Wednesday 13 January 2016

SWITZERLAND - Swiss Confederation

Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a country situated in the confluence of Western, Central, and Southern Europe. It is a federal republic composed of 26 cantons, with federal authorities based in Bern. Switzerland is a landlocked country bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. It is geographically divided among the Swiss Plateau, the Alps, and the Jura, spanning a total area of 41,285 km2 (15,940 sq mi), and land area of 39,997 km2 (15,443 sq mi). While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, the Swiss population of approximately 8.5 million is concentrated mostly on the plateau, where the largest cities and economic centres are located, among them the two global cities of Zürich and Geneva (ranked Alpha and Beta respectively).

The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the late medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria and Burgundy. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The Federal Charter of 1291 is considered the founding document of Switzerland which is celebrated on Swiss National Day. Since the Reformation of the 16th century, Switzerland has maintained a strong policy of armed neutrality; it has not fought an international war since 1815 and did not join the United Nations until 2002.

The first stamps used in Switzerland were issued by the cantons of Zürich (1843), Geneva (1843) and Basel (1845) for their own use, with the first federal issues coming several years later, on April 7, 1850. By March 19, 1798, the Helvetic Republic had come into being; although it was not until September 1798 that the entire country was conquered. According to Napoleon, the country was "liberated" to form itself into a new State, which assumed the title of "Republique Helvetique Une et Indivisible." And, the Republic was administratively reorganized into twenty-two (22) Cantons. Later, that number was reduced to nineteen (19) due to mergers and to some changes at the frontiers. In September 1798, all postal mail was ordered to be "a natural and necessary property of the state" or, in modern parlance, nationalization was ordered.
Swiss stamps are inscribed with the word Helvetia, rather than "Schweiz", "Suisse" "Svizzera", or "Svizra". With four official languages-German, French, Italian, and Romansch. The Swiss would have had to put all four languages on each stamp, quite a problem to overcome with such limited space on a stamp. Switzerland is officially known by the Latin name "Confoederatio Helvetica" for historical reasons. "Confoederatio" means "confederation" and "Helvetica" is a reference to the Helvetians, a Celtic tribe that lived in Switzerland when the Romans invaded. The English equivalent of the Latin name is "Swiss Confederation." Hence, the use of Helvetia on stamps.

The first Swiss stamps were those of the Cantons (States) of Zurich, Geneva, and Basel. These early Swiss stamps have another distinction. They were also the 3rd (1843), 4th (1843), and 5th (1845) adhesive postage stamp issuing nations of the World. Unfortunately, the Cantonal postage stamp issues are tremendously rare today.


No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.