ƒ56
N ames.
Extent.
Original-Po.
pulation.
S W I S S E R L A N . D .
the general name o f Schweitzers," given ,by the A u f t'^ n s ;t©4 thi$ alpine
people.," F o r the fake o f pKgM'^n, modern writers reftridt th^- orthography
o f Schweitz and Sphwcitzgr ft£>“'f f i^ c a n tp n )^ while If he general
appellation fo r th e people-ds-the- Swifs, and forethe coirntry Switzerland*
o r Swiflerland.
In lengthy -from eaft to weft, Swiflerland extends about 200 Britilh
m ile s; and in breadth, from n o rth ,tO"fbuth, about 130. The'paiatents
in fquare miles' have been gftimated at 14,960; b u t a great p a rt is loft
t© h uman induftry, confifting o f vaft rocks, pa rtly covered with eternal
ice and fnow. Even o f th is country the. boundaries Are rather a rbitrary
"than natural ; th ough o n tb e weft m ount J u ra form a gr&nd divifion
from France, and o n th e lo u lh the Pennine Alps, a tia rtia l barrier from
Ita ly . O n the eaft I ie s th e r Auftriari terrifor'y bfvpTyr©!, and -©tithe
,»©ltb is'Suabia, co n ta in in g JasJt;jvefe a ^ -O ^ e lc e n p e -.©S'- Swiflerland on
th e othe r fide o f .the R h in e , th e fraall c an to n 'o f Schafthaufen-; -
T h e ori^mal population aird-1 It was
reported th a t at the beginning ofrthe laft cenfury th e people ipfra fmall
diftrid; ufed a la n g u a g e refeinbling th e W elch.,, .y e ^ i t '^ o u ld ^ b e ^ d ^
ficult, e ith e r from hiftory or from ancient, a p p e l^ tio n s ^ to ' trace t i e
refidence o f th e Cglt^ iariSwiflerland ; and.jthemtis ey&p; reafon.on S r
contrary to, believe that- th e Helvetians, yperq { a Gothic m c e /V yerv
3-ncipwt colony^ «rfj-Qernaam,. Cad^r?,.wliq firft difclqfeSk-the^^arfous
raeesfSf men who ibhabited Gaul, no where thrpwsfa no&iye light ,on
th is fnhjedt ; b u t when he defences Celtic ^ n l , M beginaingr jk y a n d
the Rh o n e, i t . follows that he did.-not ^regard th e ,H e lv e # as^(^i?s.j
and the p roxim ity o f G e rm a n y nauft induce.-us to confider . the -
Helvetians as a German people. the curious .c o tlp io n o f G o k
daftus1 there are feveral. gloflaries, and fragments,of the ancient language
ufed in this co u n try , even in the eighth century, which thence appears
to have been p u re G o th ic , w ith p u t'an y Celtic admixture.- Tile Rhjeti
on the eaft are faid to .have b e en . a ;T u fc a ii. c o lo n y ; hut a faint re-
fembdance in manners fometimes led the ancients to rapid conclufions.
I t is difficult to conceive how the poliftied Etrurians .ffiould take refuge
* Rerura Alamannfarum Scriptures, 1661 &L
* C H A P . I. H I S T O R I C A L G E O G R A P H Y .
in the midft o f .barbarous nations, or w h y no remains o f Tufcan build-
ings or art have been difcpvered in this their fuppofeti habitation.
i> T h e progreffive geography o f Swiflerland may'be traced, with con-
• fiderable clearnefs ft pm the (j^.]^ft?<.o£#|G ^fa r., with-, the Helvetians,
through the claffic, Francic, and native hiftorians, to the prefent time.
,h T h e chief hiftorical epochs may be arranged in ^%fpijftwipg .order-:
T b i'l^ fs ^W ith flic Romans fuhjirgation ipMhe Helvet ligand
’ pf thei ^pman'empire
.in th^'tjveft^
■* £2, The hru|}tipnr JjAl em^m n i, * jyi t)ie‘bdg^nnilv^qf fourth*
vcentifry, who-are b^^onigJjq|^o^^toniavcIx,x^^tcd the t a nciéqt Hel-
i ,<vetiahs.,rf
£, 'ft- ,'far as the <
tQ^Burgundy!
The *G^fpns on.the. eaft^g;e/ubj e£tto Theodpric, apd kher kings’of
4. The conyerfiqn|pF^e|country t^Cht|i®mty by tffie friffiffipnks
- 'Columbanusv i^jallus', and others, in the 'heg.iahftrg of the Ipreüfïi
.5. T h ^ in v afio n o f Alemannia by.the* H u n s* in the,ye,ar-509;; and
.with, thefe harbmaAs', till the middle'- o f th a t
^Cenffiry. / T h e hiftory o f the, abbey o f ;||Ü g d l at tiys l"mcMis-mtereft-
in a literary p oint o f view,, and from the fin g u larity .o f the
•^vPUt||f h was' ravaged b y th e 'Ifitna, ..who ^ ^ ^ s a f t e rw a r d s * defeated
by Conrad k in g 'h f Burgundy'; a l^ uW h e ,y e |r 928. See th e coHedtloa
.o f Goldaftus.
6. Aböiit the year ih ^8% ie ptovihees' wfii'ch^hö^ conft’itute Sniffer«"
land began to'be regarded as a part- ofrthe ,eaipirb of Germany; and in
-<the courfe of two centuries they gradually TècainèfYubjedï to the houfe -
«of Hapfhurg. -
7. The pommencenlent of 'thé’1 Swifs Emancipation, A. D. f3t|r |
.and the fubfeqüent ftruggles with the hdüffi óf Äuftria."
I T h e Ugnrs, Totalled b y t h e writers o f f he time. T h e y ^ e rA a Branch o f ” the Vog vis,
ja.Einnilh race. >
. 567
Original
POPULA- •
TIÖN. -<'4
Progreffive . ,
Geography;?;;:
Hiftorical
Epochs^