The Congress of Vienna

Objectives Describe the political climate of Europe after Napoleon’s rule Understand how Metternich reestablished peace in Europe and created an era of no country-to-country war among the great powers Analyze the long term impact of the Congress of Vienna

Setting the Stage European heads of gov’t were seeking peace and long lasting stability Goal of a new European order: Collective security and stability for the entire continent Meetings in Vienna, Austria to discuss how to achieve this goal Known as the Congress of Vienna Lasted 8 months

Metternich’s Plan for Europe Most of the decisions made were done in secret among the 5 “great powers” Russia, Prussia, Austria, Great Britain, and France Most influential leader was Klemens won Metternich, Prince of Austria

Metternich’s Plan for Europe Metternich distrusted the democratic ideals of the French Rev. Argued that Napoleon’s actions were expected after an experiment with democracy Said the stability of laws were most important never their change Metternich’s 3 goals @ the Congress of Vienna Surround France w/ strong countries to prevent future French aggression Restore a balance of power ∴ no country would be a threat to the others Restore Europe’s royal families to their thrones

The Containment of France In order to make the weaker countries around France stronger the Congress: United the former Austrian Netherlands + Dutch Republic to form the Kingdom of the Netherlands 39 German states were loosely joined to create the German Confederation dominated by Austria Switzerland recognized as an independent nation Kingdom of Sardinia in Italy made stronger by the addition of Genoa

Balance of Power Although the leaders of Europe wanted to severely weaken France… If they punished France too much they might want to take revenge If they broke it up, another country might become so strong + threaten everyone So they did not want to leave France powerless ∴ they did not do much to punish France France remained a major power  but were weakened, still, overall No European nation could easily overpower another

Legitimacy The great power affirmed the concept of legitimacy  Restore to power the rulers that Napoleon took from their thrones Legitimacy: Hereditary right to monarchic rule Ruling families in France, Spain, and several states in Italy and Central Europe regained thrones Congress of Vienna believed that the return of the former monarchs would stabilize relations b/w nations

Success of the Congress of Vienna For the first time, nations of an entire continent worked together to control political affairs No country was left holding a grudge ∴ no nation would feel so undermined to be vulnerable to start a war Much more successful than other peace treaties Maintained peace for over 40 years among the great powers Agreed to come to each other’s aid in a case of a threat to peace

Political Changes Beyond Vienna Congress of Vienna was a victory for conservatives  restoration of monarchic rule Some important differences though: Britain and France had constitutional monarchies Gov’ts in Eastern + Central Europe were more conservative w/ absolute monarchies Russia, Prussia, Austria

Conservative Europe Rulers of Europe still very nervous about the legacy of the French Rev. Worried about the ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity  didn’t want them to spread The Holy Alliance (1815): Czar Alexander I (Russia), Emperor Francis I (Austria), + King Frederick William III (Prussia) signed an agreement aka the Holy Alliance. Pledged to base relations w/other countries on Christian principles to combat the forces of a revolution Concert of Europe: set of alliances that ensured nations would help one another if revolutions broke out

Revolutionary Ideals Still Spread Although gov’ts became more conservative, ideals of liberty and democracy still spread For example: France still deeply divided: Conservatives happy w/ reestablished monarchy Liberals wanted the king to share more power w/ the legislature This division was also apparent in many other countries and led directly to other revolutions later in the century

Long-Term Legacy of the Congress of Vienna Balance of power that lasted for 100 years Diminished the size of France and the power of Britain and Prussia increased Nationalism began to spread in Italy, Germany, Greece, These would eventually turn into revolutions inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution Democracy now a goal for many citizens under monarchic control