What nation is divided into twenty-six cantons, each of which was an independent state until 1848?

Zbeckabee

The twenty-six cantons of Switzerland are the states of the federal state of Switzerland. Historically and until the mid-19th century, each canton in the then-confederation was a sovereign state, with its own borders, army, and currency; the current federal structure was established in 1848. http://www.magicaljourneys.com/Switzerland/switzerland-interest-history.html Jan 16 11, 10:02 PM

great2beme

Interesting Fact: Jurassic Park was named after the Canton of Jura in Switzerland. Was in a quiz not that long ago. Jan 16 11, 10:16 PM

star_gazer

Actually, Jurassic Park is name after the geologic period of the same name. The Jurassic period name does comes from Switzerland. The chronostratigraphic term "Jurassic" is directly linked to the Swiss Jura Mountains. Alexander von Humboldt (*1769, † 1859) recognized the mainly limestone dominated mountain range of the Swiss Jura Mountains as a separate formation that was not at the time included in the established stratigraphic system defined by Abraham Gottlob Werner (* 1749, † 1817) and named it “Jurakalk” in 1795. The name “Jura” is derived from the celtic root “jor” which was Latinised into “juria”, meaning forest (i.e. “Jura” is forest mountains). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic Jan 16 11, 10:43 PM