what is the congress of vienna

The immediate background was Napoleonic France’s defeat and surrender in May 1814, which brought an end to 23 years of nearly continuous war. Negotiations continued despite the outbreak of fighting triggered by Napoleon’s dramatic return from exile and resumption of power in France during the Hundred Days of March to July 1815.

Great powers

In a technical sense, the “Congress of Vienna” was not properly a congress: it never met in plenary session. Instead, most of the discussions occurred in informal, face-to-face sessions among the Great Powers of Austria, Britain, France, Russia, and sometimes Prussia, with limited or no participation by other delegates. On the other hand, the Congress was the first occasion in history where, on a continental scale, national representatives came together to formulate treaties instead of relying mostly on messages among the several capitals. The Congress of Vienna settlement formed the framework for European international politics until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.

Preliminaries

The Treaty of Chaumont in 1814 had reaffirmed decisions that had been made already and that would be ratified by the more important Congress of Vienna of 1814–15. They included the establishment of a confederated Germany, the division of Italy into independent states, the restoration of the Bourbon kings of Spain, and the enlargement of the Netherlands to include what in 1830 became modern Belgium.

Paris Agreement

The Treaty of Chaumont became the cornerstone of the European Alliance that formed the balance of power for decades. Other partial settlements had already occurred at the Treaty of Paris between France and the Sixth Coalition, and the Treaty of Kiel that covered issues raised regarding Scandinavia.

Participants

The Congress functioned through formal meetings such as working groups and official diplomatic functions.

Four Great Powers and Bourbon France

The Four Great Powers had previously formed the core of the Sixth Coalition. On the verge of Napoleon’s defeat they had outlined their common position in the Treaty of Chaumont (March 1814), and negotiated the Treaty of Paris (1814) with the Bourbons during their restoration:

• Austria was represented by Prince Metternich, the Foreign Minister, and by his deputy, Baron Johann von Wessenberg. As the Congress’s sessions were in Vienna, Emperor Francis was kept closely informed.
• The United Kingdom was represented first by its Foreign Secretary, Viscount Castlereagh; then by the Duke of Wellington, after Castlereagh’s return to England in February 1815.
• Tsar Alexander I controlled the Russian delegation which was formally led by the foreign minister, Count Karl Robert Nesselrode. The tsar had two main goals, to gain control of Poland and to promote the peaceful coexistence of European nations. He succeeded in forming the Holy Alliance (1815), based on monarchism and anti-secularism, and formed to combat any threat of revolution or republicanism.
•  King Frederick William III of Prussia was also in Vienna, playing his role behind the scenes.
•  Talleyrand had already negotiated the Treaty of Paris (1814) for Louis XVIII of France; the king, however, distrusted him and was also secretly negotiating with Metternich, by mail.

Delegates

Representatives began to arrive in Vienna toward the end of September 1814. All of Europe sent its most-important statesmen. Klemens, prince von Metternich, principal minister of Austria, represented his emperor, Francis II. Tsar Alexander I of Russia directed his own diplomacy. King Frederick William III of Prussia had Karl, prince von Hardenberg, as his principal minister.

Viscount Castlereagh

Great Britain was represented by its foreign minister, Viscount Castlereagh. When Castlereagh had to return to his parliamentary duties, the duke of Wellington replaced him, and Lord Clancarty was principal representative after the duke’s departure. The restored Louis XVIII of France sent Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand. Spain, Portugal, and Sweden had only men of moderate ability to represent them. Many of the rulers of the minor states of Europe put in an appearance. With them came a host of courtiers, secretaries, and ladies to enjoy the magnificent social life of the Austrian court.

Friedrich Gentz

Assisting Metternich as host, Friedrich Gentz played a vital role in the management of protocol and in the secretarial organization of the congress. The social side of the congress was, in fact, one of the causes of the long and unexpected delay in producing a result, for Metternich at least sometimes subordinated business to pleasure.

Procedure

The procedure of the congress was determined by the difficulty and complexity of the issues to be solved. First there was the problem of the organization of the congress, for which there was no precedent. Thus, the ministers of Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Great Britain assembled early for discussions and finally agreed, on September 22, 1814, that the “four” should be those to decide the future of all the conquered territories. They were then to communicate their decisions to France and Spain.

September 24

Such was the situation that Talleyrand found when he arrived on September 24. If any other body had rights in the matter, it was the group of powers—Austria, Great Britain, Prussia, Russia, Sweden, Spain, and Portugal—that had signed the 1814 Treaty of Paris with France (thus, the “eight”), which ended the Napoleonic Wars for the first time. The core four were much disturbed, knowing that the smaller powers would support Talleyrand if they gave him the chance of appealing to them. They had no intention of giving way, however, and refused to summon a meeting of all the representatives.

Four major land problems

Meanwhile, work proceeded without the sanction of the main body of plenipotentiaries. The “four” discussed the main territorial problems informally among themselves. The “eight” assumed the formal direction of the congress. It was that committee of five that was the real Congress of Vienna. Between January 7 and February 13, 1815, it settled the frontiers of all territories north of the Alps. And laid the foundations for the settlement of Italy. Meanwhile, the committee of eight dealt with more-general matters. The congress as a representative body of all Europe never met.

Conservative Order

The Conservative Order is a term applied to European political history after the defeat of Napoleon in 1815. From 1815 to 1830 a conscious program by conservative statesmen, including Metternich and Castlereagh. Was put in place to contain revolution and revolutionary forces by restoring old orders, particularly previous ruling aristocracies.

Britain, Prussia, Russia, and Austria renewed their commitment to prevent any restoration of Bonapartist power. And agreed to meet regularly in conferences to discuss their common interests. This period contains the time of the Holy Alliance, a military agreement. The Concert of Europe was the political framework that grew out of the Quadruple Alliance in November 1815.

Prince Klemens von Metternich

The goal of the conservatives at the Congress, led by Prince Klemens von Metternich of Austria, was to reestablish peace and stability in Europe. Metternich and the other four represented states sought to do this by restoring old ruling families. And creating buffer zones between major powers.

Concert of Europe

The Concert of Europe, also known as the Congress System or the Vienna System after the Congress of Vienna. Was a System of dispute resolution adopted by the major conservative powers of Europe to maintain their power, oppose revolutionary movements, weaken the forces of nationalism, and uphold the balance of power. It grew out of Congress of Vienna. It operated in Europe from the end of the Napoleonic Wars (1815) to the early 1820s.

Members of the Quartet

At first, the leading personalities of the system were British foreign secretary Lord Castlereagh, Austrian Chancellor Klemens von Metternich, and Tsar Alexander I of Russia. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord of France was largely responsible for quickly returning that country. Its place alongside the other major powers in international diplomacy.

Meetings of the great powers

The Concert of Europe had no written rules or permanent institutions. But at times of crisis any of the member countries could propose a conference. Meetings of the Great Powers during this period included. Aix-la-Chapelle (1818), Carlsbad (1819), Troppau (1820), Laibach (1821), Verona (1822), London (1832), and Berlin (1878).

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