History of Geneva
Geneva first appears in history as an Allobrogian border town, fortified against the Celtic Helvetii tribe, which the Roman Republic took in 121 BC.
In 58 BC, Caesar, Roman governor of Gaul, destroyed the Rhône bridge at Geneva and built a 19-mile earthwork from Lake Geneva to the Jura Mountains in order to block the migration of the Helvetii, who "attempted, sometimes by day, more often by night, to break through, either by joining boats together and making a number of rafts (ratis), or by fording the Rhône where the depth of the stream was least" (De Bello Gallico, I, 8).
[3] According to legendary accounts found in the works of Gregorio Leti ("Historia Genevrena", Amsterdam, 1686) and Besson ("Memoires pour l'histoire ecclésiastique des diocèses de Genève, Tarantaise, Aoste et Maurienne", Nancy, 1739; new ed.
In 440, Salonius appears as Bishop of Geneva; he was a son of Eucherius, to whom the latter dedicated his Instructiones'; he took part in the Council of Orange (441), Vaison (442) and Arles (about 455), and is supposed to be the author of two small commentaries, In parabolas Salomonis and on Ecclesisastis.
Another political crisis occurred in 1524, when the treasurer of Geneva, Bernard Boulet, a supporter of Savoy rule, was accused by the Grand Council of embezzlement.
The deputies' attempt to enlist the support of the bishop Pierre de la Baume for their cause failed, and the Pope rejected their request.
The pro-independence faction fled to Fribourg, and in December 1525 the Grand Council acknowledged Charles III as the true sovereign of Geneva (a session known as the "Assembly of Halberds").
Eventually the Grand Council succeeded in protecting the liberty of its citizens by establishing union with the Old Swiss Confederacy (Alte Eidgenossenschaft), by concluding on February 20, 1526 a treaty of alliance with Bern and Fribourg.
On March 12, representatives of the other Swiss cantons appeared before the Grand Council in Geneva and swore to protect that republic as part of their confederation.
While Bern favoured the introduction of the new teaching and demanded liberty of preaching for the Reformers Guillaume Farel and Antoine Froment, Catholic Fribourg renounced in 1533 its allegiance with Geneva.
As a result, the Grand Council decided in January 1528 to adhere to the Lutheran faith, and the Pope responded by excommunicating the people of Geneva.
Even though Geneva was still under the nominal jurisdiction of a Catholic bishop, the Grand Council took advantage of his absence and initiated a gradual reform in worship along Lutheran lines.
The Swiss Federation was alarmed by these developments, and in May 1530 a joint delegation from Bern, Fribourg, Zurich, Basel and Solothurn suggested to the Grand Council the abrogation of the 1526 alliance treaty in exchange for looser cooperation.
However, soon the bishop started arresting conspicuous Protestants in Geneva, and there were rumors that he intended to remove the prisoners to Fribourg and placed beyond the Grand Council's reach.
Fearing for his life, the bishop decided to flee the city, which he did on July 14, this time never to return, while moving his headquarters to Arbois and later to Chambery.
In order to compel the council to make that move, Protestant leaders such as Guillaume Farel began agitating the crowds to demolish icons and throw the wafers of the eucharist to the ground in Catholic churches.
On May 21, 1536, the Genevans declared themselves Protestant by taking a public oath of allegiance to the Lutheran faith where all residents took part, and proclaimed their city a republic.
Geneva became a center of Protestant activity, producing works such as the Genevan Psalter, though there were often tensions between Calvin and the city's civil authorities.
Though the city proper remained a Protestant stronghold, a large part of the historic diocese returned to Catholicism in the early seventeenth century under St. Francis de Sales.
In 1584, Geneva strengthened its ties to the Swiss Confederacy with a separate "eternal treaty" with the Protestant city cantons of Bern and Zürich.
In the event known as L'Escalade of the night of 11 December 1602 (Old Style), the Savoiards attempted to take the city by stealth, climbing over the walls using black ladders.
Conflict between these factions led to rioting in 1734–1737, which was settled after the diplomatic intervention of France and Geneva's two Swiss allies, Bern and Zurich.
A piece written by Jean le Rond d'Alembert appeared in 1757 in volume 7 of the Encyclopédie criticising the puritanism of Geneva's Calvinist pastors and advocating the adoption of the enlightened arts as in France.
Finally, in the abortive Geneva Revolution of 1782, revolutionary ideologues and working-class activists demanding a broader franchise seized the state.
The defeat of Napoleonic armies and liberation of Geneva in 1813 by the Austrian general Ferdinand von Bubna und Littitz restored its independence.
At the Congress of Vienna of 1814–15, the territory of Geneva was extended to cover 15 Savoyard and six French parishes, with more than 16,000 Catholics; at the same time it was admitted to the Swiss Confederation.
The Congress expressly provided—and the same proviso was included in the Treaty of Turin (16 March 1816)—that in these territories transferred to Geneva the Catholic religion was to be protected, and that no changes were to be made in existing conditions without the approval of the Holy See.
In the wake of the war, a class struggle in Switzerland grew and culminated in a general strike throughout the country—beginning on Armistice Day, 11 November 1918, and directed from the German-speaking part of the nation.
[12] On 9 November 1932, several small Fascist-inspired political parties, such as the National Union, attacked Socialist leaders, which action led to a later demonstration of the Left against the Fascists.
After World War II, the European headquarters of the United Nations and the seats of dozens of international organizations were installed in Geneva, resulting in the development of tourism and of business.
