Summary
On September 1814, the Congress of Vienna began. All the powers of Europe
sent delegates to decide the issue of the day: the reorganization of the chaotic
Europe Napoleon's conquest had left behind.
The members of the Congress were all afraid of a strong France, so they created
strong border states. The Netherlands and the Italian Kingdom of Piedmont were
created to this end. Prussia got the left bank of the Rhine, while Austria took
territory in northern Italy, including Tuscany and Milan. In Naples, Murat
actually kept his throne for a while. The Bourbons were restored in Spain.
Restoring Germany to its previous status as the chaotic, fragmented Holy Roman
Empire served no one's purposes. Instead, the relatively large kingdoms of
Bavaria, Wurttemberg, and Saxony remained as Napoleon created them. However, no
unified Germany would emerge. Small states remained for now.
The future of Napoleon's Polish Grand Duchy of Warsaw remained the most
problematic issue. Alexander had desired over the territory for years, but
Austria and Prussia both had parts of the old Polish kingdom. The Prussians
entered an agreement with Russia, under which Russia would support Prussia's bid
for Saxony and Prussia would support Russia's bid for Poland; in addition,
Prussia would hand over its share of Poland to Russian. Metternich, however,
feared that Russia would become too powerful in this deal. To combat the
Russian-Prussian alliance, on January 3, 1815, Metternich, Castlereagh, and
Talleyrand signed a secret treaty agreeing to oppose the Prussians and
Russians. In the end, the Congress of Vienna created a small Poland
("Congress Poland") with Alexander installed as the king. With Russia satisfied,
Prussia lost its ally and only was able to get a minor piece of Saxony.
As these details were being ironed out in Vienna, another problem suddenly
arose. On March 1, 1815, Napoleon appeared in France, having escaped from
exile in Elba. Promising to return France to glory, Napoleon swept through the
country and raised an army. Louis XVIII quickly fled, and Napoleon made a
last-ditch effort at conquest in a period called the Hundred Days. The
Congress of Vienna was shocked, and immediately declared Napoleon an outlaw.
The Hundred Days came to climax and conclusion at the Battle of Waterloo,
where the British army under Wellington was joined by a revitalized Prussian
force under Blucher. Together, the British and the Prussians managed to
defeat Napoleon. A second Treaty of Paris was signed, and Napoleon was exiled
much farther away this time, to the island of Saint Helena in the South
Atlantic, were he lived out the last six years of his life. The four victorious
powers (Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia) agreed that no Bonaparte would ever
be allowed to rule France again. Even Murat, who previously had been left as
king of Naples, was now deposed and the Bourbon monarchy restored.
After the end of the Hundred Days, the finishing touches were put on the
Congress of Vienna. Czar Alexander I, still looking for a collective security
system that would prevent anyone from ever building such a large European empire
again, convinced most European nations to sign a Holy Alliance. Under the
terms of this agreement, which was taken seriously by few besides Alexander
himself, the nations promised to strive for the Christian virtues of charity and
peace.
Commentary
The Congress of Vienna was one of the most important international summits of
European history; it determined the future boundaries of Europe, boundaries that
still impact Europe today. The major powers of the day dominated negotiations,
sending their most eminent statesman. Austria sent Metternich, Britain sent
Castlereagh, Russia sent Alexander I himself, Prussia sent
Hardenberg, and France sent Talleyrand. Each had nation had its own
goals. Prussia wanted to enlarge its territory. Russia wanted Poland, but it
also wanted "collective security". And Austria and Britain simply wanted a
balance of power that would maintain stability and the
status quo in
Europe. Although the
French Revolution and
Napoleonic Rule spread the forces of modernization and change, the Congress of
Vienna, which determined the future of Europe beyond Napoleon, was dominated by
members of the old regime and aristocracy. Their hope was to design a political
landscape wherein no one power could dominate.
The secret Austrian-British-French alliance to stop Russia and Prussia from
combining to gain all of Poland and Saxony just shows how complicated the
negotiations were. Europe had just spent two decades dealing with the French
menace, and already, the anti-French coalition was split up, with Britain
actually allying with France! Still, despite the efforts to minimize Russian and
Prussian encroachment in Central Europe, both countries did manage to extend
their influence west through the Congress of Vienna.
The Congress of Vienna also to outlaw the Atlantic slave trade. All of the
major powers agreed to this, but only Britain actually did anything to stop the
trade, setting up an anti-slaving naval squadron.
For all the trouble France had caused, the Congress was remarkably mild towards
France, which basically got to keep its traditional, pre-Revolution boundaries.
The Congress also stopped potentially explosive issues from getting out of hand:
the Poland issue could have led to war or further hostility, but it was handled
with extreme care by a group of very capable diplomats. The Congress brilliantly
established long-term stability in Europe. True, there were some criticisms.
Nationalists were not always happy with the established borders that served to
maintain the balance of power rather than unifying a given group that shared the
same language and culture. Also, the stability the Congress created helped keep
reactionary regimes in power and may have slowed social progress, and much of
the years between
1815 and 1848 were animated by the
interaction of liberal and conservative ideals. But in all, the Congress of
Vienna was a success. It created enough powers of similar strength and
influence that none of them could go too far without being overwhelmed by a
coalition of the others. It mediated numerous tensions and conflicting interest
through peaceful negotiations. Furthermore, the Congress created so little hard
feeling and dispute that the whole of Europe did not all go to war at once for a
century. Not until
World War I broke out in 1914 did a
massive, Europe-wide conflict occur. In that sense, the Congress of Vienna was a
triumph of diplomacy.
