republic · Germany and Central Europe
Canton of Basel
Origins
Basel was ruled by the Prince-Bishopric of Basel, but from the late 13th century the city council steadily acquired the bishop's rights, buying Kleinbasel across the Rhine in 1392, and by the end of the 14th century it was in effect a free city of the empire. It allied with the Confederates and in 1501 joined them as the eleventh canton.
Rule and society
A council in which the guilds dominated governed the city and its rural territory. The Council of Basel met there from 1431 to 1449, and the university, the oldest in Switzerland, was founded in 1460. Printers such as Johann Froben made Basel a centre of humanism, and Erasmus lived there. The city adopted the Reformed faith in 1529, and silk ribbons, trade and banking later enriched it.
Decline and legacy
Its guild oligarchy gave way in 1798 to the Helvetic Republic. Restored in 1803, the canton split in 1833 after civil conflict into Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft, which remain separate half-cantons.
Lineage
On the connections map
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- Canton of Basel was part of Old Swiss Confederacy1501 CE – 1798 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Canton of Basel. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/canton-of-basel
- MLA
- “Canton of Basel.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/canton-of-basel. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Canton of Basel.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/canton-of-basel.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Canton of Basel’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/canton-of-basel (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