ABSTRACT
The 18th century, the period, that is, from the Peace of Utrecht to the outbreak of the French Revolution, is generally regarded as a period of calm in the foreign policy of Switzerland. The great intellectual achievements of a number of outstanding Swiss have cast over the whole epoch a splendour which may easily conjure up a picture of a life of untroubled contemplation. That would, however, be misleading, for the situation of Switzerland both at home and abroad. She certainly managed to keep the peace with her neighbours, but the northern outposts, Basle and Schaffhouse, were fully exposed to the repercussions of the central European wars of succession, and more than once Switzerland felt the covetous eyes of great neighbours fixed upon her. It took all the tried diplomatic skill of the old governments to maintain Swiss territory unaltered amid the ceaseless changes in Europe.
