The Congress of Vienna and the Age of Metternich, 1815-1848

1. Which European powers were primary responsible for the defeat of Napoleon?
   • Great Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia formed a Grand Alliance in 1813, and were primarily responsible for Napoleon's defeat.

2. What were these powers called?
   • The Grand Alliance, or the Great Powers.

3. After Napoleon's defeat, which two tasks did the European powers undertake?
   • First task was to make peace with France. Second task was to restore order and stability to the continent of Europe.

4. What did the First Peace of Paris (signed May 30, 1814) accomplish?
   • The allies negotiated peace with Louis XVIII. Allies restored Bourbon to France. The terms of the treaty were quite mild because allies feared that humiliated France might seek vengeance in the future. The treaty allowed France to keep January 1792 borders. Although it was larger than the frontier that existed before the French Revolution, in return, France gave up its colonies in Germany, Italy, and its Low Countries. France also didn't pay any reparations and was not required to return any art treasures that Napoleon had gathered.

5. When did the Congress of Vienna begin?
   • September of 1814

6. Who were the representatives of the major states?
   • Prussia – Prince Hardenburg

   • Russia – Alexander I

   • France – Prince Talleygrand

   • Great Britain – Foreign Secretary Viscount Catlereagh

   • Austria – Prince Clemens von Metternich

7. Of the people listed above, who was considered the most important? Why?
   • Most important person of all from Congress of Vienna was its host, Prince Clemens von Metternich. He worked for Austria's interest, but he was also successful in building enduring European peace. In fact, he worked as a moving force behind Vienna settlement, and dominated European affairs for the next three decades, also known as the Age of Metternich.

8. How was the crisis of Poland settled?
   • Although ancient Polish state had disappeared in 1795, Tasar Alexander proposed that he wanted to revive Poland as a constitutional monarchy with himself as hereditary monarch. Many countries including Great Britain and Austria disagreed, because Great Britain believed Russia gained too much power with this. The disagreement over Poland became a serious threat to the European peace. Talleygrand formed secret alliance with Great Britain, Austria, and France against Russia and Prussia. They purposely leaked the information. Russia and Prussia quickly restated their position and they reached a compromise. Russia got the greater part of the Duchy of Warsaw. Prussia and Austria both retained some of their Polish territory. Cracow was made free city. Prussia received almost half of Saxony, Swedish Pomerania, and some parts of the Rhineland, but King of Saxony retained two most important cities, Dresden and Leipzig.

9. What were some of the other significant territorial changes that the Congress of Vienna created?
   • Reestablished and guaranteed Switzerland's independence

   • Restored the Bourbons to the Spanish throne

   • Denounced the slave trade
     Austria

   • Surrendered Austrian Netherlands (Belgium) to newly independent Kingdom of Holland

   • Italian provinces of Lombary and Venetia

   • Territory on the east coast of Adriatic Sea and mountainous Tyrol

   • Northern Italian duchies of Parma, Modena, Lucca, and Tuscany came under indirect Austrian control
     Great Britain

   • Helgoland, Malta, the Cape Colony, Ceylon, Santa Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago

10. What ramification did the Hundred Days have on France?
    • Napoleon escaped from his exile on the Mediterranean island of Elba and regained power in France. The Hundred Days eventually ended with Napoleon's defeat. The original peace treaty was replaced with a new treaty, known as the Second Peace of Paris. It imposed much stiffer conditions on France. France was to surrender its territory in the north and east, which shrunk France's border to its size in 1789. They also had to pay 700 million francs in reparations, or payments for war damages, and was required to support army of occupation for at least 3 years. Most of Talleygrand's work had been undone.

11. What was the Holy Alliance? Who signed it? Who didn't?
    • Before Congress of Vienna closed in June 1815, Tsar Alexander of Russia proposed the Holy Alliance. He wanted all states to base their action upon Christian principle. France, Russia, Prussia and Austria signed it. Great Britain did not sign it because the representative thought it was stupid, and the Ottoman Empire didn't sign it because Islam is the dominant religion.

12. Who became members of the Quadruple Alliance?
    • Signed by Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia in Nov. 20 1815. Later became the Quintuple Alliance with the addition of France.

Interpretive Essay – Robert D. Billinger Jr.

The Congress of Vienna was a successful way to restore peace in the continent of Europe and brought stability to Europe and was a backbone of modern day Europe.