History of the Alps
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (March 2016) |
The
Currently the Alps are divided among eight countries: France, Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany and Slovenia. In 1991 the Alpine Convention was established to regulate this transnational area, whose area measures about 190,000 square kilometres (73,000 sq mi).
Early history (before 1200)
The Wildkirchli caves in the Appenzell Alps show traces of Neanderthal habitation (about 40,000 BCE). During the Würm glaciation (up to c. 11700 BP), the entire Alps were covered in ice.
Traces of
cultures. The mummy found on theThe earliest historical accounts date to the Roman period, mostly due to
Between 35 and 6 BC, the Alpine region was gradually integrated into the expanding Roman Empire. The contemporary monument Tropaeum Alpium in La Turbie celebrates the victory won by the Romans over 46 tribes in these mountains. The subsequent construction of roads over the Alpine passes first permitted southern and northern Roman settlements in the Alps to be connected, and eventually integrated the inhabitants of the Alps into the culture of the Empire. The upper Rhône Valley or Vallis Poenina fell to the Romans after a battle at Octodurus (Martigny) in 57 BC. Aosta was founded in 25 BC as Augusta Praetoria Salassorum in the former territory of the Salassi. Raetia was conquered in 15 BC.
With the division of the Roman Empire and the collapse of its Western part in the fourth and fifth centuries, power relations in the Alpine region reverted to their local dimensions. Often dioceses became important centres. While in Italy and Southern France, dioceses in the Western Alps were established early (beginning in the fourth century) and resulted in numerous small sees, in the
In the 7th century, much of the
The successive emigration and occupation of the Alpine region by the
Between 889 and 973, a community of Muslim raiders operating from their base of Fraxinetum, on the coast of Provence, blocked the Alpine passes to Christian travellers until their expulsion by Christian forces led by Arduin Glaber in 973, at which point transalpine trade was able to resume.[4][5]
Not until the final breakup of the
Later Medieval to Early Modern Era (1200 to 1900)
The French historian
The process of state formation in the Alps was driven by the proximity to focal areas of European conflicts such as in the
Until the late nineteenth century many Alpine valleys remained mainly shaped by agrarian and pastoral activities. Population growth favoured the intensification of land use and the spread of corn, potato and cheese production. The shorter growing season at higher altitudes did not seem to be an impediment until around 1700. Later, however, it became a major obstacle to the further intensification of agriculture, especially in comparison to the surrounding lowlands where land productivity increased rapidly. Inside the Alpine region there was a striking difference between the western and central parts, which were dominated by small farming establishments, and the eastern part, which were characterised by medium or big farms. Migration to the urbanised zones of the surrounding areas was already apparent before 1500 and was often temporary. In the Alps themselves, urbanisation was slow.[8]
Central Alps
In the Central Alps the chief event, on the northern side of the chain, is the gradual formation from 1291 to 1516 of the Swiss Confederacy, at least so far as regards the mountain cantons, and with especial reference to the independent confederations of the Grisons and the Valais, which only became full members of the Confederation in 1803 and 1815 respectively. The attraction of the south was too strong for both the Forest Cantons and the Grisons, so that both tried to secure, and actually did secure, various bits of the Milanese.
The
In the 15th century, the Forest Cantons won the
Western Alps
In the case of the Western Alps (excluding the part from the chain of
One turning-point in the rivalry was the
Eastern Alps
The Eastern Alps had been included in the
in bits from 1375 to 1523, not to speak of minor "rectifications" of frontiers on the northern slope of the Alps. But on the other slope their progress was slower, and finally less successful. It is true that they wonModern history (1900 to present)
Population
For the modern era it is possible to offer a quantitative estimate of the population of the Alpine region. Within the area delimited by the Alpine Convention, there were about 3.1 million inhabitants in 1500, 5.8 in 1800, 8.5 in 1900 and 13.9 in 2000.[9]
Sixteenth-century scholars, especially those from cities near the Alps, began to show a greater interest for the mountain phenomena. Their curiosity was also aroused by important questions of the genesis of the earth and the interpretation of the Bible. By the eighteenth century, a distinctive enthusiasm for nature and the Alps spread in European society. An example thereof is the famous multi-volume work "
During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries several important changes occurred. First, the Alpine population was now characterised by a particular
Economy
The economy showed many signs of change too. First of all, the
However, it was undoubtedly the service sector that experienced the most important new development within the Alpine economy: the rapid rise of tourism. The first phase was dominated by summertime visits and, by about 1850, the expansion of Alpine
. With a maximum elevation of only 549 metres above sea level, it is the first flat direct route through the Alpine barrier.In general, it is noteworthy that even if modern industry – tourism, the railway and later the highway system – represented opportunities for the Alps, complementing its traditional openness to new challenges, it also produced negative consequences, such as the human impact on the environment.
