The common bailiwicksin Switzerland (Gemeine Herrschaften) were, in the Old Swiss Confederacy before 1798, territories jointly administered by several cantons. [1]
The common bailiwicksin Switzerland (Gemeine Herrschaften) were, in the Old Swiss Confederacy before 1798, territories jointly administered by several cantons. [1]
In the Old Swiss Confederacy, the common bailiwicks were "subject territories" (Untertanengebiete; paesi soggetti) belonging to multiple cantons, but never to all of them. [1] [2]
As "subject territories", the common bailiwicks were distinct from full members of the Confederacy, namely:
Within the "subject territories", the common bailiwicks were distinguished from:
In a narrower sense, only "subject territories" of at least three cantons are termed common bailiwicks, while those of two cantons are called "mediate bailiwicks". [1]
Less commonly, and somewhat inaccurately by analogy, the following are also termed common bailiwicks:
Their administration was handled by each of these cantons in turn. This system was established after the conquest of Aargau in 1415, primarily for territories conquered simultaneously by multiple cantons. [1]
The "German bailiwicks" (Deutsche Gemeine Vogteien) were bailiwicks located in Aargau or eastern Switzerland resulting from conflicts between the Confederacy and the House of Habsburg. Arising from conquests undertaken in joint military operations by several cantons, they laid the foundation for this type of administration in the Confederacy. [1]
In general, the German bailiwicks were initially governed by the eight members of the Eight Cantons, except Bern. The cantons of Fribourg, Solothurn, Basel, and Schaffhausen, which joined the Confederacy later, were not represented. After the Second Battle of Villmergen, Bern joined the administration of these bailiwicks; Bern, Glarus, and Zürich, being Reformed or parity cantons, then excluded the Catholic cantons from managing the Lower Freie Ämter and the Bailiwick of Baden. [1]
The German bailiwicks were:
The Italian bailiwicks [7] (also called "ultramontane bailiwicks"; Ennetbergische Vogteien; Baliaggi Ultramontani) were territories located in the current canton of Ticino. Their incorporation into the Confederacy dates from the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century, at the expense of the Duchy of Milan, during the Italian Wars. [8] Swiss incursions into the region began as early as the beginning of the 15th century, when the cantons of Uri and Obwalden invaded the north of the current canton of Ticino (just south of Uri territory), but these territories were lost in 1422 after the Battle of Arbedo. Uri, however, conquered the Leventina Valley between 1439 and 1441. [9]
The first three bailiwicks were conquered by the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Nidwalden at the end of the 15th century; Swiss acquisitions were formalized in 1503 by the Treaty of Arona: [10] [11]
The other four Italian bailiwicks were conquered in 1512 and administered by the twelve cantons of the time (the thirteen cantons, except Appenzell, which joined the Confederacy the following year). [7] Swiss domination over these territories was confirmed by the Peace of Fribourg: [14]
Three other bailiwicks were temporarily conquered at the same time but lost after the Peace of Fribourg in 1516 and now form municipalities in Lombardy, Italy: [18] [19]
At the same time, the Three Leagues of the Grisons, allies of the Confederacy, seized the bailiwicks of Bormio, Chiavenna, and the Valtellina. [8]
After the Peace of Fribourg, the southern borders of the Old Confederacy remained unchanged until 1798. [8] With the creation of the Helvetic Republic, the bailiwicks of Bellinzona, Riviera, and Blenio, together with Leventina, formed the Canton of Bellinzona [21] and the bailiwicks of Lugano, Locarno, Vallemaggia, and Mendrisio formed the Canton of Lugano. [15] These two cantons were merged in 1803 after the Act of Mediation to form the Canton of Ticino. [21] [15]
Other regions of Switzerland also formed common bailiwicks, but only between two cantons. [1]
The bailiwick system was used similarly in the two confederations allied with the Swiss Confederacy. The Seven Tithings administered the Lower Valais and the Lötschental in the manner of bailiwicks, just as the Three Leagues did in the Valtellina, at Bormio and at Chiavenna. [1]
