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.
