Swabian War of 1499

(also Swiss War of 1499), a war begun in February 1499 by the Hapsburg Maximilian I—the Holy Roman emperor—and the Swabian League against the Swiss Confederation. The immediate cause of the war was the rejection by the Swiss of the decrees of the Diet of Worms of 1495 on implementing imperial reform. The reforms, which included the introduction of a common imperial tax and the creation of common imperial institutions, would have meant the de facto subordination of the Swiss Confederation, which had become essentially independent, to the empire. After the Swiss won victories at Schwaderloh on April 11, Frastanz on April 20, Calven on May 22, and Dornach on July 22, the Peace of Basel was concluded between the Swiss and the emperor on September 22. The treaty amounted to a recognition of Switzerland’s independence from the empire.