Simplon () was a department of the

First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

. It was named after the

Simplon Pass The Simplon Pass (; ; ; ; ; ) is a high mountain pass between the Pennine Alps and the Lepontine Alps in Switzerland. It connects Brig, Switzerland, Brig in the canton of Valais with Domodossola in Piedmont (Italy). The pass itself and the villag ...

(). It was formed in 1810, when the Republic of Valais was annexed by France. Its territory corresponded with that of the present-day

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

canton of

Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...

. The

chef-lieu An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...

of the department was Sion. The department was subdivided into the following three

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, and certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissem ...

s and

cantons A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, th ...

:Almanach Impérial an bissextil MDCCCXII
p. 469-470, accessed in Gallica 31 July 2013 * Sion: Hérémence, Loèche, Sierre and Sion. * Brigue: Brigue, Conches, Mœrel, Rarogne and Viège. * Saint-Maurice: Entremont,

Martigny Martigny (; , ; ) is the capital city of the district of Martigny (district), Martigny, cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Valais, Valais, Switzerland. It lies at an elevation of , and its population is approximately 20,000 inhabitants ( ...

, Monthey and Saint-Maurice. After the final defeat of

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

in 1815, the department was admitted to the

Swiss Confederation Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerlan ...

and became the

canton of Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...

Creation

The department was created by Article 2 of the decree of 12 November 1810, reuniting the Valais to the French Empire. This decree is written as follows: :NAPOLEON, EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH, KING OF ITALY, PROTECTOR OF THE CONFEDERATION OF THE RHINE, MEDIATOR OF THE SWISS CONFEDERATION: :Considering that the Simplon Road, which unites the Empire to our Kingdom of Italy, is useful to more than sixty million men; that it cost our treasures in France and Italy more than eighteen million, an expense which would become useless if commerce could find there no convenience and perfect security; :That the Valais did not fulfill any of the engagements it had contracted when we had the work begun to open this great communication; :Wanting moreover to put an end to the anarchy which afflicts this country, and to cut short the abusive pretensions of sovereignty of a part of the population on the other, :We have decreed and ordered, decree and order the following: :FIRST ARTICLE. - The Valais is reunited to the Empire. :ART. 2. - This territory will form a department under the name of Department of Simplon. :ART. 3. - This department will be part of the seventh military division. :ART. 4. - It will be taken possession, without delay, on our behalf, and a general commissioner will be in charge of administering it throughout the rest of this year. :ART. 5. - All our ministers will be charged with the execution of this decree. :Signed: Napoleon :By the Emperor: The Minister Secretary of State, :Signed: Hugues-Bernard Maret, Duke of Bassano This decree was confirmed by the organic senatus-consulte of 13 December 1810. This senatus-consulte is written as follows: :FIRST ARTICLE. - The Valais is reunited to the territory of the French Empire. :ART. 2. - It will form a department under the name of Department of Simplon. :ART. 3. - The department of Simplon will have a deputy in the Legislative Body. - This deputy will be appointed in 1811: he will be renewed in the year of the fourth series, to which the Department of Simplon will belong. :ART. 4. - The Department of Simplon will be the jurisdiction of the imperial court of Lyon.

Administration

Prefects

The

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

(''préfet'') was the highest state representative in the department. The holder of the office was also subprefect of Sion.

Secretary-general

The secretary-general was the deputy to the prefect.

Subprefect of Brigue

Subprefect of Saint-Maurice

Other officials

The Simplon was represented in the Empire's '' Corps Legislatif'' by Charles Emmanuel de Rivaz, a cousin of Isaac de Rivaz. The commander of the troops stationed in the department was

Étienne Félix d'Henin de Cuvillers Étienne Félix d'Henin de Cuvillers (1755–1841) was a French magnetizer and an early practitioner of mesmerism as a scientific discipline. He's best known for coining the term hypnotism. Hénin de Cuvillers was a follower of Franz Anton Mesmer ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simplon (Department) Former departments of France in Switzerland History of Valais States and territories established in 1810 1810 establishments in the First French Empire