Category: Modern Age

24. June 2020

Modern Age | Society

de en fr

The ‘emigration’ savings model

by Andrej Abplanalp

In the 19th century some Swiss villages provided sponsorship to enable poorer members of their community to emigrate, to stave off financial ruin for the village. An example from the Canton of Aargau shows that this emigration wasn’t always entirely voluntary.

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10. June 2020

Modern Age | Society

de en fr

Men should fight their natural urges

by Andrej Abplanalp

Onanism makes you infertile and sick. This idea expounded by a doctor from Lausanne spread rapidly in the 18th century, and persisted well into the 20th century.

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20. May 2020

Middle Ages | Politics

de en fr

Switzerland – a land of borders

by Bernhard Graf

Since ancient times, people’s everyday lives have been shaped by intangible dividing lines. Consciously or unconsciously, these boundaries are constantly being crossed.

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6. April 2020

Modern Age | Politics

de en fr

Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno

by Erika Hebeisen

The political slogan ‘One for all. All for one’ has gained new relevance during the coronavirus crisis. The motto has its roots in the early 16th century.

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27. March 2020

Modern Age | Culture

de en fr

The ‘kings’ of Geneva

by Christophe Vuilleumier

The Exercice de l’Arquebuse was a Geneva society which, until 1782, held a festival of marksmanship (Schützenfest) each year, which culminated in the crowning of a ‘king’. This king then ruled temporarily as monarch.

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