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The __ consisted of representatives of all states that had fought Napoleon, and their real business was to __, which occurred on June 8, 1815. Upheaval was quieted as rulers sought to __ by reestablishing much of the __ to a Europe ravaged by war. Kings, landed aristocrats, and bureaucratic elites regained their control over __, and internationally the forces of __tried to maintain the status quo, some even using military force for internal affairs. The Western world was not the same. New ideas, like __and __, were too powerful, which led to revolts and revolutions. Old days were numbered.
- Congress of Vienna
- arrange a final peace settlement after almost a decade of war
- restore stability
- old order
- domestic governments
- conservatism
- liberalism
- nationalism
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The Conservative Order: 1815-1830
Response
Response to defeat of Napoleon was the desire to contain revolution and the revolutionary forces by restoring much of the old order.
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I. The Peace Settlement
Napoleon's enemies
- a. March 1814: Napoleon’s enemies—Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia—agreed to remain united, not only to defeat France but to keep the peace.
- i. After his defeat: Quadruple Alliance restored the Bourbon monarchy to France through Louis XVIII and agreed to meet at the Congress of Vienna for peace
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I. The Peace Settlement
Congress of Vienna
- i. Leader: Austrian foreign minister, Prince Klemens von Metternich
- Conceited and self-assured
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I. The Peace Settlement
The Principle of Legitimacy
- i. Metternich claimed to be guided at Vienna by principle of legitimacy
- ii. To reestablish peace and stability in Europe, he saw it necessary to restore legitimate monarchs who would preserve traditional institutions
- 1. Already done in France and Spain through Bourbons, and Italian states
- 2. Other places: principle of legitimacy ignored and dominated by higher power
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I. The Peace Settlement
Poland Treatment
- i. Congress’s treatment of Poland, to which Russia, Austria, and Prussia all laid claim, show this
- 1. Prussia and Austria kept some Polish territory
- a. A new, nomillay independent Polish kingdom, ¾ the size of Warsaw, was established, with the Romanov dynasty of Russia as its hereditary monarchs
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I. The Peace Settlement
Poland Independence
- i. Poland still allowed independent, but the kingdom’s foreign policy remained under Russian control
- 1. As compensations for the Polish lands it lost, Prussia received 2/5 of Saxony, the Westphalia, and the left bank of the Rhine.
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I. The Peace Settlement
Compensation of Austria
a. Austria was compensated for its loss of the Austrian Netherlands by being given control of two northern Italian provinces, Lombardy and Venetia
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I. The Peace Settlement
A New Balance of Power
- i. In making territorial arrangements, the diplomats at Vienna thought they formed a balance of power that would prevent any domination of Europe
- 1. Russian gains balanced by strengthening of Prussia and Austria
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I. The Peace Settlement
A New Balance of Power: France
- i. In France, which wasn’t weakened, it remained a great power
- 1. Fear that France might upset peace was so strong that conferees attempted to establish major defensive barriers against possible French expansion
- a. To north of France, they created new kingdom of Netherlands made of former Dutch Republic and Austrian Netherlands under King William of Orange
- b. To SE, Piedmont enlarged
- c. East: Prussia strengthened by gaining control of territory along east bank of Rhine
- d. British expected Prussia to be barrier against French expansion, but the Congress of Vienna also created new league of German states, the Germanic Confederation, to replace the Napoleonic Confederation of the Rhine
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I. The Peace Settlement
Napoleon's Escape
- i. Napoleon’s escape from Elba and his return to France for 100 days during Congress of Vienna delayed, but didn’t alter, negotiations
- 1. Decided to punish French for enthusiastic response to Napoleon’s return
- 2. France’s borders pushed back to those of 1790, and nation forced to pay indemnity and accept an army of occupation for five years
- ii. Order established by Congress of Vienna managed to avoid a general European conflict for almost a century
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