Switzerland's 1848 Constitution – The Sonderbund War Prelude

In this episode, Lucas and Luna revisit the pivotal year of 1847, when the Swiss Confederation teetered on the brink of civil war. The Sonderbund, a separatist alliance of seven Catholic cantons, had formed in defiance of federal authority, and the Tagsatzung, Switzerland's federal diet, faced a stark choice: let the union unravel or use force to preserve it. Lucas walks Luna through the tensions that built over decades, from the Jesuit controversy to the role of cantonal sovereignty, and explains how General Guillaume-Henri Dufour led a near-bloodless campaign that ended in just 26 days, with fewer than 100 casualties. They also examine the political aftermath, including the drafting of the 1848 constitution that transformed Switzerland from a loose confederation into a federal state with a central government, a bicameral parliament, and the famous Swiss ethos of neutrality and direct democracy. Specific topics include the Lucerne Tagsatzung, the role of Jonas Furrer and Ulrich Ochsenbein, the Jesuitenartikel, and the Federal Constitution's key provisions. #Switzerland #Sonderbund #1848Constitution #SonderbundWar #GuillaumeHenriDufour #Tagsatzung #UlrichOchsenbein #JonasFurrer #Jesuitenartikel #Eidgenossenschaft #FederalConstitution #SwissHistory #Lucerne #CantonalSovereignty #Neutrality #DirectDemocracy #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo