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Europe After Napoleon’s Fall From Power: 1815-1848 The Congress of Vienna After countries of Europe had united to defeat Napoleon in 1814, they began the task of creating and maintaining peace throughout Europe. To accomplish this goal, the allies who had won the war against Napoleon held a conference in Vienna, Austria in 1814, called the Congress of Vienna. Duke of Wellington Hardenberg of Prussia Metternich Castlereagh of Britain Talleyrand of France These guys are the major players. Who are they? The victorious countries included : • Italy Spain • And the group that would come to be known as • The Great Powers: • Austria, Great Britain, Russia, and Prussia The Congress took 2 steps to stabilize Europe: #1) it distributed Napoleon’s conquests ( land the emperor had claimed for France ) among the European nations to produce a balance of power. #2) returned the monarchs to power, restoring the governments and values that had existed before the French Revolution. More Congress of Vienna After Napoleon’s defeat, the mood of the European countries at Vienna was conservative. To forestall any future European empire they reestablished a balance of power, which meant that they had to include France. They also included some defensive measures: Belgium and Holland were united in the Kingdom of the Netherlands as a bulwark in the north. Prussia (purple on the map) was given more territory on France’s eastern border, and a part of Saxony. Russia created a small kingdom of Poland. Sardinia received the area shown in yellow. The great powers agreed to meet regularly to prevent future wars through diplomacy. This "congress system" was successful for most of the 19th century. Congress’ 4 goals: • 1.) Containment: To maintain peace in Europe by strengthening the countries surrounding France. • They believed this would keep France from invading neighboring countries in Europe as it was done during Napoleon’s reign. 1 More goals… More Goals… • The great powers also had to make sure that no single country was stronger or weaker than any other European country. • #2: Compensation: They took lands from those countries that had helped Napoleon and gave land to those countries that had opposed him. And, France paid costs to the great powers. • #3) Balance of power: • France was not completely taken apart (to prevent France from seeking revenge) • Smaller countries were made larger • Each country agreed to defend the rights of the other monarchies and promised not to go to war. (to make sure peace lasted) • For example, Austria gained some of the newly created German Confederation of Sates, as well as some Italian territories. Poles were placed under Prussian and Russian rules. The Congress of Vienna was a reactionary gathering More goals… • #4) Legitimacy: By returning power to the rulers who had been conquered by Napoleon, political stability would be restored. • The Congress of Vienna put the old ruling families of: • France • The German States • Spain • And Italy • back on their thrones. Why was it reactionary? The congress returned the monarchs to power, restoring the governments and values that had existed before the French Revolution. The people react to the Congress of Vienna’s goals and steps: Unfortunately, the congress paid little attention to the feelings of those people who suddenly found themselves governed by a government they did not choose. Many of these people began experiencing feelings of nationalism. So, although the congress had redrawn the map for peace, it had also planted the seeds of future conflict. Monarchs Restored to Power There were four big powers represented at the Congress of Vienna Lord Castlereagh, foreign secretary of Great Britain, gained overseas countries Alexander I of Russia expanded his country’s borders Frederick William III of Prussia was also able to add to his country’s size But wait, there’s still two more guys you need to remember! Charles Maurice de Talleyrand of France survived both the French Revolution and the reign of Napoleon. He helped persuade the congress to restore the French monarchy, in the person of Louis XVIII. 2 Prince Klemens von Metternich was Austria’s chief minister. He was the dominant figure of the congress and was a believer in absolute monarchy. The Age of Metternich (1814-1848): He opposed liberalism and backed the reactionaries . Metternich System: • Prince Klemens von Metternich was considered the • most powerful leader at the conference • So dominant a figure, that the period 1814-1848 is often called the Age of Metternich. Metternich used secret police to suppress revolutionary groups and liberalism in his own country: this came to be known as the Metternich System. The Congress of Vienna scheduled regular meetings called: Austria The Concerts of Europe. Metternich used these meetings to suppress liberal ideas. Russia and Prussia favored the reactionary position, but Great Britain was sympathetic to people who wanted a representative government. OK, so as soon as there were four major players in the Quadruple Alliance Talleyrand, through skillful diplomacy, managed to make France a major player The four major powers at the Congress of Vienna were known as The Quadruple Alliance. They were: And… France joined and then the Russia Great Britain Prussia Compromise… France: It didn’t take long for the major powers to restore the French monarchy Louis XVIII managed to please both the royalists and liberals. To do so, he developed a compromise. So the Quadruple Alliance quickly became the Quintuple Alliance Unlike Louis, his brother, Charles X, was determined to be an absolute monarch. Needless to say, the French people didn’t put up with him for long! Louis Philippe became king. Pleased everyone kept Napoleonic Code (system of law that guaranteed the people many rights) kept Napoleon’s Bank of France (government supervised) kept a state-supported school system He was a liberal, and while he ended censorship and guaranteed citizens trial by jury… 3 …MORE Louis Philippe In the end, he really wasn’t that different from Charles X. He limited the right to vote to men who owned property and he kept tariffs (taxes on imported goods) high so French manufacturers could avoid competition and charge higher prices for their goods. And so, in 1848 the French people threw him out and declared the Second French Republic. Louis Napoleon Meanwhile in Great Britain England, in the 1830’s was ready for revolution. Working conditions for working people were terrible. People earned very little money, the price of food was high, products made in Great Britain were too expensive and the king and church continued to favor the needs of the rich over the poor. Luckily, the Parliament enacted reforms that addressed some of these problems and avoided revolution: Ironically, the man they chose to be president of the new republic was the nephew of Napoleon Some important reforms: 1824: British workers were allowed to form unions. 1832 (1st reform bill) : gave the middle class the right to vote for members in the House of Commons. Men only, …one more reform 1846: Parliament ended Corn Laws, thus reducing the price of bread. No reforms for suffragists Of course! 1833: slavery was abolished in the 1833: limited child British colonies labor in the textile industry Not until 1918 did Parliament finally grant suffrage to women over 30. Germany & Austria: Remember how powerful Metternich was at the Congress of Vienna? Well, that scheming rascal made sure Austria was given control over the confederation of 39 German states Metternich was able to maintain control because he had the support of the army However, by 1848 nationalistic groups in Austria and Germany were tired of the poor conditions that were imposed upon them and revolted Although the revolutions weren’t successful, they did lay the foundation for major social changes that would come in the future. Important changes after the unsuccessful revolution of 1848: • Metternich resigned. This left the emperor without a person who was wise enough to control the different groups within the empire. • The Austrian government put down the various nationalistic At least Austria got a leader, Francis Joseph, with a cool mustache revolts in its empire. The revolutionaries, however, only grew more and more angry at the Austrian emperor. They continued to work towards revolution. 4 The rise of Foreign Powers in Italy And in Greece… In Italy, Austria was in political control of the Italian states (who still couldn’t seem to unify themselves) What do you think the Italians wanted at this time? They wanted Unification and freedom! But, you guessed it…the attempted revolutions in 1848 were suppressed by the beloved Austrians! Why was this important? • First, it gave Greeks independence! • Second, it showed that the European powers could put their reactionary ideas aside and help a country gain its independence. • Liberals were happy, • and the nationalists everywhere hoped that they, too, could have a country of their own! In 1830; with the help of Britain, France and Russia, they were able to overthrow Turkey (the Turks) and declare independence! All the decisions made by the Congress lead up to: • Although most of the revolutions failed during this time, the common people did not give up their revolutionary ideas! • In their efforts at the Congress of Vienna to remake Europe like it had been before the French Revolution, the countries of the Quadruple Alliance had actually created a situation in Europe that would lead to revolutions and eventually… World War I 5