanic Republic planned in March 1798 by the French general Guillaume Brune. However, this idea was temporarily put aside. In 1798 when Napoleon's troops invaded the Valais and declared a Revolutionary Republique du Valais (March 16) which was swiftly incorporated (May 1) into the Helvetic Republic
.
The puppet Helvetic Republic served Napoleon's purposes well for some time until it became ridden with inner strife and disputes and became unstable. The inner crisis in the Helvetic Republic became especially tangible by 1802. At the very same time, Napoleon felt great need to secure the passages to Italy and stabilise connections between France and Italy. Therefore the old idea of Rhodanic Republic became revitalized. This time, Napoleon simply made the whole canton of Valais into the Rhodanic Republic, fully independent of the Helvetic Republic which had still a few months to live. Thus Napoleon's hands were free and he had got a sure method of securing a safe passage into Italy.
In 1810 Napoleon just as abruptly declared this ephemeral state a part of the French empire under the name of Department of the Simplon. In 1810 the Rhodanic Republic was annexed by Napoleonic France as the department of Simplon. Independence was restored in 1813, and on August 4, 1815 the Valais finally entered the Swiss confederation as a canton. Thus, the Rhodanic Republic lived for 11 years. It was initially planned in 1798, formed in 1802 and lived until Napoleon's full defeat in 1813.
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
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Napoleon had long sought to make Switzerland dependent on him in order to facilitate his military operations in Italy and around the Alps. Therefore he had been trying various options in order to subjugate its territory or at least a part of its territory. The lands of French-speaking and French-oriented cantons of Geneva, Vaud
Vaud
Vaud is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and is located in Romandy, the French-speaking southwestern part of the country. The capital is Lausanne. The name of the Canton in Switzerland's other languages are Vaud in Italian , Waadt in German , and Vad in Romansh.-History:Along the lakes,...
and Valais
Valais
The Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in its central Rhône valley...
seemed to him as especially convenient to fulfill these aims. Napoleon planned to form several puppet states in the realm of these three cantons. When the canton Leman was formed, Napoleon tried to push through his idea of making a part of its territory into the so called Rhodanic Republic.
In March 1798 the French general Guillaume Brune went to the canton Leman in order to implement the idea of creating of the Rhodanic Republic. The capital of the canton Leman was Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
, with the prefet's residence, the administrative chamber and the judicial tribunal. The canton was divided into 17 administrative districts, each with a sous-prefet. Leman was also one of the five cantons - purely administrative subdivisions - of the Rhodanic Republic planned in March 1798 by the French general Guillaume Brune. However, this idea was temporarily put aside. In 1798 when Napoleon's troops invaded the Valais and declared a Revolutionary Republique du Valais (March 16) which was swiftly incorporated (May 1) into the Helvetic Republic
Helvetic Republic
In Swiss history, the Helvetic Republic represented an early attempt to impose a central authority over Switzerland, which until then consisted mainly of self-governing cantons united by a loose military alliance, and conquered territories such as Vaud...
.
The puppet Helvetic Republic served Napoleon's purposes well for some time until it became ridden with inner strife and disputes and became unstable. The inner crisis in the Helvetic Republic became especially tangible by 1802. At the very same time, Napoleon felt great need to secure the passages to Italy and stabilise connections between France and Italy. Therefore the old idea of Rhodanic Republic became revitalized. This time, Napoleon simply made the whole canton of Valais into the Rhodanic Republic, fully independent of the Helvetic Republic which had still a few months to live. Thus Napoleon's hands were free and he had got a sure method of securing a safe passage into Italy.
In 1810 Napoleon just as abruptly declared this ephemeral state a part of the French empire under the name of Department of the Simplon. In 1810 the Rhodanic Republic was annexed by Napoleonic France as the department of Simplon. Independence was restored in 1813, and on August 4, 1815 the Valais finally entered the Swiss confederation as a canton. Thus, the Rhodanic Republic lived for 11 years. It was initially planned in 1798, formed in 1802 and lived until Napoleon's full defeat in 1813.