The Swiss maintained a treaty with France and its absolute monarch Louis XIV (roi soleil) (on mercenaries and other business), however the final seizure by the French of the disputed area of the Franche Comté (at the time under Spanish rule), in 1674, and the Swiss promises made during the Thirty Years War to protect this area caused some tensions with France. The Swiss realized that they were not capable of reasonable foreign policy in the arena of European power play. Under the pressure of the French king they could not fulfill their promises toward the Franche Comté.
The Swiss Confederation of that time was a loose association of cities and states without central government (the Confederation Council met once a year or in emergencies). This loose rule and the roughly 50/50 split of the population into Catholics and Protestants made an active common foreign policy of the canton states impossible. Already during the Thirty Year War (1618-1648) which devastated major parts of central Europe, the Swiss kept out of the conflict; this was not due to an officially declared neutrality or strategy, but mainly due to a "pat"-situation among the members of the Confederation. One could say there was a sort of inner power balance (among religiously, culturally and economically diverse groups) which in combination with the oath from 1291 (mutual protection) and the absence of central government made it impossible to actively take sides in surrounding conflicts. (The present form of stronger federal government was only created later).
An important new Swiss rule of the time was the "Defensionale von Wil" (Defense Charter of Wil) concluded in the year 1647 which created a new common defense order. This defense charter and the first declaration of neutrality from 1674 form the early traces of Swiss neutrality politics. At that time the wisdom and the benefits of neutrality were recognized. Neutrality was not only a remedy against conflicts with foreign powers, it also helped to maintain inner peace.
Author: Peter Stacher
References:
Peter Dürrenmatt, Schweizer Geschichte, SV International, Schweizer Verlagshaus Zürich, 1976
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