The Congress of Vienna / Concert of Europe 1815

The Concert of Europe 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.

Key Points

 As the Napoleonic Wars came to close in the second decade of the 19th century, the
Great Powers of Europe (Britain, Prussia, Russia and Austria) started planning for the
postwar world.
 To bring about a balance of power in Europe and prevent further conflict, they developed
what became known as the Concert of Europe, beginning with the Congress of Vienna.
 The Congress of Vienna dissolved the Napoleonic world and attempted to restore the
monarchies Napoleon had overthrown.
 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 between the several capitals.
 The Concert of Europe, despite later changes and diplomatic breakdowns a few decades
later, formed the basic framework for European international politics until the outbreak
of the First World War in 1914.

Congress of Vienna

As the four major European powers (Britain, Prussia, Russia, and Austria) opposing the
French Empire in the Napoleonic Wars saw Napoleon’s power collapsing in 1814, they started
planning for the postwar world. The Treaty of Chaumont of March 1814 reaffirmed decisions
that would be ratified by the more important Congress of Vienna of 1814–15.

The Congress of Vienna was the first of a series of international meetings that came to
be known as the Concert of Europe, an attempt to forge a peaceful balance of power in Europe.
It served as a model for later organizations such as the League of Nations in 1919 and the
United Nations in 1945. They included the establishment of a confederated Germany, the
division of French protectorates and annexations into independent states, the restoration of
the Bourbon kings of Spain, the enlargement of the Netherlands to include what in 1830
became modern Belgium, and the continuation of British subsidies to its allies.

The Treaty of Chaumont united the powers to defeat Napoleon and became the
cornerstone of the Concert of Europe, which formed the balance of power for the next two
decades. The basic tenet of the European balance of power is that no single European power
should be allowed to achieve hegemony over a substantial part of the continent and that this is
best curtailed by having a small number of ever-changing alliances contend for power.

The Congress of Vienna dissolved the Napoleonic world and attempted to restore the
monarchies Napoleon had overthrown, ushering in an era of reaction. Under the leadership of
Metternich, the prime minister of Austria (1809–48) and Lord Castlereagh, the foreign
minister of Great Britain (1812–22), the Congress set up a system to preserve the peace. Under
the Concert of Europe, the major European powers—Britain, Russia, Prussia, Austria, and (after
1818) France—pledged to meet regularly to resolve differences. The goal was not simply to
restore old boundaries but to resize the main powers so they could balance each other and
remain at peace. The leaders were conservatives with little use for republicanism or revolution,
both of which threatened to upset the status quo in Europe. This plan was the first of its kind in
European history and seemed to promise a way to collectively manage European affairs and
promote peace.

The Congress resolved the Polish–Saxon crisis at Vienna and the question of Greek
independence at Laibach. Three major European congresses took place. The Congress of Aix-
la-Chapelle (1818) ended the occupation of France. The others were meaningless as each
nation realized the Congresses were not to their advantage, as disputes were resolved with a
diminishing degree of effectiveness.

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
between the several capitals. The Congress of Vienna settlement, despite later changes, formed
the framework for European international politics until the outbreak of the First World War in
1914.

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.

The goal of the conservatives at the Congress, led by Prince Klemens von Metternich of
Austria, was to reestablish peace and stability in Europe. To accomplish this, a new balance of
power had to be established. Metternich and the other four represented states sought to do
this by restoring old ruling families and creating buffer zones between major powers. To
contain the still powerful French, the House of Orange-Nassau was put on the throne in the
Netherlands, which formerly comprised the Dutch Republic and the Austrian Netherlands
(Belgium). To the southeast of France, Piedmont (officially part of the kingdom of Sardinia) was
enlarged. The Bourbon dynasty was restored to France and Spain as well as a return of other
legitimate rulers to the Italian states. And to contain the Russian empire, Poland was divided up
between Austria, Prussia, and Russia.

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.

