Vienna Model United Nations Club

Vienna Model United Nations Club

STUDY GUIDE

May Session 2013

“The Congress of Vienna”
Historical Session

Europe 1789-1815 – What Happened?

In the 18th century, Europe was phasing through the Enlightenment, which was period of cultural movement of intellectuals. Its purpose was to reform society using reason, challenge ideas grounded in tradition and faith, and advance knowledge through the scientific method. The Enlightenment promoted scientific thought, skepticism and intellectual interchange and opposed superstition and abuses of power by the church and the state.

The French Empire, in the age of Enlightenment, was facing a period of hunger, war and misery, which resulted in the French Revolution, that lasted from 1789-1799. In 1793, King Louis XVI and his wife Maria Antoinette of Austria were being executed.

The massacre of the Monarchs and the population caused many worries among the rest of the European Nations.

In 1792, France declared war against its former ally, the Austrian Empire and its allies. The Prussians, the Netherlands, the Spanish, and the British joined the war all by 1794.

Although France was in turmoil due to the revolution and its political disorder and stagnation, the French were successful in gathering soldiers to fight the wars.

Due to the military brilliance of the French Generals, the revolutionist army claimed many victories over the allies, which resulted in Spain and Prussia to abandon the coalition, thus leaving only two great powers fighting, Austria and Britain.

After total civil unrest, political chaos, and the execution of the top French Revolutionary political leaders, including Maximilien de Robespierre, a constitution was created along with a bicameral legislature with a Directoire, a five-member council holding the executive powers of the country.

However, maladministration, corruption and unpopularity of the system within the civil society lead to the very tense situation again. The many riots and counter-revolutionary activities were suppressed by the army, which gained total power, thus resulting in the 1799 coup of 18 Brumaire, General Napoleon Bonaparte seized power. In 1804, he proclaimed himself Empereur (emperor).

With a major decrease of internal political conflicts, France was able to focus on its wars abroad. With Napoleon’s exceptional military strategies, Napoleon was successful in defeating Austria, Prussian, and Russian armies a lot of times, resulting in the defeat of the Austrians in 1809 and the Prussians in 1807 and a forced alliance with France, the Russian army faced almost total collapse and allied itself with Napoleon in 1807.

In order to reassure peace with France, the Austrian Emperor gave the had of his daughter, Marie Louise von Hapsburg, to Napoleon in marriage in 1810. In the following year she gave birth to Napoleon’s only son, Napoleon II, King of Rome.

Napoleon also invaded the Italian peninsula and clamming victory over all the Italian states, including the Papal States.

Napoleon attacked the Hibernian peninsula in 1806 with hopes to have a swift victory and secure the Spanish fleet in order to invade Britain. However, the Spanish surprised the French through with the new form of war coined guerrilla warfare, and the British were successful in defeating the French in the seas in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, making an invasion on Britain impossible. In result, Napoleon imposed a naval blockade on Britain, which hurt the British trade, but got nowhere close to Napoleon’s real intention.

In 1812, Napoleon invaded Russia and suffered a tremendous defeat. Due to battles, lack of supplies, sickness, and the devastating Russian winter, Napoleon’s army decrease from 500,000 soldiers to less than 40,000 which were able to return to France.

Napoleon abdicated after returning to Paris and was exiled to the Island of Alba off the cost of Tuscany under British watch.

The Congress of Vienna (1814-1815)

Today is February 1st 1815. The top European Leaders and chief diplomats gather in the capital city of the Austrian Empire, Vienna. The Congress of Vienna started on September 1st, 1814.

Key diplomats from all over Europe have been until now engaged in talks on finding the conflicts and creating the agenda for what to do with Europe now that Napoleon has been taken out of power and put in exile in the Island of Alba.

The agenda is as follows:

1. France will have to pay for all the damage and be punished by taking back the territories that were conquered by Napoleon.

2. Old Monarchies that were taken off power by Napoleon should be restored.

3. Should the European Map go back to how it was in 1790 or reshaped?

4. The fate of the German States:

Will the Holy Roman Empire be restored?

What to do with the newly created Rhine State?

5. Will Austria and Prussia regain their lost territories or gain even more land?

6. What German States should be restored? (There were over 300 German principalities before Napoleon)

7. The fate of the Italian States:

What Monarchies should be restored?

What states should be restored or created?

What to do with Papal States?

8. How can European powers prevent another war or major revolution of taking place? What to do with the rise of nationalism?

9. What to do with Napoleon now that he is in exile in the island of Alba?

Nations and Diplomats Present

The Congress of Vienna hosted monarchs and key diplomats from many aristocratic families and states; only aristocrats were able to participate. Althtough there were many states present, the five key representations that dominated the talks were:

· The Austrian Empire – “Host” – Represented by Prince Klemens von Metternich.

· The Russian Empire – Represented by Tsar Alexander I

· The Prussian Empire – Represented by Frederick William III

· The British Empire - Represented by Foreign Minister Viscount Castlereagh.

· The French Empire – Represented by Foreign Minister Charles Maurice de Tallyrand.

Other key states were also represented:

· Spain

· Portugal

· Sweden-Norway

· Denmark

· The Netherlands

· Switzerland

· The Papal States

· Republic of Genoa

· Bavaria

· Württemberg

· Hanover

· Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Changes of Europe

After the Napoleonic Wars, European leaders represented in the Congress of Vienna wanted everything to go back at how it was, however they were not aware of how Europe has changed since 1789.

Napoleon Bonaparte spread the ideas of the French Revolution in Europe and instituted in all of his conquered lands the Napoleonic Code, which promoted equality by forbidding privileges based on birth, allowing freedom of religion, and specifying that government jobs should go to the most qualified.

Once the previous monarchies regained their power after the fall of Napoleon, will the civil society accept their previous absolute monarchs?

With the Napoleonic Code and the reshape of Europe, countries like the Confederation of the Rhine and Kingdom of Italy were created and unified smaller states into one identity, which sparked nationalistic ideologies. Yet, even when those states were dismantled after the fall of Napoleon, nationalistic ideologies persisted in the minds of the common people.

Another key issue that was the spread through Europe due to the French Revolution was the question of Legitimacy. The concept of legitimacy varies mostly in two different views.

Those who are in the top of the social ladder view legitimacy as the divine right to rule (the blood line), and for those who are in the bottom of the social ladder, who have experienced the Enlightenment and the French Revolution, legitimacy is that “we the people, give you the power to be our leader.”

How Will the Committee Proceed

Prince Klemens von Metternich from Austria hosted the Congress of Vienna; therefore the chair will be representing the Austrian Empire.

The committee will follow simple procedures and will be entertaining moderated and un-moderated caucuses

No resolution is required, only treaties, which will typed and signed by the members present.