Bourla-papey
The Bourla-papey seized archives from castles in the area now known as the Canton de Vaud, which they burned in an attempt to destroy records of what was owned by whom, making it impossible to collect taxes.
The name Bourla-Papey (pronounced [ˈburla paˈpe]) is of Arpitan origin ; it means Burn-Papers in English, in reference to the numerous acts committed during the revolt.
During the 18th century a growing discontent began to emerge, and influential Vaudois patriots[a] such as La Harpe sought French assistance to free them from Bern's control.
The Helvetic revolution immediately spread to nearby cantons, and the Swiss Confederation collapsed within 8 months, replaced by a centralized government based on the principle of egalitarianism.
Between 1800 and 1801, many attempts were made to write a new constitution for the Helvetic Republic, and multiple governments were formed in accordance with texts that were replaced by newer versions.
[7]Discontent over the reintroduction of feudal taxes, combined with the way the constitution of 1801 was adopted, led to increased resistance from the population of the Canton du Léman during 1801.
A group of Vaudois patriots assembled as early as spring 1800 in Morges to discuss the idea that if the feudal taxes were not abolished, a reunion with France was preferable to remaining in the Helvetic Republic.
The Helvetic Republic seized on that argument to issue a blanket condemnation of the Vaudois patriots, who in turn signed an address that represented a first clear call to arms.
Their address stated that they felt deeply attached to a Swiss nation that upheld the notions of egalitarism, liberty, and justice, but insinuated that the government was unconstitutional.
The Treaty of Lunéville, which formally established the Helvetic Republic as an independent territory, had the side-effect of shifting the balance of power in Bern towards the federalists.
Several voices started raising petitions for the old, pre-1798 order to be restored, including in the Canton du Léman, in other words, the reunion of Vaud with Bern.
[10] In January 1802, patriots (unitarians) from several smaller cantons met in Aargau to find ways to ensure the revolution of 1798 was not undone by the federalists, and started plotting a new coup for spring 1802.
The sub-prefect of Cossonay noted that the raid had been conducted by a large number of people, and that they had taken the time to sort through the archives, taking all deeds and administrative papers of value but leaving all family records in place.
[13] The prefect Polier issued a condemnation of the events on the 20th, and the courts interrogated several dozen people without any success, despite there being a substantial reward offered for anyone who would help identify the culprits behind the raid.
[15] Although March remained otherwise calm, rumors of an insurrection planned for early April began to circulate, and while Polier's warnings were mostly unheeded by the government of the Helvetic Republic, additional French troops were stationed in the most agitated districts.
According to the historian Eugène Monod, it is only at that point that the captain Louis Reymond, who had been active in the 1798 uprisings, was made the visible leader of the movement.
In response to increasingly worried notes from the prefect, the government of the Helvetic Republic finally made one senator Kuhn plenipotentiary and sent him to Lausanne, where he arrived on 7 May.
Kuhn was instructed to reject the insurgents' demands, but on his return to Lausanne he promised a general amnesty and the abolition of all feudal taxes on his own authority.