The Concert of Europe was founded by the powers of Austria, Prussia, the Russian
Empire, and the United Kingdom, who were the members of the Quadruple Alliance that
defeated Napoleon and his First French Empire. In time, France was established as a fifth
member of the Concert.

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).

Participants of the Congress

The leading participants of the Congress of Vienna were British foreign secretary Lord
Castlereagh, Austrian Chancellor Klemens von Metternich, and Tsar Alexander I of Russia, all
of whom had a reactionary, conservative vision for Europe after the Napoleonic Wars,
favoring stability and the status quo over liberal progress.

Key Points

 The objective of the Congress of Vienna was to provide a long-term peace plan for Europe
by settling critical issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic
Wars.
 The leading personalities of the Congress were British foreign secretary Lord Castlereagh,
Austrian Chancellor Klemens von Metternich, and Tsar Alexander I of Russia.
  These three leaders in the Congress are known for their conservatism, aimed at creating
lasting peace and maintaining the status quo and opposed to liberal progress and
nationalism.
 This conservative agenda has been heavily criticized by many historians who argue that it
stood in the way of progress and created the conditions for World War I.
 Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord of France was largely responsible for quickly
returning France to its place alongside the other major powers in international diplomacy
after their defeat in the Napoleonic Wars.
 Virtually every state in Europe had a delegation in Vienna – more than 200 states and
princely houses were represented at the Congress.

Major Participants of the Congress

The Congress functioned through formal meetings such as working groups and official
diplomatic functions; however, a large portion was conducted informally at salons, banquets,
and balls.Participants were;

AUSTIA, BRITAIN, RUSSIA, PRUSSIA & FRANCE

Initially, the representatives of the four victorious powers hoped to exclude the French
from serious participation in the negotiations, but Talleyrand skillfully managed to insert
himself into “her inner councils” in the first weeks of negotiations. He allied himself to a
Committee of Eight lesser powers (including Spain, Sweden, and Portugal) to control the
negotiations. Once Talleyrand was able to use this committee to make himself a part of the
inner negotiations, he then left it, once again abandoning his allies.

Congress Secretary Friedrich von Gentz reported, “The intervention of Talleyrand and
Labrador has hopelessly upset all our plans. Talleyrand protested against the procedure we
have adopted and soundly [be]rated us for two hours. It was a scene I shall never forget.”

Virtually every state in Europe had a delegation in Vienna – more than 200 states and
princely houses were represented at the Congress. In addition, there were representatives of
cities, corporations, religious organizations (for instance, abbeys), and special interest groups
(e.g. a delegation representing German publishers, demanding a copyright law and freedom of
the press). The Congress was noted for its lavish entertainment: according to a famous joke it
did not move, but danced.

Territorial Changes in Europe

The goal of the Congress of Vienna was not simply to restore old boundaries but to
resize the main powers so they could balance each other and remain at peace.
Key Points

 The Final Act, embodying all the separate treaties created at and around the Congress of
Vienna, was signed on June 9, 1815, ushering in major territorial changes to Europe to
create a balance of power between nations.
 France lost all of its territorial conquests from the Napoleonic Wars.
 Russia gained much of Poland, while Prussia added smaller German states in the west,
Swedish Pomerania, and 40% of the Kingdom of Saxony.
 The Congress created a Confederated Germany, a consolidation of the nearly 300 states
of the Holy Roman Empire (dissolved in 1806) into a much less complex system of 39
states.
 The Italian peninsula became a mere “geographical expression” divided into seven parts:
Lombardy-Venetia, Modena, Naples-Sicily, Parma, Piedmont-Sardinia, Tuscany, and the
Papal States under the control of different powers.

