The Congress of Vienna
Class Notes
I. Nationalism:
a. What is it?: Extreme pride in one’s REGION or CULTURAL GROUP and NOT to a specific government leader/monarch
b. Countries Napoleon Conquers: France, Spain, Netherlands, Corsica, Italy, Poland (today), Switzerland, German states, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina
c. Napoleon spreads Nationalism across Europe (how): People in the regions that Napoleon conquers become LOYAL to their country or cultural group AND RESENT Napoleon because he tries to make these regions FRENCH and they do NOT WANT TO BE FRENCH
II. Balance of Power:
a. DEFINITION: Keeping all nations equal in power and NOT stronger than any other in the area (not letting one over-power another)
b. Containment of France AFTER Napoleon: (actions of the Congress)
1. France has STRONG GOVERNMENTS around them
2. French Conquered nations are made much stronger & independent
3. France has military restrictions placed upon it
4. Previous, LEGITIMATE rulers are re-instated in various countries (ex. Louis XVIII restored in France)
III. The Congress of Vienna:
a. When: 1814-1815
b. What is accomplished:
1. France is contained, not allowed to become too powerful
2. Legitimate rulers are put back in power
3. Europe, in general, becomes VERY CONSERVATIVE (against the ideals of the French Revolution)
4. Ideas of French Revolution are put on PAUSE – do NOT go away
c. Why does this take place:
1. To restore European leaders after Napoleon
2. Establish strong nations around France
3. People are wary of the ideals of French Revolution
IV. Klemens von Metternich (d. 1773-1859):
a. Prince of Austria – HIGHLY CONSERVATIVE
b. Leads the Congress of Vienna to REBUILD Europe following Napoleon’s reign
c. THE CONCERT OF EUROPE (Europe becomes very CONSERVATIVE):
1. 100 years of peace in Europe – no wars
2. Alliances are formed between nations to prevent future wars
3. Nations established by the Congress of Vienna become increasingly stronger
Klemens von Metternich (1773-1859)
Born in Coblenz, Germany, Metternich studied at Strasburg and Mainz and became Austrian foreign minister in 1809.
Prince von Metternich took a prominent part in the Congress of Vienna and dominated European politics from 1814 to 1848. He acted as the restorer of the 'Old Regime' and the reconstruction of Europe after the Napoleonic wars. To safeguard the balance of power Metternich formed a 'Holy Alliance' between the monarchies of Austria, Russia, Prussia and France to help ensure that a “Napoleon” would never happen to Europe again (Metternich is an extreme CONSERVATIVE).
After the fall of the imperial government in 1848, he fled to England, and in 1851 retired to his castle of Johannesberg on the Rhine.
Challenges to the Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference between ambassadors from the major powers in Europe that was chaired by the Austrian statesman Klemens von Metternich and held on the way to Vienna, Austria, from October 1, 1814, to June 9, 1815. Its purpose was to redraw the continent's political map after the defeat of Napoleonic France the previous spring. The discussions continued despite the ex-Emperor Napoleon I's return from exile and resumption of power in France in March 1815, and the Congress's Final Act was signed nine days before his final defeat at Waterloo on June 18, 1815. Technically, one might note that the "Congress of Vienna" never actually occurred, as the Congress never met in plenary session, with most of the discussions occurring in informal sessions among the Great Powers.
The Congress was concerned with determining the entire shape of Europe after the Napoleonic wars, with the exception of the terms of peace with France, which had already been decided by the Treaty of Paris, signed a few months earlier, on May 30, 1814.
