Editing Basel-Landschaft (section)

==History==
{{Main|Canton of Basel}}
Basel-Landschaft, together with Basel-Stadt, formed the historic [[Canton of Basel]] until they separated following the uprising of 1833 ([[Battle of the Hülftenschanz]] near [[Frenkendorf]]).

[[File:Picswiss BL-60-20.jpg|thumb|left|Castle of [[:de:Angenstein|Angenstein]] in [[Duggingen]]]]
In Roman times, the area of Basel was a centre of Roman activity. There are well-preserved remains at the site of ''Augusta Raurica'' in the canton of Basel-Landschaft. Around 200 AD there were about 20,000 people living in this city, now part of the much smaller [[Augst]]. The remains are on display in an open-air museum. The museum attracts over 140,000 visitors per year. Many of these visitors are schoolchildren from other parts of Switzerland. The site of Augusta Raurica includes the best-preserved amphitheatre north of the Alps, and a reconstructed Roman villa.

The lands of the canton Basel-Landschaft are part of the lands acquired by the city of [[Basel]]. Until the end of the 16th century, most of the canton's land belonged to the city of Basel. After Napoleon's visit in 1798, the country achieved equality with the city. The country was economically dependent on the city, most probably because of the cost and difficulty in transporting agricultural goods to further markets, the financing of land transactions and crop production by city-based merchants. Low levels of education and literacy in the agricultural areas of Europe was typical in that era. The best students would be sponsored and sent away for higher learning.{{Citation needed|date=December 2019}} The city of Basel remained the cultural and economic centre of both Basel half cantons until then. Castles and residences of Basel merchants dominated much of the landscape in Basel-Landschaft.

[[File:Karikatur Teilung Basels.jpg|thumb|Caricature of the division of Basel, 1833]]
After 1830 there were political quarrels and armed conflict in the canton of Basel. Some of these were concerned with the rights of the population in the agricultural areas. They ultimately led to the separation of the canton Basel-Landschaft from the city of Basel on 26 August 1833. Since then, there has been a movement for reunification. This movement gained momentum after 1900 when many parts of Basel-Landschaft became industrialized. The two half cantons agreed in principle to merge, but in 1969 the people of Basel-Landschaft voted down a referendum on this proposal in favour of retaining their independence. It is thought that the closing economic gap between the two cantons was the main reason why the population changed their attitude.{{Citation needed|date=October 2008}}

That vote was not the end of a close relationship between the two Basels. The two half cantons have since signed a number of agreements to co-operate. The contribution of Basel-Landschaft to the [[University of Basel]] since 1976 is just one example.