ABSTRACT
As late as 1827, the Austrian minister in Switzerland felt able to assure his Chancellor that the internal condition of the country would remain unchanged unless subjected to some violent shock from the outside. The revolution of 1830 provided the shock. The July Revolution, however, affected Switzerland not only internally but externally also. Thus it was of the gravest import for her independence and neutrality, and that in three respects. Firstly, the Quadruple Alliance was broken; the French move towards England created something like a European equilibrium, a distribution of weight which agrees well with Swiss neutrality. Secondly, the national regeneration resulting from the revolution in France strengthened the self-confidence of the Confederation and Swiss national feeling. Last but not least, it was these impulses which inspired the liberal leaders and gave them great effective power. On the other hand, the European revolution had awakened hostility to neutrality in the Confederation itself, a danger which threatened its existence as seriously as the previous tutelage of the great Powers.
