The Congress of Vienna 1814-1815. After the fall of Napoleon in 1815 and the definitive end of the revolutionary era, European statesmen were determined.

The Congress of Vienna1814-1815

After the fall of Napoleon in 1815 and the definitive end of the revolutionary era, European statesmen were determined to restore old institutions that had been damaged by the French Revolution. We will focus on the extent to which this restoration was completed.

• How successful were these statesmen in turning back the clock to before 1789?• How frequently were these statesmen's efforts countered by revolutionary forces?

Restoration also involved the creation of an international system that would counter the threat of French power and French revolutionary ideas.

The great powers of Europe (Britain, Russia, Austria, and Prussia), who had struggled so hard and for so long against Napoleon were determined to contain France—which they saw not only as the most dangerous state in Europe, but also as the natural vehicle of revolution in Europe.

Congress of Vienna 1814-1815

WHAT TO DO?

YOU DECIDE…

Congress of Vienna 1814-1815

WHAT DID THEY DO?

Congress of Vienna 1814-1815

• Concerned about the spread of nationalism and ideas of the Rights of Man spread by the French Revolution, the victor nations met to discuss the future of Europe

• * Monarchs wished to keep hold of the power!

Congress of Vienna 1814-1815

• Austrian, Russian, Prussian, and British European heads of state and monarchs meet to:– Contain France– Balance the power– Keep the monarchs in place legitimately

• They hope by imposing a treaty on France and creating an international mechanism, the Concert of Europe, they could prevent future revolutions

In General…

In Detail…

They created a European territorial arrangement whose main aim was to restrain France.

The great powers also agreed to consult frequently on matters of common interest, thus launching the so-called "Congress system," which involved periodical congresses (or conferences).

Five “Great Powers” Meet:

• Prussia - Frederick Willhelm III

• Russia - Czar Alexander

• Austria - Klemens von Metternich

• Great Britain - Lord Castleraugh

• France – Tallyrand

They meet formally only once- to sign the final treaty which was negotiated by several smaller formal and informal gathering of the delegates

Vienna – Schonbrunn Palace

Absolutism grandeur

Within this system arose a coalition that sought to preserve Europe from revolution—the Holy Alliance, consisting of Russia, Austria, Prussia, and a number of smaller powers. This series of arrangements more or less kept the peace, preventing a major revolution until 1848 and a significant European war until 1853. Despite the enormous amount of force arrayed in defense of the status quo, this entire period was still characterized by violence and restlessness among revolutionary groups.

The Congress meets Sept 1814-June 1815 and there are lots of parties! Elaborate dinners, elegant balls, festive fireworks, and organized hunts. Aristocratic quests amuse themselves by trying to guess which of the maids and porters were spying for the Austrians.

A Spanish diplomat insisted his country should have rights to several smaller Italian states. This so irritated the quests that they invited him to go on a ballooning excursion, and sent him in the general direction of the Alps.

Five “Great Powers” Meet:

• They sign a pledge of mutual protection and a pledge to prevent future revolutionary ideas….it is called

The Holy Alliance (thanks to the Russian czar)

And it will hold until World War I

The Men in Particular…

Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand

• He served Napoleon with an uncanny survival instinct and he becomes the intermediary.

• He exploits tensions among the allies, especially b/w Prussia and Austria

• The powers agree to restore the Bourbons to the throne of France: Louis XVIII

• The allies might have asked Fr. to sign harsh treaty but they weren’t dealing with a defeated Napoleon but a restored monarchy whose throne they wanted to solidify against future liberal challenges within France

Klemens von Metternich

• Influential Austrian foreign minister

• Distrusted democracy• Plan to restore

Europe to what it was before the Fr Rev and Napoleon

Metternich

“When France sneezes,Europe catches a cold!“

What does this mean?

Metternich

He was a handsome dandy with immaculately powdered hair.

It is said he could bore people in 5 languages

But, he was a determined practitioner of tough minded diplomacy

HE WILL DOMINATE

Klemens von MetternichWants European rulers to

– Suppress any future revolutionary mov’ts quickly

– Ensure power lies with legitimate and traditional rulers

– Control the population through the press and strict laws

British Foreign Secretary Viscount Robert Castlereagh

– Painfully shy, aloof, and passionate about sheepherding

– British empire now includes 1 out of every 5 people in the world

– Wants to eliminate threat to British commercial interests- Russia in Central Europe and always, France

Russian Czar Alexander I

– He wants a religious basis to the alliance, lapses into occasional mysticism and is increasingly reactionary

– He writes the Holy Alliance and in its moral claims lay justification for repression by the allies of any liberal and national mov’ts in France.

Congress of Vienna’s 3 Goals

• Contain France– surround with stronger countries

• Balance of Power– weaken France, but not too severely– no one country too powerful

• Legitimacy– former monarchs restored

Concert of Europe

Alliance system

Nations would help each other if revolutions broke out

The Concert of Europe will be

tested again and again…

Conservatives or Royalists or Reactionary

• They are a political faction and they want to preserve the status quo

Liberals or Nationalists• They are a political faction and they want to

promote social change and individual freedoms. They want to preserve civil rights of citizens. This includes ethnic groups which is also a nationality. Some people even believed each ethnic group should have its own gov’t

Conservatives vs. Liberals

Which group would fall under which category?