Key Terms

 Duchy: A country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess. The term is used
almost exclusively in Europe, where in the present day there is no sovereign duchy (i.e.
with the status of a nation state) left.
 Hundred Days: The period between Napoleon’s return from exile on the island of Elba to
Paris on March 20, 1815, and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on July 8, 1815, (a
period of 111 days). Napoleon returned during the Congress of Vienna. On March 13,
seven days before Napoleon reached Paris, the powers at the Congress of Vienna
declared him an outlaw. On March 25, Austria, Prussia, Russia, and the United Kingdom,
members of the Seventh Coalition, bound themselves to put 150,000 men each into the
field to end his rule. This set the stage for the last conflict in the Napoleonic Wars, the
defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, the restoration of the French monarchy for
the second time, and the permanent exile of Napoleon to the distant island of Saint
Helena, where he died in May 1821.
 Holy Roman Empire: A multi-ethnic complex of territories in central Europe that
developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806. The
largest territory of the empire after 962 was the Kingdom of Germany, though it also
came to include the Kingdom of Bohemia, the Kingdom of Burgundy, the Kingdom of
Italy, and numerous other territories.

France lost all its recent conquests, while Prussia, Austria, and Russia made major territorial
gains. Prussia added smaller German states in the west, Swedish Pomerania, and 40% of the
Kingdom of Saxony; Austria gained Venice and much of northern Italy. Russia gained parts of
Poland. The new Kingdom of the Netherlands had been created just months before and
included formerly Austrian territory that in 1830 became Belgium.
Territorial Changes

The Final Act, embodying all the separate treaties, was signed on June 9, 1815, (a few
days before the Battle of Waterloo).

The Congress’s principal results were the enlargements of Russia, which gained most of
the Duchy of Warsaw (Poland), and Prussia, which acquired the district of Poznań, Swedish
Pomerania, Westphalia, and the northern Rhineland. The consolidation of Germany from the
nearly 300 states of the Holy Roman Empire (dissolved in 1806) into a much less complex
system of 39 states (four of which were free cities) was confirmed. These states formed a loose
German Confederation under the leadership of Austria and Prussia.
The Congress also confirmed France’s loss of the territories annexed between 1795–1810,
which had already been settled by the Treaty of Paris.

Representatives at the Congress agreed to numerous other territorial changes. By the

Treaty of Kiel, Norway was ceded by the king of Denmark-Norway to the king of Sweden. This
sparked the nationalist movement which led to the establishment of the Kingdom of Norway on
May 17, 1814, and the subsequent personal union with Sweden. Austria gained Lombardy-
Venetia in Northern Italy, while much of the rest of North-Central Italy went to Habsburg
dynasties (the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Duchy of Modena, and the Duchy of Parma).

The Papal States were restored to the Pope. The Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia was
restored to its mainland possessions and gained control of the Republic of Genoa. In Southern
Italy, Napoleon’s brother-in-law, Joachim Murat, was originally allowed to retain his Kingdom of
Naples, but his support of Napoleon in the Hundred Days led to the restoration of the Bourbon
Ferdinand IV to the throne.

A large United Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed for the Prince of Orange,
including both the old United Provinces and the formerly Austrian-ruled territories in the
Southern Netherlands. Other, less important territorial adjustments included significant gains
for the German Kingdoms of Hanover (which gained East Frisia from Prussia and various other
territories in Northwest Germany) and Bavaria (which gained the Rhenish Palatinate and
territories in Franconia). The Duchy of Lauenburg was transferred from Hanover to Denmark,
and Prussia annexed Swedish Pomerania. Switzerland was enlarged and Swiss neutrality was
established. Swiss mercenaries had played a significant role in European wars for several
hundred years; the Congress intended to put a stop to these activities permanently.

During the wars, Portugal lost its town of Olivença to Spain and moved to have it
restored. Portugal is historically Britain’s oldest ally and with British support succeeded in
having the reincorporation of Olivença decreed in Article 105 of the Final Act, which stated that
the Congress “understood the occupation of Olivença to be illegal and recognized Portugal’s
rights.” Portugal ratified the Final Act in 1815 but Spain would not sign, and this became the
most important hold-out against the Congress of Vienna. Deciding in the end that it was better
to become part of Europe than to stand alone, Spain finally accepted the Treaty on May 7,
1817; however, Olivença and its surroundings were never returned to Portuguese control and
this question remains unresolved.

