Swiss economy to flourish as war ravaged neighbors bought food and equipment from the Confederacy. However, following the end of the war the German economy recovered and demand for Swiss exports dropped. Many Swiss peasants, who had raised mortgages during the boom at wartime, suddenly faced financial problems. For cities the war had brought both prosperity and new expenses. The cities required new defenses such as new bastions. During the war France and Spain had paid Pensions, the agreed sums in return for the cantons providing them with mercenary regiments. With the end of the war this money had to be replaced. Taxes were raised and new ones were created. Additionally, less valuable copper coins called Batzen were minted. The Batzen had, however, the same face value as the previously minted silver money. The population began hoarding the silver coins, and the cheap copper money that remained in circulation continually lost its purchasing power. At the end of the war, the population thus faced both a postwar depression and a high inflation, combined with high taxes. This financial crisis led to a series of tax revolts in several cantons of the Confederacy, for instance 1629–36 in Lucerne, 1641 in Bern, or 1645/46 in Zürich. The uprising in 1653 continued this series, but would take the conflict to an unprecedented level. In 1653, the largest uprising occurred as peasants of territories subject to Lucerne, Bern, Solothurn and Basel revolted because of currency devaluation. Although the authorities prevailed in this Swiss peasant war, they did pass some tax reforms and the incident in the long term prevented creation of an absolutist state, unlike many of the other states of Europe. The Confederation remained a decentralised and disorganised country during this era, torn by religious and political conflicts. In 1655, an attempt to create a central administration fell apart after the two proposers, Bern and Zürich, couldn't agree with each other. In 1656, a conflict over religious refugees from Schwyz who had fled to Zürich erupted in the First War of Villmergen. The Catholics were victorious and able to maintain their political dominance, and a treaty agreement that each canton would be totally independent with respect to religious matters. Around 1707 unrest erupted in the city of Geneva which continued throughout the early modern period. Additionally in 1707, the Toggenburg valley rebelled against the Prince-Abbot of St. Gall. Attempts by the Abbot to