The settlement at Vienna was weakened by various events, especially as Britain moved away from the “concert diplomacy” to adopt her usual role of balancing the powers of Europe by supporting the underdog
Spain (1820-1823)
· Revolutionaries forced the king to swear allegiance to the Spanish constitution of 1812
· Metternich wanted to quarantine Europe against this new infection of revolution
· Protocol of Troppau, a statement of collective security against revolution, was approved by the Great Powers
· French army invaded Spain, destroyed the revolutionaries, and returned Ferdinand VII to the throne
Latin America (1808-1823)
· Colonies felt ignored by Spain, saw opportunity with revolution in Spain in 1820
· Supported by US (Monroe Doctrine) and Britain (wanted to disrupt Spanish control of South American trade)
· Led to liberation of Venezuela, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Mexico
· Resulted in numerous border wars and ever-changing alliances in region
· End of European colonial empires in New World
Greece (1821-1830)
· Wanted independence from Ottoman Empire
· Had been occupied since the 15th century, but had managed to remain united by language and religion
· Led to desire for national independence, which can to a head with revolt in 1821 led by Alexander Ypsilanti
· Opposed by Great Powers, especially Metternich, who opposed all revolutions
· Many liberals in the world saw this as a just movement, since Greece was the home of classical learning
· 1827: Great Britain, France and Russia called on Turkey to accept an armistice; when it refused, the powers trapped and destroyed the Turkish fleet at Navarino
· Greece eventually declared independent in 1830
· A small nation had won its independence in a heroic war against a foreign empire
Russia (1825)
· As Russian army had driven Napoleon from Moscow to Paris, officers had learned about nationalism and liberalism
· When Alexander I died in 1825, question of whether Constantine or Nicholas would be heir
· Army officers (“Decembrists”) supported Constantine, who was thought to be more in favor of Constitution and liberal reform
· Quickly put down and Nicholas became unconditional and despotic Czar
France (July Revolution, 1830)
o Louis XVIII, the Bourbon put back on the French throne, was relatively moderate, but many of his royalist supporters wanted revenge for predations against their families during the revolution
o From 1820 onward there was more censorship, but things came to a head in 1830 when Louis' successor, Charles X, had himself crowned with almost medieval splendor at Reims, the coronation place of the absolutist monarchs of old.
o Charles openly professed his belief in divine rights of kings and an alliance of church and state, and followed up by gagging the press and limiting voting rights
§ Paris revolted and took to the barricades
§ Charles decided it would be healthier for him to abdicate and flee
§ This is called the July Revolution.
§ Government of Louis-Phillipe
§ Now the French knew what they did not want, the Bourbons and absolutism, but they did not know what they did want.
§ The liberals wanted a new Republic based on the republic of the French revolution, but that republic had created the Reign of Terror and so the very idea of republicanism was associated by many Frenchmen with violence and bloodshed
§ Thus the middle and upper classes wanted a constitutional monarchy, but not under the recalcitrant Bourbons
§ They prevailed, choosing a new king, Louis-Philippe, the so-called citizen-king, who was pro-bourgeois
§ His father had voted for the execution of Louis XVI and so he came to the people with excellent liberal credentials
§ He was presented to the adoring Parisian crowds by none other than the aged Lafayette himself.
§ The 1830 French revolution was socially conservative
§ The liberals who put Louis-Philippe in power showed little concern or sympathy with the plight of the lower classes whose concerns were economic in orientation, including job protection, better wages, shorter working hours, etc
§ Nor was this 1830 revolution provided for in the Congress system, where no change was to occur without the Big Five's approval
§ Metternich opposed it, but the French had demonstrated that a people could change their government and get away with it, a lesson others would learn later
§ Impact of July Revolution: sparked a wave of revolutions throughout Europe.
Belgium (1830)
§ Belgium had been merged with Holland in 1815, the upper classes of Belgium had never reconciled themselves to rule by a country with a different language, religion and economic life.
§ July Revolution inspired a revolt against Dutch rule in Brussels, led by students and industrial workers.
§ Dutch army defeated and forced to withdraw from Belgium by Franco-British fleet.
§ A national Congress wrote a liberal Belgian Constitution.
§ In 1839, the Great Powers declared the neutrality of Belgium.
Poland (1830-31)
§ Poland rose up against
§ Nicholas I crushed a nationalist uprising that challenged Russia’s historic domination of Poland
§ The Organic Statute of 1832 declared Poland to be an integral part of the Russian empire.
Italy (1831-32)
§ Northern Italy—Modena, Parma, and Papal States—saw outbreaks of liberal discontent.
§ Italian nationalists called unification.
§ Guiseppe Mazzini and his secret revolutionary society—Young Italy.
§ The Carbonari: secret nationalist societies advocated force to achieve national unification.
§ Austrian troops under Metternich’s enforcement of the Concert of Europe’s philosophy crushed the disorganized revolutionaries.
§ Italian Risorgimento (“resurgence” of the Italian spirit) continued—Mazzini’s dream.
Germany (1830-1833)
§ Carlsbad Decrees of 1819 had effectively restricted freedom throughout Germany.
§ The July Revolution inspired German university students and professors to lead street demonstrations that forced temporary granting of constitutions in several minor states.
§ Yet, liberal and nationalistic desires for German unification easily crushed by Metternich’s domination of the German Confederation (Bund), and his influence over Prussia.