The Congress of Vienna

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The Congress of Vienna

• The beginning of the 100 years peace.

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Napoleon, as we remember faced defeat a year
after he retreated from Russia (1813).
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He was placed on the island of Elbahopefully for
goodand Europes leaders prepared to turn back
the clock
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The Bourbons were restored to the various thrones
of Europein France, the now old brother of the
executed Louis XVI, Louis XVIII was king.
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The leaders of Europe decided to meet in Vienna,
for a Peace conference.
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This international meeting was called a
Congress and history now calls this the
Congress of Vienna.
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The Congress had many goals. The first was
LEGITIMACY

• Only rulers from families before the French
  Revolution should be put back on the throne.
• Napoleons brothers were removed from Holland and
  Spain
• In France, Louis XVIII accepted the throne, with
  a constitution that limited his powers and
  promised equality.

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The second goal was redrawing the Map of Europe.
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Frances borders were reduced to those of
pre-revolutionary France (1789)
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The Confederation of the Rhine, as set up by
Napoleon, remained.
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Prussias borders were set.
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More of Poland was given to RussiaFinland was
also given to Russia.
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Italy remained a mix of Kingdoms, Republics and
the Papal States.
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The Third Goal was to preserve the Status Quoa
Latin word for the way things had always been.
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This third goal would be the hardest to
maintain.because the French Revolution and
Napoleonic reforms had given people a taste of
equality and freedom.
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Vienna was filled with diplomats from all
over---Castlereagh from England, Alexander I of
Russia, but the most important was Clemens Von
Metternich.
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Metternich was by far the most important leader.
He was the architect of the Congress.
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Even France was representedby the Marquis de
Talleyranda man who had survived the revolution
of 1789, was Napoleons foreign minister, and now
he represented Louis XVIIIquite a career!
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Of course, there were hundreds of other minor
princes, dukes, barons, and religious leaders all
meeting in Vienna. They went to party after
party. During the night they danced with great
beautiesbut during the day, they negotiated for
their separate countries.
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In the middle of the Congress of Viennajust when
everyone was enjoying themselves, Napoleon
escapes from Elba!
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The Congress continueswith the idea that
Napoleon will eventually be defeated. They send
the Duke of Wellington to assemble an army.
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After a 100 day in power, Napoleon is defeated at
Waterloo in Belgium.
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Louis XVIII comes back again, and the policies of
the Congress of Vienna are now in place.
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France was punished for Napoleons brief
takeover it had to give up land and over
700,000,000 francs to help pay for the costly
distraction of Waterloo.
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Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia all signed
a quadruple alliance.
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Alexander of Russia also proposed that there
should be a Holy Alliance among the Kings to
keep the peace.
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The Congress ended amidst promises to meet
regularly to deal with any conflicts that arose
in future congresses.
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In the next few years, congresses were held in
Aix la Chapelle in 1818, Troppau in 1820, and
Verona in 1822. These meetings or congresses,
as they were called, dealt with many issues. But
they had one goal in mind
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Keep the Peaceno more wholesale European Warfare!
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Of course, there will be wars during the
1800sbut they will not encompass all of Europe,
so, the Hundred Years Peace is an appropriate
title.
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There will be the Crimean War.
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There will be Italys Unification--
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Germany will experience the

• Danish-Prussian War
• Prussian Austrian War
• Franco Prussian War

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But after their wars, Germany will become a
united country.
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And Britain will experience the Boer War in its
South African regions.
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History dovetailed nicely when we realize that
widespread war does not break out again until
1914World War I.
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That is why the years 1814-1914 is called the
Hundred Years Peace.
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The Congress of Vienna, for that reason, might be
termed a successful peace conference.
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In the years to come, Metternich would suppress
any sign of revolutionhe used secret spies,
censored papers, and suppressed students.
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The Metternich system was adopted by other
countries. Their leaders supported spying,
informants, and suppression.
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The novel and film Les Miserables which you are
about to see takes place during this time.
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During the Age of Metternich, Europe also
underwent the beginning of a greater disruption
than any political revolution.it moved into
the might Industrial Revolution. Stay Tuned.