CONGRESS OF VIENNA1814-1815

CLEANING UP EUROPE AFTER NAPOLEON

‘The Dancing Congress’

So named for the diversionary tactics employed to placate minor powers, and for the manner in which alliances were created and broken amongst members.

Six total sessions leading to‘The Congress System’

Participants

• Prince Metternich of Austria

• Czar Alexander I of Russia

• Viscount Robert Castlereagh of England

• Bishop Charles Talleyrand of France

• Germany (Prussia) sent Prince von Hardenberg (of no real importance)

4 Goals

• Compensation• Legitimacy • Balance of Power • Avoidance of future

revolutions

Two Elements to the Congress• The first while Napoleon was still on

Elba

• This first meeting imposed no real penalties on France or its leadership

• Napoleon’s relatives were permitted to remain in power

• But, penalties were imposed on leaders and nations that had not abandoned Napoleon ‘soon enough’

Compensation

• Anything provided as a reward or payment for service

• Territory was the most notable (and acceptable) form of payment

Specifics• Austria is given Northern Italy• Prussia is awarded western German

territory• Russia is awarded Finland and (newly

formed) Poland• Dutch Republic is unified• Swiss are granted permanent neutrality• French border returned to 1789• British gained colonies and guarantee of

control of the seas

Legitimacy

• A determination of legally (or historically) constituted rule.

• Former ruling families are largely to be restored to power

• Joseph (King of Spain) and Louis Bonaparte (King of Holland) are removed from influence.

Restoration of The Bourbon

• 1814-1830

• Constitutional rather than absolute

• Increasing power of Catholic Church

• Pushed by Talleyrand – included just two figures (Louis XVIII and Charles X)

Louis XVIII• Grandson of Louis XV and

brother of Louis XVI – 3rd in line following two sons of Louis XVI

• Fled during Revolution – lived in Russia and England

• Named king in 1814 and tried to reverse some aspects of Revolution – led to 100 Days

• Ruled in moderate manner with a Parliament

1755-1824

Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich

• Practiced ‘diplomatic realism’• Feared German domination

of the continent• Saw himself as a liberal, but

argued that international stability was paramount

• Ousted during Revolutions of 1848

• Moved to England and Belgium before his death in Vienna

1773-1859

“Coachman of Europe”

Charles Maurice de Talleyrand

1754-1838

• A born aristocrat who worked for French governments from Louis XVI to The Revolution to Napoleon and beyond

• Appeared at The Congress of Vienna as a champion of the ‘smaller states’

• Focused on the concept of ‘legitimacy’

• Succeeded in making France an equal to the nations that had defeated it.

"Regimes may fall and fail, but I do not“

“The only thing you cannot do with a bayonet is sit on it.”

Balance of Power

• Ensures that no nation is stronger than any others in region

• Wanted to guarantee that France was surrounded by strong neighbors

• Holy Alliance of Russia, Prussia and Austria

Balance of Power - 2In Practice following 1815

• Concert of Europe – Russia, Prussia, Austria and Great Britain

• First European attempt at COLLECTIVE SECURITY (MUTUAL ASSISTANCE) – defensive alliance system

The Holy Alliance• Proposed by Alexander I• All actions of European nations should

be guided by justice, charity and peace in accordance with the teachings of Christianity

• Ignored by all but Russia – but signed by all

• Overshadowed by Quadruple Alliance (Austria, Prussia, Russia, Great Britain and France)

Criticism• Ignored Liberal and Nationalistic

tendencies

• Whig Party of England opposed many of the Congress decisions

• Liberal position argued that civil rights had been sacrificed for stability

Revolts Equal Threats to Metternichs’ System

• Two Sicilies (1820-21) – sought independence, repressed by Austria

• Spanish Civil War (1820-1823) – unsuccessful attempt to create liberal constitution. Halted by French intervention.

• Greece (1821) – against Turkey. Russia, France and Britain supported this effort. Greek independence was assured by 1827

• Belgian Revolt (1830) against the Netherlands leading to an independent and Roman Catholic state. French refuse to intervene.

Latin America

• Revolt against Spanish rule.• British refused to support European

intervention (British control of the seas essentially ensures the success of these revolutions)

• British sought greater trade opportunities in the region – will not support European nations in suppressing revolts

Undone by Industry

• The Industrial Revolution equals a fundamental change in economic circumstances that leads to political and social change.

• Equality of opportunity inherent in Industrial Revolution drives liberal thought and change

Legacy of the Congress(s)

• Failed to stop the spread of Nationalism (Italy and Germany)

• Saw Revolutionary concepts spread • But …. did maintain an effective Balance

of Power in Europe for next century (until World War I)

And …..Volksgeist• Originates with German philosopher

Johann Herder• It describes the intellectual and cultural

climate of an era.• Evolves from World View that it refers to

the framework of ideas and beliefs through which an individual interprets the world and interacts in it.

• Places importance on the ethos of a select group of people

Georg Hegel• He takes concept of Volksgeist and expands

discussion to origins of philosophy• Outlines Dialectic Progression …..• Thesis, Antithesis, and Synthesis (articulated by

Johann Gottlieb Fichte) • Based on Logic and Syllogism (All men are

mortal; Socrates is mortal; Socrates is a man – All mortal things die; Men are mortal; All men die)

• Borrowed by Engles and Marx

Influence of J.G. Herder

1744-1803

• Prussian student of Kant• Theologian, Literary Critic,

Government official• Influences Fichte who argues for

unique ‘German Identity’ …

Herder’s Philosophy ….Romanticism and German Nationalism both have their roots in Herder. 1784, published Ideas on the Philosophy of the History of Mankind, in which he suggested that every nation was different, and that every nation had its own particular specialty (of "genius").

He argues that Germany should not copy France, but pursue its own particular national genius and identity.

Herder invoked the Volk (the people) as the root of the true national culture and special nature (Volksgeist) which every nation should try to express.

Herder did not mean his ideas to apply only to Germany, but to all nations.

Romanticism• Reaction to Industrial Revolution• Opposed aristocratic social and political norms

of Age of Enlightenment (counter-Enlightenment)

• Linked to nationalism (folklore engenders ‘a national view’ – pushed by the Brothers Grimm collection of German tales)

Collapse• Redrawn boundaries eventually lead to

conflict between nations competing for territory

• Buffer zones are rarely successful

• Great Britain withdraws by 1822. Austria and Russia dissolve their alliance later that year.