Download Congress of Vienna

H04 - 16
ABSOLUTISM: France – “Congress of Vienna”
10/25/2013
Name: ____________________________ Due: FRI. 15 NOV 2013 or _______________________
Homework: Absolutism: FRANCE – “Congress of Vienna”
Global History 2 H
Tonight’s assignment involves two (2) items:
- your textbook
- handout text
Congress of Vienna & Concert of Europe
- 1814 & 19th century
"balance of power" to pre-Napoleonic Europe
- attempt to restore
- monarchy is back
- in the end fails due to "nationalism"
Crimean War
- failed attempt by Russia to gain direct access to the Mediterreanean Sea
- attacked the Ottoman Empire (Turkey)
- Britain & France come to the Ottoman rescue
France 19th century
- time of chaos
- frequent changes in government
- Napoleon III
- coalition governments
- rights of the people
- universal suffrage (the right to vote) based on property
- emergence of middle class (shop owners)
- Industrial Revolution
INSTRUCTIONS: pages 624 - 625 .. Ch. 19 - Sect. 2 "The Congress of Vienna”
1. After Napoleon's FINAL defeat .. what did European rulers do?
2. What occurred .. from 1814 - 1815 ... at what place .. which nations met there .. and who was the
organizer?
3. What is CONSERVATISM?
4. What did the nations agree to do .. and why?
5. In order to do this .. what did the nations need ? ... and what ...ism is it called .. HINT: Begins with M
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H04 - 16
ABSOLUTISM: France – “Congress of Vienna”
10/25/2013
TEXT:
A = Austria
The Congress of Vienna was an international conference that was called in order to remake
Europe after the downfall of Napoleon I. Many territorial decisions had to be made in the
conference
that was held in Vienna, Austria, from September 1814 to June 1815.
- The main goal of the conference was to create a balance of power that would preserve the peace.
Important People:
Though the conference opened with a series of glittery balls and conferences, the delegates soon got down to
work. Mainly, the four major powers of Europe (Austria, Russia, Prussia, and Great Britain) were left to make
most of the big decisions. Austria was represented by Prince Klemens von Metternich, the Austrian minister of
state who was also acting president of the Congress. The Russians sent Alexander I, the emperor of Russia. The
main delegate from Prussia was Prince Karl August von Hardenberg, and Great Britain was represented by
Lord Castlereagh, and later Arthur Wellesley, the first duke of Wellingtom. This group of major powers decided
that France, Spain, and the smaller powers would have no say in important decisions. However, the French
diplomat, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, was successful in allowing France to have an equal voice in the
negotiations. Talleyrand became the deciding vote in many of the decisions.
Important Decisions:
- France was deprived of all territory conquered by Napoleon
- The Dutch Republic was united with the Austrian Netherlands to form a single kingdom of the Netherlands
under the House of Orange.
- Norway and Sweden were joined under a single ruler
- Switzerland was declared neutral
- Russia got Finland and effective control over the new kingdom of Poland
- Prussia was given much of Saxony and important parts of Westphalia and the Rhine Province.
- Austria was given back most of the territory it had lost and was also given land in Germany and Italy
- Britain got several strategic colonial territories, and they also gained control of the seas.
- France was restored under the rule of Louis XVIII.
- Spain was restored under Ferdinand VII
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H04 - 16
ABSOLUTISM: France – “Congress of Vienna”
10/25/2013
Outcomes of the meeting:
The GOAL of the congress was to reestablish a BALANCE OF POWER amongst the countries of Europe and
have peace between the nations. The Congress was highly successful in achieving its goal, for the peace in
Europe was left undisturbed for almost 40 years.
The delegates at the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) were motivated to a surprisingly large degree by the
desire to benefit Europe as a whole, and this is reflected in their purpose in calling the Congress together and
the settlement they reached. National interest was modified for the sake of the general interest of Europe.
The Congress of Vienna was held in order to draw up a plan to alter Europe politically and territorially so as to
prevent the extensive expansion of any one great power, such as that Napoleon had brought about. Creating a
balance of power among the powerful nations of Europe, reinstating conservative regimes, containing France
and reaching an agreement to cooperate with each other were the goals of the Congress which illustrated the
altruistic attitude of the national representatives present and supported the overall purpose of preventing
future widespread conflict.