-
Brenner Pass Railway (1867), maximum elevation: 1,371 m
-
Fréjus Rail Tunnel (1871), maximum elevation: 1,338 m
-
Gotthard Rail Tunnel(1882), maximum elevation: 1,151 m
-
Simplon Tunnel (1906), maximum elevation: 705 m
-
Gotthard Base Tunnel (2016), maximum elevation: 549 m
Political history
Like other parts of Europe, the Alpine region was affected by the formation of the
After World War II, the Alps entered a new phase. At one and the same time, regional identities were reinforced and a common Alpine identity was constructed. A remarkable step was made in 1991 with the signing of the Alpine Convention between all Alpine countries and the European Union. This process was strengthened by the appearance of a new set of cultural values for the Alps. In the nineteenth century, there had been a tension between the romantic advocates of the "sacredness" of the Alpine peaks (such as John Ruskin), and modern mountain climbers (such as Leslie Stephen), who promoted the notion of the Alps as the "playground of Europe". In the twentieth century, the mountains acquired a clearly positive, iconic, status as places unsullied by undesirable urban influences such as pollution, noise and so on.[18]
Tourism and alpinism
The fascination that the Alps exerted on the British has to be related to the general increase in charm and appeal of this mountain range during the eighteenth century. Yet British particularities were involved as well. Traditionally, many Englishmen felt the attraction of the
The convergence of these phenomena granted to Alpine tourism a central position. It intensified from the middle of the nineteenth century onwards and, in spite of fluctuations, would never lose its importance. Railway companies, travel guides, travelogues and travel agents joined forces to make the Alps a prestigious tourist destination. With Thomas Cook in particular, the Alps appeared, as early as 1861, in the catalog of tourist offers and were instrumental in the establishment of a "truly international industry" of tourism. This industry developed the infrastructure: railway lines, hotels and other services such as casinos, promenades, improvements, and funiculars.[20]
The conquest of the Alps by British tourists was achieved along with their domestication and with the passionate participation of local, regional and national élites, be they political, economic or cultural. Leslie Stephen, in a best-selling book first published in 1871, defined the Alps as "the Playground of Europe". The book highlights the incredible success of the mountains but it also reflects the tensions that emerged among their visitors. There was a clash between the "real enthusiasts", sensitive to beauty, and the "flock of ordinary tourists" sticking to their customs and comforts.
During the twentieth century, then, the Alps were involved in the
Linguistic history
The Alps are at the crossroads of the French, Italian, German and
As a result of the complicated history of the Alpine region, the native language and the national feelings of the inhabitants do not always correspond to the current international borders. The
See also
References
- ^ Bryan Sykes, The Seven Daughters of Eve (2001)[page needed]
- ^ Philippe Della Casa (ed.): Prehistoric alpine environment, society, and economy, Bonn 1999; Pierre Bintz, Thierry Tillet: Migrations et gestions saisonnières des Alpes aux temps préhistoriques, in: Histoire des Alpes 3 (1998), pp. 91–105; Noël Coulet: Vom 13. bis 15. Jahrhundert: die Etablierung der provenzalischen Transhumanz, in: Histoire des Alpes 6 (2001), pp. 147–158.
- ^ See e.g. Jochen Martin (ed.), Atlas zur Kirchengeschichte. Die christlichen Kirchen in Geschichte und Gegenwart, Freiburg i. B. 1987.
- S2CID 162537404.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-08-11. Retrieved 2018-11-28.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Fernand Braudel: The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II, vol. 1, Berkeley 1995, quote p. 33.
- ^ Jean-François Bergier; Gauro Coppola (eds.): Vie di terra e d’acqua. Infrastrutture viarie e sistemi di relazioni in area alpina (secoli XIII-XVI), Bologna 2007.
- ^ See the thematic issues of Histoire des Alpes 3 (1998) and 5 (2000).
- ^ Jon Mathieu: History of the Alps 1500–1900. Environment, Development, and Society, Morgantown 2009, p. 34-35 (here converted to the area of the Alpine Convention); for the last figure see Alpine Convention: Report on the State of the Alps, Innsbruck 2007, p. 36 (national statistics from 1999 to 2005).
- ^ Bernard Debarbieux: La nomination au service de la territorialisation. Réflexions sur l'usage des terme ‚alpe’ et ‚montagne’, in: Le Monde alpin et rhodanien 25 (1997), pp. 227–241.
- ^ Luigi Lorenzetti, Raul Merzario, Il fuoco acceso. Famiglie e migrazioni alpine nell’Italia dell’età moderna, Rome 2005.
- ^ Werner Bätzing: Die Alpen. Entstehung und Gefährdung einer europäischen Kulturlandschaft, München 1991.
