The Ancien Régime History
Ancien régime: To understand your region and its present, it is sometimes good to delve into its past. However, there is no need to go back as far as the Paleolithic, “recent” history will suffice. So, we asked ourselves the question of what the Genevans ate and how they ate during what is commonly called “the Ancien Régime”? And first of all, when was it? Rewind.
The rich and powerful
When John Calvin arrived in Geneva, Switzerland was far from being the centralized confederation that we know today. It includes five rural cantons (Uri, Schwyz, Niedwald/Obwald, Glarus and Appenzell AI/AR), seven city cantons (Lucerne, Zurich, Bern, Fribourg, Solothurn, Basel, before its division, and Schaffhausen) and one mixed canton. (Zug).
The political system of Switzerland at the time was only democratic in name: the government was renewed between aristocrats, who shared power, and the people had no rights. This was the case for two and a half centuries – from 1536 to 1798 – a period commonly known as the Ancien Régime. 1789, revolution broke out in France, marking the end of the French Ancien Régime. Three years later, Geneva imitated its neighbor by proclaiming an edict (December 12, 1792) which established political equality for Genevans, whatever their class.
What about food?
The Revolution will inevitably also find its way onto the plate, although not in such a bloody way. Whatever the case, throughout the Ancien Régime, the man and woman of the street ate agricultural and regional food. For what ? Quite simply because transport is slow and expensive, and, in fact, food products rarely travel. And the great European fairs held in Geneva from the 13th century (only to disappear three centuries later in favor of Lyon in particular) only trade in luxury products – silks, spices, metals, weapons, skins – inaccessible to the common people. pecus. More regional fairs continued until the end of the 18th century , settling on the outskirts of the city, in Plainpalais for example, and offering local products.
Farmers
Consisting of soups, porridges, bread, vegetables and legumes, the diet of Genevan peasants hardly changed during the Ancien Régime, even if it varied according to the seasons and food shortages, during which they ate on dried fruits, acorns, beets and other roots. The end of the Ancien Régime marked the gradual arrival, in homes, of the vegetable garden, a brick stove which brought comfort into the kitchen by allowing the peasant woman to cook standing up. It’s the end of back pain and the beginning of cooking modes.
The people
The Renaissance (16th century ) brought its share of upheavals, particularly demographic ones. Cities began to expand and agriculture to transform. Meat production declined and grain cultivation increased, making bread the staple food of the working classes. During the Ancien Régime, most of the popular diet was barely richer than that of the peasants: bread baked in a public oven (houses rarely had an oven), soups or porridges, sometimes meat, reserved on special occasions because it is very expensive. As a reminder, during the famous night of the Escalade (December 11-12, 1602), the Mother Kingdom threw a pot on the head of a Savoyard which contained… soup (the exact composition of which we do not know ).
The bourgeois
Canned fruits and vegetables are appearing. We make pies and pâtés cooked “over the fire” in containers placed on the fire and whose hollow lid is filled with embers. “Large meat”, that of beef and cow, is not popular with delicate palates because cattle are beasts of burden and their tough flesh is eaten as porridge, a typical dish of the working classes. Thus, beef broth is served to hospital patients. Preference therefore goes to veal or mutton, which appears on the daily menu of the wealthy classes.
Very popular, poultry rubs shoulders with turkey, cheeses and pastries made with eggs and cream. Cooking is done with butter and seasonings are based on salt, herbs and spices. The rich are always better off than the poor and their meals are nutritious to say the least. Two examples: potted beef pâté contains, in addition to meat, beef fat, fresh butter, marrow, bread crumbs and chestnuts; pudding made from bread crumbs cooked in milk with egg yolks, raisins, sugar and butter. Yum.
Restrictions
Period documents attest that festive meals were served “French style”, that is to say in three stages. A habit probably inherited from the sumptuary laws in force in Europe from the 16th century . These laws aim to restrict overeating by prohibiting more than three “venues” (services) at banquets, each of which cannot contain more than four courses. The reasons are economic and budgetary, but also decency, offenders can be fined. John Calvin will apply them in Geneva by giving them a spiritual and moral dimension. They took the name “Sumptuary Ordinances” in the 17th century .
The Geneva Cook
During the 18th century , literacy spread at the same time as gastronomy developed. Coincidence? Even. Whatever the case, in 1798, at the end of the Ancien Régime, a book of a new genre was published: La Cuisinière genevoise , a recipe book “teaching the ways of preparing all kinds of meat, poultry, game, fish, vegetables, fruits, etc. (…) particularly for the use of young cooks (…) for slightly sophisticated meals, as for bourgeois tables.” Reissued several times, it collects nearly three centuries of culinary practices. There we find acidic or sour sauces made with bread crumbs and egg yolks, spicy dishes served to show off one’s richness at the end of the Middle Ages, dishes based on vegetables such as squash (equivalent to French pumpkin) or rebiolon (second growth of cabbages), and pastries like choumac (made with red wine, cinnamon and small grapes). The book also mentions more “18th century” sauces made from flour and butter.
The Ancien Régime in Switzerland refers to the period of early modern Swiss history between the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 and the French invasion of 1798.
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Ancien Régime in Switzerland
Ancien régimes Switzerland: During this time, Switzerland was a loose confederation of 13 cantons, each of which was governed by its own patrician elite. The cantons were largely independent, although they were bound together by a series of alliances.
Switzerland was a relatively prosperous country during the Ancien Régime. The economy was based on agriculture, trade, and mercenary service. The country was also a center of learning and culture.
However, the Ancien Régime was also a time of great inequality. The patrician elite enjoyed enormous wealth and power, while the common people were often poor and disenfranchised. This inequality led to a number of uprisings and rebellions, most notably the Swiss peasant war of 1653.
The Ancien Régime came to an end with the French invasion of 1798. The French revolutionary armies swept through Switzerland and established the Helvetic Republic, a centralized unitary state. The Helvetic Republic was unpopular with many Swiss, and it was overthrown in 1802.
Switzerland was then reorganized as the Act of Mediation in 1803. The Act of Mediation restored some of the cantons’ power and established a federal system of government. This system laid the foundation for modern Switzerland.
Here is a brief timeline of the Ancien Régime in Switzerland:
- 1648: Peace of Westphalia ends the Thirty Years’ War and formally recognizes Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire.
- 1653: Swiss peasant war breaks out against the patrician elite. The war is eventually put down, but it highlights the growing inequality in Switzerland.
- 1798: French invasion of Switzerland and establishment of the Helvetic Republic.
- 1802: Overthrow of the Helvetic Republic and establishment of the Act of Mediation. The Act of Mediation restores some of the cantons’ power and establishes a federal system of government.
The Ancien Régime was a complex and contradictory period in Swiss history. It was a time of prosperity and progress, but it was also a time of inequality and conflict. The Ancien Régime laid the foundation for modern Switzerland, but it also left behind a legacy of inequality that continues to be felt today.
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