Middle class

Nobles

City workers

Nationalists

Which of the following was NOT a result of the Congress of Vienna?

a. New political map of Europe

b. Increase in the power of Napoleon

c. New political philosophies

d. Restoration of European monarchies

Legitimacy- the principal that states that rulers who have been driven from the throne should be restored to power

France - Louis XVIII - returned to the throne of France

I do love legitimacy!

What were the political philosophies that the Congress of Vienna was determined to crush?

Congress of Vienna tries to prevent the spread of Revolutionary/Nationalistic ideas

There were failed revolutions popping up everywhere

Spain 1823 – The Holy Alliance crushed that revolution

Spain 1823 – King Ferdinand VII was placed on the throne and he immediately refused to recognize the liberal constitution of 1812

He imposed strict censorship, welcomed back the Jesuit orders and many nobles reclaimed land they lost in the Napoleonic era

Allies glad to have monarchy back on throne but Spain was weakened- as was its control over its empire. Beginning in Argentina, Simon Bolivar led rebellions and even by 1821 Spain recognizes Mexico’s independence.

They only have Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines left

Spain 1823 – Against that background a revolt broke out in Spain in 1820.

It was led by army officers, merchants, and lawyers.

Insurrections spread to Portugal and Italy

The Concert of Europe demands interventions. Austria, Prussia, and Russia (British Castlereagh suffered unpopularity and suicide; and perhaps blackmail over a sexual matter so Britain distances itself on this one)the French army takes to the field for 1st time since Waterloo.

It crossed the Pyrenees mts and took Madrid.

*US fears Concert of Europe may help Spain in LA so it issued the Monroe Doctrine which warns Europe away from its hemisphere

There were failed revolutions popping up everywhere

Italy – crushed

Hungary – crushed

Greece – crushed

Russia – the Decemberist revolt - crushed

But France….

But France….

The Bourbon Restoration and the Revolution of 1830

France….

The Bourbons return “in the baggage of the allies.”

Louis XVIII promulgates a Charter which essentially makes a constitutional monarchy that recognizes equality before the law and the Napoleonic Civil Code

It estb an assembly with Chamber of Deputies (elected in complicated two stage process based on extremely narrow electoral franchise) and a Chamber of Peers (appt by king for life)

France….

Louis XVIII dies, French politics are as convoluted as you might expect….

By 1830 Monarch Charles X promulgated the July Ordinances which shattered the principals of the Charter of 1814. Chamber of Deputies is dissolved, disenfranchisement of voters, newly restricted franchise, muzzled press, ordered new elections

France….

Louis XVIII dies, French politics are as convoluted as you might expect….

By 1830 Monarch Charles X promulgated the July Ordinances which shattered the principals of the Charter of 1814. Chamber of Deputies is dissolved, disenfranchisement of voters, newly restricted franchise, muzzled press, ordered new elections

France….

Election:Liberals want Louis-Philippe to be king. From the family of Orleans – jr branch of the royal Bourbon family –

Charles X abdicates

Louis Philippe become “King of French” and restores a revised version of the Charter.

France….

Louis Philippe is the “bourgeois monarchy”

Even though he is liberal he is accepted by other European powers.

Catholicism not official but there

Doubled enfranchised voters but still France is far from being a republic

Gov’t stimulates economic growth

England

England

1820-30s time of industrialization and poverty but there would be no true revolution in England

The landed elite, which dominated Parliament, supported by manufacturing interests, enacted reforms that diffused social and political tensions by bowing to middle class demands

England

By 1829 Catholics no longer restricted from office

Political liberalism = Whigs

Fearing when France sneezes, Europe catches a cold…England passes Reform Bill of 1832: * significant reform

lowered franchise requirement- 2x electorate

England

1833 Second Reform measure- limited child labor1833 abolished slave labor (in England)

1834 Poor Law- no longer rec’v assistance from churches but housed in “well-regulated” workhouses

EnglandRepeal of Corn Laws

Liberals want to repeal the Corn Laws which imposed a stiff tariff on imported wheat (yes, it was known as corn)

Laws protected landowners but hurt importers and other businessmen

Failed harvests in 1839-41 and Great Hunger/ potato famine in Ireland caused great depravation

Not to mention the popularity of laissez-faire economics. British manufacturers and spokesmen for the poor denounced the entrenched “bread-taxing” and “blood sucking” oligarchy

1846 Parliament repealed the Corn Laws

Conclusion

The Congress of Vienna and the Holy Alliance was

successful in keeping the status quo or balance of

power in Europeuntil World War I in 1914

Hello there! Now that you know all about the three

goals that Metternich had at the Congress of Vienna, we are going to play a

game!

Believed national groups should have their own states

People who have a common heritage and identify belong together

Intolerant of other ethnic groups

So, which -ismdescribes allof these ideas?

I will tell you a problem in Europe under

Napoleon, and you can tell me how Metternich

helped solve the problem!

I, Napoleon, brought a problem

to Europe.I overthrew all the kings, and placed

my own family members on the

throne!

The original monarchs are put back in office!

I also made another mistake. I was very

power-hungry and my fellow French citizens had strong feelings of

Nationalism. Many surrounding countries saw this as a threat!

Made countries around France that were once weaker…. Stronger!

Another problem of mine was that

France was looked at as a threat to other countries. They were always afraid I would go

and conquer them, and when I did, I

had ALL the power!

No country in Europe could easily overpower another!

One more review item:Which one of the following political

philosophies did NOT play a role in the Congress of Vienna?

a.Liberalismb. Conservatismc. Fascismd. nationalism

Thank you for playing! I hope

you had a FANTASTIC time!