Great Britain received parts of the West Indies at the expense of the Netherlands and
Spain and kept the former Dutch colonies of Ceylon and the Cape Colony as well as Malta and
Heligoland. Under the Treaty of Paris, Britain obtained a protectorate over the United States of
the Ionian Islands and the Seychelles.

Diplomatic Consequences of the Congress of Vienna

Despite the efforts of the Great Powers of Europe to prevent conflict and war with the
Congress of Vienna, in many ways the Congress system failed by 1823. The rest of the 19th
century was marked by more revolutionary fervor, more war, and the rise of nationalism.

Key Terms

 Crimean War: A military conflict fought from October 1853 to March 1856 in which the
Russian Empire lost to an alliance of France, Britain, the Ottoman Empire, and Sardinia.
The immediate cause involved the rights of Christian minorities in the Holy Land, part of
the Ottoman Empire.
 Holy Alliance: A coalition created by the monarchist great powers of Russia, Austria, and
Prussia. It was created with the intention to restrain republicanism and secularism in
Europe in the wake of the devastating French Revolutionary Wars.
 Quadruple Alliance: A treaty signed in Paris on November 20, 1815, by the great powers
of United Kingdom, Austria, Prussia, and Russia. It renewed the use of the Congress
System, which advanced European international relations.

International Relations and Diplomacy

With the Concert of Europe, the territorial boundaries laid down at the Congress of
Vienna were maintained, and even more importantly there was an acceptance of the theme of
balance with no major aggression. Otherwise, the Congress system failed by 1823. In 1818 the
British decided not to become involved in continental issues that did not directly affect them.
They rejected the plan of Tsar Alexander I to suppress future revolutions. The Concert system
fell apart as the common goals of the Great Powers were replaced by growing political and
economic rivalries. Artz says the Congress of Verona in 1822 “marked the end.” There was no
Congress called to restore the old system during the great revolutionary upheavals of 1848,
which called for revision of the Congress of Vienna’s frontiers along national lines.

The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, People’s Spring,
Springtime of the Peoples, or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals
throughout Europe in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in European
history. These diverse revolutionary movements were in opposition to the conservative agenda
of the Congress of Vienna and marked a major challenge to its vision for a stable Europe.

The revolutions were essentially democratic in nature, with the aim of removing the old
feudal structures and creating independent national states. The revolutionary wave began in
France in February and immediately spread to most of Europe and parts of Latin America. Over
50 countries were affected, but with no coordination or cooperation between their respective
revolutionaries. According to Evans and von Strandmann (2000), some of the major
contributing factors were widespread dissatisfaction with political leadership, demands for
more participation in government and democracy, demands for freedom of press, demands
made by the working class, the upsurge of nationalism, and the regrouping of established
governmental forces.

The uprisings were led by shaky ad hoc coalitions of reformers, the middle classes, and
workers, which did not hold together for long. Tens of thousands of people were killed and
many more forced into exile. Significant lasting reforms included the abolition of serfdom in
Austria and Hungary, the end of absolute monarchy in Denmark, and the introduction of
parliamentary democracy in the Netherlands. The revolutions were most important in France,
the Netherlands, the states that would make up the German Empire in the late 19th and early
20th century, Italy, and the Austrian Empire.

Before 1850 Britain and France dominated Europe, but by the 1850s they had become
deeply concerned by the growing power of Russia and Prussia. The Crimean War of 1854–55
and the Italian War of 1859 shattered the relations among the Great Powers in Europe. Victory
over Napoleonic France left the British without any serious international rival, other than
perhaps Russia in central Asia.

The Crimean War (1853–56) was fought between Russia, who tried expanding its
influence in the Balkans, against an alliance of Great Britain, France, Sardinia, and the Ottoman
Empire. Russia was defeated.

