Alsace and was bordered by the following states (from the north, clockwise): Imperial City of Colmar, County of Württemberg, the Austrian Breisgau, the Margraviate of Baden, the Imperial City of Basel, the Bishopric of Basel, the County of Württemberg (County of Montbéliard), the Duchy of Lorraine, the Abbacy of Murbach, and the Bishopric of Strasbourg (the Mundat). The Imperial City of Mulhouse formed an enclave surrounded by the Sundgau. The Reformation did not trouble Sundgau, despite the proximity of Basle and Mulhouse. The country maintained its fidelity to the religion of the Habsburgs, Catholicism. Commencing in 1632, the Thirty Years' War broke upon Sundgau, with a violence unprecedented in the history of the region. The Swedish, supported by France, invaded the country, pillaging and burning all in their path. In reaction, the inhabitants of the countryside revolted. But the rebellion was subdued, and the Swedes hanged the ringleaders from roadside trees. From 1634, the Swedes ceded their fortresses to the French, and in 1648 the war ended with the Treaty of Westphalia. The butcher's bill was disastrous – some parts of Sundgau had lost up to 80% of their population. The country, only German speaking at that time, was conquered and annexed by France, and in 1659, the counthood of Ferrette was granted to cardinal Mazarin (nominally by the then 21-year-old Louis XIV). France and Germany The beginning of the 18th century was a period of prosperity with the development of agriculture and the development of the textile industry. But economic and social conditions deteriorated in the second half of the century, with overpowering taxation, and occasional famines. In 1789, the repercussions of the French Revolution reached Sundgau, and many conflicts arose in the townships, mainly due to the unpopularity of the ruling classes. In 1790, Sundgau was included into the département of Haut-Rhin, and Altkirch became its principal town. Order was restored during the Consulate and the Empire. Little changed during the 19th century, agriculture remaining the principal economic activity, despite the establishment of industries such as the Gilardoni tileworks in 1835 and the construction of Xavier Jourdains' looms in Altkirch. As a result of the 1870 war, Sundgau returned to Germany. Economic development picked up, and the region opened up to the rest of Alsace, for want of trade with France. The battles of the First World War commenced in Sundgau in August 1914. The French blew up