Switzerland's Cold Winter

1845 was a terrible year for Switzerland. There was no snow in winter, floods plagued the entire year, and crops failed. Grain imported from Belgium brought with it Potato Late Blight, and by winter, the price of bread had risen by 1,000% compared to 1844.

People were forced to scavenge through trash heaps for anything edible, many relied on relief funds to survive, and the total number of deaths for the year was more than double the number of births.

Switzerland was once the center of the textile industry in Central Europe, but with the introduction of trade protectionist policies by various nations, the Swiss textile industry entered a deep freeze.

Due to Franz's intervention, the Austrian textile industry rose abruptly. Coupled with his control over cheap raw material sources, he dealt a dimensionality-reduction blow to the textile industry across the entire Central European region.

Industries like clockmaking and mechanical manufacturing suffered equally, especially after trade was opened with the Austrian Empire and France, leaving the domestic industry in a state of wailing.

A massive influx of foreign industrial goods, cheap to a terrifying degree, entered the Swiss market. Advanced agricultural tools introduced from Austria, while liberating labor, caused mass unemployment among the agricultural population.

At the same time, due to the profit-seeking nature of capital, a large amount of farmland was converted into pastures, further exacerbating this phenomenon.

Against this backdrop, the Swiss economy was far more fragile than it had been in history, and when natural disasters struck, both the Swiss government and its people found themselves at a loss.

Surrounded by powerful nations, Switzerland naturally dared not shift its conflicts onto the heads of strong powers like the Austrian Empire, France, or Prussia.

Consequently, the various Swiss cantons began imposing predatory tariffs on one another. Ticino utilized