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In January 1798, the army of the French Republic crossed the frontier into the republican Swiss Confederation. The French did not stop at guaranteeing the freedom of the Pays de Vaud, but occupied the entire country. On 12 April 1798 a new constitution, based on the French Revolutionary model, was officially promulgated and created the Helvetic Republic. In spite of a native Swiss tradition of republicanism and freedom, the newly created unitary republic met with much popular resistance. The universalism of the French Revolutionary rhetoric and French ideas of liberty were not necessarily welcome throughout Europe even in Swiss republican and democratic enclaves. The Swiss case demonstrates that the French understandings of liberty were not the only option. The interaction between different political cultures, both based on ‘liberty’ or ‘freedom’, is examined with an eye to exploring different European understandings of republicanism, liberty and freedom. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]