In 1851, France under Napoleon III compelled the Ottoman government to recognize it
as the protector of Christian sites in the Holy Land. Russia denounced this claim, since it claimed
to be the protector of all Eastern Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire. France sent its
fleet to the Black Sea; Russia responded with its own show of force. In 1851, Russia sent troops
into the Ottoman provinces of Moldavia and Wallachia. Britain, now fearing for the security of
the Ottoman Empire, sent a fleet to join with the French, expecting the Russians would back
down.

Diplomatic efforts failed. The Sultan declared war against Russia in October 1851.
Following an Ottoman naval disaster in November, Britain and France declared war against
Russia. Most of the battles took place in the Crimean peninsula, which the Allies finally seized.
London, shocked to discover that France was secretly negotiating with Russia to form a postwar
alliance to dominate Europe, dropped its plans to attack St. Petersburg and instead signed a
one-sided armistice with Russia that achieved almost none of its war aims.

The Treaty of Paris, signed March 30, 1856, ended the war. It admitted the Ottoman
Empire to the Concert of Europe, and the Powers promised to respect its independence and
territorial integrity. Russia gave up a little land and relinquished its claim to a protectorate over
the Christians in the Ottoman domains. The Black Sea was demilitarized and an international
commission was set up to guarantee freedom of commerce and navigation on the Danube
River.

After 1870 the creation and rise of the German Empire as a dominant nation
restructured the European balance of power. For the next twenty years, Otto von Bismarck
managed to maintain this balance by proposing treaties and creating many complex alliances
between the European nations, such as the Triple Alliance.

The Holy Alliance and the Quadruple Alliance

As an extension of the vision of the Congress of Vienna, the Kingdom of Prussia and the
Austrian and Russian Empires formed the Holy Alliance (September 26, 1815) to preserve
Christian social values and traditional monarchism. The intention of the alliance was to restrain
republicanism and secularism in Europe in the wake of the devastating French Revolutionary
Wars, and the alliance nominally succeeded in this until the Crimean War (1853–1856). Every
member of the coalition promptly joined the Alliance, except for the United Kingdom, a
constitutional monarchy with a more liberal political philosophy.

Britain did however ratify the Quadruple Alliance, signed on the same day as the Second Peace
Treaty of Paris (November 20, 1815) by the same three powers that signed the Holy Alliance on
September 26, 1815. It renewed the use of the Congress System, which advanced European
international relations. The alliance first formed in 1813 to counter France and promised aid to
each other. It became the Quintuple Alliance when France joined in 1818.

Much debate has occurred among historians as to which treaty was more influential in the
development of international relations in Europe in the two decades following the end of the
Napoleonic Wars. In the opinion of historian Tim Chapman, the differences are somewhat
academic as the powers were not bound by the terms of the treaties and many of them
intentionally broke the terms if it suited them.

The Holy Alliance was the brainchild of Tsar Alexander I. It gained support because most
European monarchs did not wish to offend the Tsar by refusing to sign it, and as it bound
monarchs personally rather than their governments, it was easy to ignore once signed.
Although it did not fit comfortably within the complex, sophisticated, and cynical web of power
politics that epitomized diplomacy of the post Napoleonic era, its influence was more lasting
than contemporary critics expected and was revived in the 1820s as a tool of repression when
the terms of the Quintuple Alliance were not seen to fit the purposes of some of the Great
Powers of Europe.

The Quadruple Alliance, by contrast, was a standard treaty and the four Great Powers
did not invite any of their allies to sign it. The primary objective was to bind the signatures to
support the terms of the Second Treaty of Paris for 20 years. It included a provision for the High
Contracting Parties to “renew their meeting at fixed periods…for the purpose of consulting on
their common interests” which were the “prosperity of the Nations, and the maintenance of
peace in Europe.” A problem with the wording of Article VI of the treaty is that it did not specify
what these “fixed periods” would be, and there were no provisions in the treaty for a
permanent commission to arrange and organize the conferences. This meant that the first
conference in 1818 dealt with remaining issues of the French wars, but after that, meetings
were arranged on an ad hoc basis to address specific threats such as those posed by
revolutions.