Swiss Passport

In 1798, a European ruler briefly turned the Confederation into a centralised state. What was the ruler's name?

Im Jahr 1798 machte ein europäischer Herrscher für kurze Zeit einen Zentralstaat aus der Eidgenossenschaft. Wie hiess der Herrscher?

Correct answer: D

  1. A Rudolf of HabsburgRudolf von Habsburg
  2. B Frederick the GreatFriedrich der Grosse
  3. C Charles the BoldKarl der Kühne
  4. D Napoleon BonaparteNapoleon Bonaparte

Why

Napoleon is the best-known French ruler of that time. In 1798, France turned Switzerland into the Helvetic Republic, a centralised state.

Exam answer: «Napoleon Bonaparte» (the learning brochures say so too). Today: in 1798, France was ruled by the Directory; Napoleon was a general at that time. He ruled from 1799 and ended the centralised state in 1803 with the Act of Mediation (HLS, «Helvetische Republik»).

Common mistakes

A: Rudolf of Habsburg
Rudolf of Habsburg lived in the 13th century, at the time of the founding cantons.
C: Charles the Bold
Charles the Bold of Burgundy lost against the Confederates in the 15th century (Grandson, Murten).

Topic

1798: the French and Napoleon

After the French Revolution of 1789, France wanted to spread its ideas and its power. At the beginning of 1798, French troops marched into the Confederation. On 5 March 1798, Bern fell. The Old Swiss Confederacy collapsed. France mainly wanted to control the Alpine passes to Italy, and wanted money for its wars and Swiss soldiers.

Timeline of Swiss history
  1. 58 BCHelvetii and Romans
  2. 1291The Rütli and William Tell
  3. 1515Marignano
  4. 1523The Reformation
  5. 1798The French and Napoleon
  6. 1815Neutrality
  7. 1848Sonderbund War and the federal state
  8. 19th c.From agrarian state to industrial state
  9. 1918National general strike
  10. 1939–1945Second World War
  11. 1948Prosperity and AHV
  12. 1970Immigration and the Schwarzenbach initiative
  13. 1971Women's suffrage and equal rights
  14. 1979The youngest canton: Jura

History of Switzerland
Reformation, Napoleon and neutrality

Sources

Last checked: September 2026

Question 209 of the official question list of the Canton of Zurich (Gemeindeamt, May 2025). Translation and explanation: Swiss Passport.

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