Although the separate ambitions of the victors at the Congress to gain territory were mostly fueled by naked
self- interest, they were forced to compromise in order to establish a balance of power. Alexander I of Russia
felt the nation was owed all of Poland while Prussia had designs on Saxony. In the final settlement, however,
Russia had to share claim to Poland with Austria and Prussia, and Prussia received only half of Saxony with
additional territories in the Rhineland as compensation. In this way, national interest was modified for the
sake of maintaining the balance of power, which was in the general interest of Europe.
Besides the fact that the final settlement at the Congress of Vienna allotted the territory Napoleon had
conquered to the victors in such a way as to prevent any one of them from becoming too powerful, the spoils
were distributed in order to create a buffer against France. The Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed,
Prussia acquired part of the Rhineland, Switzerland regained independence and the right to neutrality and
Austria dominated Northern Italy according to the terms of the settlement, leaving France boxed in and
unable to assert itself. Due to the influence of Prince Talleyrand, France received no punishment more severe
than containment, and this benefited Europe in that it kept France from becoming too weak and destroying
the balance of power.
In addition to creating a balance of power and containing France, the final settlement at Vienna demonstrated
altruistic designs for Europe in that the Concert of Europe was organized. This was the first international group
to attempt to deal with European affairs, the main purpose of the Concert being to preserve the balance of
power and protect conservative governments from being overthrown.
The fact that the Congress of Vienna was conducted with the aim of preventing universal war, which led to
proposals of creating a balance of power, establishing "better" conservative governments, containing France
and cooperation between the great powers to meet these ends clearly demonstrates that the welfare of all of
Europe was a relevant concern. After much deliberation, the delegates succeeded in creating a final
settlement which adjusted the selfish goals of the individual nations to acquire large expanses of territory to
support the balance of power. The containment of France and the formation of the Concert of Europe were
two other aspects of the settlement which maintained the balance of power, thus promoting the good of
Europe.
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H04 - 16
ABSOLUTISM: France – “Congress of Vienna”
10/25/2013
QUESTIONS - short answer:
1. When did the Congress of Vienna convene/meet, and what was its purpose?
2. Where is Vienna, Austria located ... and state 5 major nations which attended the conference.
3. What were some of the goals of the Congress of Vienna?
4. What type of agreement did all the nations end up with?
5. Was France deprived of ALL the land conquered by Napoleon?
6. What was Austria's greatest fear when entering the Congress of Vienna?
7.Was it a good idea to bar France from the attending the Congress of Vienna? ...Why? Why not?
8. Was Britain there for the same reasons as the rest of the countries .. or did it have other goals in mind from
the outset? What were they?
9. Was Napoleon's sentence just?
10. Did the congress do a good job in setting up the "Concert of Europe" ?
11. Who represented France, what did he do, and would you consider this to be successful ?
12. Did the Congress of Vienna set up a rather equal balance of power in Europe?
13. Did the countries at the Congress of Vienna truly mean to stick to all their agreements?
The Concert of Europe was formulated in 1815 as a mechanism to enforce the decisions of the
Congress of Vienna. Composed of the Quadruple Alliance: Russia, Prussia, Austria, and Great Britain, its main
priorities were to establish a balance of power, thereby preserving the territorial status quo, and to protect
"legitimate" governments. Headed by Prince Metternich of Austria, the Concert of Europe was one of the first
serious attempts in modern times to establish an international society to maintain the peace. This made it a
significant event in world history, even though it only lasted for a few decades.
The Concert of Europe was successful in suppressing uprisings for constitutional governments in both Spain
and Italy in the respective years of 1820 and 1822. Crushing liberal forces in these two countries proved to be
positive as they enhanced the Concert's integrity by proving to the world that it had the muscle to uphold its
resolutions.
Britain Checks Out The first major roadblock for the Concert was their decision to intervene in Latin
American revolutions and Briatin's subsequent refusal to do so. Britain reasoned that it would lose trade profit
from the Spanish if the rebellions were ended, and thus from nationalistic interest refused to cooperate.
