7/27/2019 Lesson 12 Reading and Writing

1/5

The Congress of Vienna..An Everlasting Peace?

General Winter proved to be too much for Napoleon. Napoleon hadunderestimated Russias size and geography, and did not count on theRussians to retreat as often as they did and wait for winter to arrive.

Additionally, Napoleon was unsuccessful in conquering Britain.Napoleon eventually had to split his army and military supplies intotwo halves, which resulted in his defeat. Afterwards, leaders in Europecame together to discuss the consequences ofNapoleons actions,and the future of the world.

The Treaty of Vienna ended the war with Napoleon. Leaders met inVienna Austria for ten months, to discuss the peace proposal. The maingoal of the Congress of Vienna was tocreate a lasting peace by establishing abalance of power in Europe. In this

system, no country would be strongerthan the other. In case a countrybecame too powerful, leaders from theother countries agreed to cometogether and put down that country.The leaders also agreed to put a limiton how large one countrys army andnavy could be. Another agreement coming out of the congress wasthe agreement to protect the monarchy. This meant that kings fromacross Europe would send troops and supplies to any European countryon the verge ofrevolution. Leaders hoped this would prevent future

revolutions and uprisings, and maintain (keep) a kings power.

The Congresss next actionincluded restoring (givingback) lands taken byNapoleon. All lands andcountries conquered byNapoleon had to bereturned to their original sizeand country. Additionally, theCongress of Vienna leaders

agreed to return a king totheir throne in eachEuropean country. Thisincluded France, as KingLouis XVIII became king ofFrance. Leaders also tookland away from France, andcreated new countries called

7/27/2019 Lesson 12 Reading and Writing

2/5

Belgium and The Netherlands. Leaders hoped these new smallcountries would serve as a barrier, and protect them from futureFrench invasions.

The Congress of Vienna also

wanted to punish France for theiractions. To start, they forcedsanctions (penalties) ontoFrance. France had to pay forwar-damages done to otherEuropean countries. If Francecould not pay these monthlysanctions, an interest chargewould be placed on themincreasing the money owed byFrance. Additionally, leaders

across Europe wanted to putFrench generals on trial for theiractions. These trials were done inother countries outside of France,which resulted in a guiltysentence for most Frenchgenerals. Lastly, Europeancountries sent a small security force into France to ensure that thepeople never rebelled again, and thatNapoleon would never be allowed to return to France. Napoleon wasbanished (sent to) a small island called Elba after the war. He tried

to return many times to France, but often, his attempts ended infailure and banishment back to Elba.

The Congress of Vienna came away with positive and negativeoutcomes; the most positive being the idea ofbalance of power.Europe would not see a war as large as the Napoleon wars until 1914,over a hundred years later. However, the people of France sufferedtremendously (a lot) for their actions.

Part 1 Answer the following question

1) A major goal of the Congress of Vienna was to

A) establish democratic governments in all European nationsB) create independent governments for Austria and Hungary

7/27/2019 Lesson 12 Reading and Writing

3/5

C) return Napoleon Bonaparte to powerD) maintain a balance of power in Europe

Part 2 Complete the chart below with at least five examples

Action taken by the Congress of Vienna Do you agreewith this action?

Why or why not?

Part 3 Do you agree with the outcomes of the Congress of Vienna?Why or why not? Will the Congress of Vienna peace terms keepeverlasting peace? Why or why not?

7/27/2019 Lesson 12 Reading and Writing

4/5

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

7/27/2019 Lesson 12 Reading and Writing

5/5