- ^ An important case study is Luca Mocarelli: La lavorazione del ferro nel Bresciano tra continuità e mutamento (1750–1914), in: Giovanni Luigi Fontana (ed.), Le vie dell’industrializzazione europea. Sistemi a confronto, Bologna 1997, pp. 721–760.
- ^ Andrea Bonoldi, Andrea Leonardi (eds.): Energia e sviluppo in area alpina. Secoli XIX e XX, Milan 2004.
- ^ Andrea Leonardi, Hans Heiss (eds.): Turismo e sviluppo in area alpina, Innsbruck 2003 and the issue on tourism and cultural change in Histoire des Alpes 4 (2004).
- ^ A survey in Stefano Maggi: Le ferrovie, Bologna 2008.
- ^ See e.g. Gianni Pieropan: Storia della grande guerra sul fronte italiano 1914–1918, Milan 2001.
- ^ See e.g. Enrico Camanni: La montagna descritta, in: Le cattedrali della terra, Milan 2000, pp. 160–165.
- ^ John Pemble, The Mediterranean passion. Victorians and Edwardians in the South, Oxford 2010.
- ^ Laurent Tissot, Naissance d’une industrie. Les Anglais et la Suisse au XIX siècle, Lausanne 2000.
Bibliography
- John W. Cole, Eric R. Wolf: ISBN 9780520216815.
- Histoire des Alpes – Storia delle Alpi – Geschichte der Alpen: annual journal of the International Society for Alpine History with French, Italian and German articles and English abstracts, Chronos Verlag, Zurich, from 1996, ISSN 1660-8070; online access on http://www.arc.usi.ch/labisalp or http://retro.seals.ch.
- Marco Bellabarba, Hannes Obermair, Hitomi Sato (eds): Communities and Conflicts in the Alps from the Late Middle Ages to Early Modernity. Il mulino – Duncker & Humblot, Bologna-Berlin 2015. ISBN 978-3-428-14821-9.
- Bergier, Jean-François: Pour une histoire des Alpes, Moyen Âge et Temps modernes. Ashgate, Aldershot UK 1997, ISBN 0-86078-653-6.
- Braudel, Fernand: The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II, 2. vols. University of California Press, Berkeley 1995 (first French edition 1949/66). ISBN 978-0-520-20308-2
- Cuaz, Marco: Le Alpi. Il mulino, Bologna 2005, ISBN 88-15-10535-2.
- Dictionnaire encyclopédique des Alpes, 2 vols. Glénat, Grenoble 2006, ISBN 2-7234-3527-Xand 2-7234-5073-2.
- Fontaine, Laurence: Pouvoir, identités et migrations dans les hautes vallées des Alpes occidentales (XVIIe-XVIIIe siècle). Presses Universitaires de Grenoble, Grenoble 2003. ISBN 2-7061-1100-3.
- Guichonnet, Paul (ed.): Histoire et Civilisation des Alpes, 2 vols. Editions Privat Toulouse and Payot Lausanne 1980, ISBN 2-7089-2372-2.
- Leonardi, Andrea; Hans Heiss (eds.): Tourismus und Entwicklung im Alpenraum, 18.-20. Jahrhundert. Studien-Verlag, Innsbruck 2003. ISBN 978-3-7065-1833-8.
- Lorenzetti, Luigi; Raul Merzario: Il fuoco acceso. Famiglie e migrazioni alpine nell’Italia d’età moderna. Donzelli editore, Rome 2005. ISBN 88-7989-987-2.
- Mathieu, Jon, The Alpine Region, EGO - European History Online, Mainz: Institute of European History, 2017, retrieved: March 8, 2021 (pdf).
- Mathieu, Jon: History of the Alps 1500–1900. Environment, Development, and Society. Translated by Matthew Vester. West Virginia University Press, Morgantown 2009 (first German edition 1998), ISBN 1-933202-34-3.
- Mathieu, Jon; Simona Boscani Leoni (eds.): Die Alpen! Zur europäischen Wahrnehmungsgeschichte seit der Renaissance. Peter Lang, Berne 2005, ISBN 3-03910-774-7.
- Reichler, Claude: La découverte des Alpes et la question du paysage. Georg Editeur, Geneva, ISBN 2-8257-0782-1.
- Tschofen, Bernhard: Berg, Kultur, Moderne. Volkskundliches aus den Alpen. Sonderzahl-Verlag, Vienna 1999. ISBN 3-85449-163-8.
- Viazzo, Pier Paolo: Upland communities. Environment, population and social structure in the Alps since the sixteenth century. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1989, ISBN 0-521-30663-9.
- Katharina Winckler: Die Alpen im Frühmittelalter: Die Geschichte eines Raumes in den Jahren 500 bis 800. Böhlau, Wien 2012, ISBN 978-3205787693; online access ont http://www.oapen.org/home