Republic of the Seven Tenths

Origins

The communities (Zenden) of the Upper Valais had long contested power with the prince-bishop of Sion. After decades of struggle, the Zenden forced Bishop Hildebrand Jost to abandon most of his temporal rights in 1628 and finally in 1634, and the Valais became a republic of seven tenths: Goms, Brig, Visp, Raron, Leuk, Sierre and Sion.

Rule and society

Sovereignty lay with the Diet (Landrat), in which each tenth sent delegates, while the bishop kept a largely honorary role. The republic was a Zugewandter Ort, an associate of the Old Swiss Confederacy, and governed the French-speaking Lower Valais as a subject territory. Its economy rested on Alpine farming and trade over the Simplon pass, dominated by families such as the Stockalper of Brig.

Decline and legacy

The Lower Valais rebelled in 1798 and French troops entered the country. Valais was incorporated into the Helvetic Republic in 1798, later becoming the Rhodanic Republic, a French department, and in 1815 a Swiss canton.