Editing History of Switzerland (section)

=== French invasion and Helvetic Republic ===
{{main|Switzerland in the Napoleonic era|Helvetic Republic}}
During the [[French Revolutionary Wars]], the French army [[French invasion of Switzerland|invaded Switzerland]] and turned it into an ally known as the "[[Helvetic Republic]]" (1798–1803). It had a central government with little role for cantons. The interference with localism and traditional liberties was deeply resented, although some modernizing reforms took place.<ref>Marc H. Lerner, "The Helvetic Republic: An Ambivalent Reception of French Revolutionary Liberty", ''French History'' (2004), 18#1, pp. 50–75.</ref><ref>R.R. Palmer, ''The Age of the Democratic Revolution'' 2:394-421</ref>

Resistance was strongest in the more traditional Catholic bastions, with armed uprisings breaking out in spring 1798 in the central part of Switzerland. The French Army suppressed the uprisings but support for revolutionary ideas steadily declined. The reform element was weak, and most Swiss resented their loss of local democracy, centralization, new taxes, warfare, and hostility to religion.<ref>{{cite book|author=Otto Dann and John Dinwiddy|title=Nationalism in the Age of the French Revolution|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qrujM36H7qUC&pg=PA194|year=1988|publisher=Continuum|pages=190–198|isbn=978-0-907628-97-2|access-date=November 12, 2015|archive-date=January 16, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116133307/https://books.google.com/books?id=qrujM36H7qUC&pg=PA194|url-status=live}}</ref>

Major steps taken to emancipate the Jews included the repeal of special taxes and oaths in 1798. However, many such reforms were turned back in 1815, and not until 1879 were the Jews granted equal rights with the Christians.<ref>Holger Böning, "Bürgerliche Revolution und Judenemanzipation in der Schweiz", ''Jahrbuch des Instituts für Deutsche Geschichte'' (1985), Vol. 14, pp. 157–180</ref>

In 1803, Napoleon's [[Act of Mediation]] partially restored the sovereignty of the cantons, and the former tributary and allied territories of [[Aargau]], [[Thurgau]], Grisons, [[Canton of St. Gallen|St. Gallen]], [[Vaud]], and [[Ticino]] became cantons with equal rights. Napoleon and his enemies fought numerous campaigns in Switzerland that ruined many localities.