Fortuitously, the problem was solved by the United States' issue of the Monroe Doctrine in 1820, which
prevented any European nation from gaining control of Latin America.
Russia began to exercise her military strength during the Russo-Turkish Wars of 1828, and in 1831 when
Russia defended the Ottomans from Egyptian attack. The Ottoman Empire bountifully rewarded Russia with
the Treaty of Unikar-Skelessi in 1833, which gave Russia an advantageous access to the straits between
Bosporus and Dardanelles. The Concert was angered that Russia was permitted to use this area, and in an
effort to peaceably solve the problem and curtail Russian expansionism, held the Straits Convention of 1841.
The resolution of this meeting was that no foreign warships were to enter the Straits .
Impact of Nationalism In the 1840s, nationalism began to assert a strong hold among many European
countries, and the Concert was unable to stop the unifications of Germany and Italy. As these two countries
had shown, Europeans were filled with a new spirit of "real politics" that was strongly nationalistic and not
afraid to use force to accomplish their goals.
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H04 - 16
ABSOLUTISM: France – “Congress of Vienna”
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Crimean War
In 1853, Russia stopped believing in the "balance of powers" and made an expansionary thrust at the Ottoman
Empire. France and Britain, along with some aid from Sardinia, went to war with Russia in the flimsy hope of
preserving the balance of power, however, in doing so they ended up sacrificing the peace. The outbreak of
this Crimean War in 1853, signified the downfall of the Concert of Europe because the players/nations were
fighting against each other for national interests.
The Treaty of Paris reached in 1856, firmly centered the great burden imposed on the almost lifeless balance
of power. Russia was no longer allowed to have their battleships in the Black Sea or in the Straits, which left
Russia with a southern border in need of defense. Now Russia was at a disadvantage with the other powers in
the Concert of Europe, and no longer motivated to uphold its goals. Communication between the powers had
reached a complete stand-still; by the end of treaty negotiations, the goals of the Concert lay in shattered
remnants, and thus, the Concert's function became obsolete.
QUESTIONS.
14. When did the "Concert of Europe" occur ... and what was it in response to ?
15. Which nations belonged to ... and what was their collective goal ?
16. What did the United States do ... which would cause European nations to think twice before they got
involved in Latin America during the 19th century ?
17. What years are covered by the term "19th century" ?
18. What nation gained accessed to the Mediterranean Sea ... through which waterway ... and why was this a
problem for some European nations ?
19. By the way which person (Russian leader) had set Russia up .. so it could eventually do this ?
20. Which nation did Russia attack, why, why did the European nations respond,
and what "war" was this called ?
21. Where & when did this war take place ?
22. In the end what was the result of the Crimean War ?
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H04 - 16
ABSOLUTISM: France – “Congress of Vienna”
10/25/2013
QUESTIONS - multiple choice:
23. One of the main purposes of the Congress of Vienna (1814 - 1815) was to
(1) promote the unification of the Ottoman Empire
(2) preserve the German territories gained by Alexander the Great
(3) restore the power of the Holy Roman Empire
(4) establish a balance of power in Europe after the defeat of Napoleon
24. The main purpose of the Congress of Vienna was to
1. entertain European royalty.
2. restore the balance of power in Europe to pre-Napoleonic times.
3. develop an alliance system which would further the cause of European imperialism
4. unite Germany, Italy, and Serbia
“Congress of Vienna Restores Monarchy to France”
“Czar Nicholas I Limits Freedom of the Russian Press”
“Reform Movements Crushed in Hungary, Italy, and the German States”
25. These headlines could be described as
1. reactions to the French Revolution
2. movements to unify all of western Europe
3. efforts to improve the conditions of factory workers
4. attempts to promote trade between European nations
26. Napoleon's purpose in instituting the Continental System was to?:
A
defeat England through economic war.
B
consolidate the separate states of Germany.
C
unify Italy.
D
create a united Europe under the leadership of France.
E
punish Russia for his il-fated invasion.
27. The chief purpose of the Congress of Vienna was to?:
A
stimulate nationalism.
B
protect western Europe from autocratic Russia.
C
restore the Old Regime as far as possible.
D
preserve the basic reforms of the French Revolution.
E
make Poland an independent state.
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