Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Congress Of Vienna shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Congress Of Vienna offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Congress Of Vienna at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Congress Of Vienna? Wrong! If the Congress Of Vienna is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about Congress Of Vienna then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Congress Of Vienna? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Congress Of Vienna and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Congress Of Vienna wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your Congress Of Vienna then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Congress Of Vienna site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about Congress Of Vienna, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your Congress Of Vienna, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
The
Congress of Vienna was a conference between ambassadors from the major powers in Europe that was chaired by the Austrian statesman
Klemens Wenzel von Metternich and held in
Vienna, Austria, from late September, 1814, to June 9, 1815.
Its purpose was to settle issues and redraw the continent's political map after the defeat of Napoleonic Wars the previous spring, which would also reflect the change in status by the dissolution of the
Holy Roman Empire eight years before. The discussions continued despite the ex-Emperor Napoleon I's return from exile and resumption of power in France in March 1815, and the Congress's Final Act was signed nine days before his final defeat at
Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815.
Technically, one might note that the "Congress of Vienna" never actually occurred, as the Congress never met in
plenary session, with most of the discussions occurring in informal sessions among the great power meeting without the greater number of delegates from the lesser states.
The Congress was concerned with determining the entire shape of Europe after the Napoleonic wars, with the exception of the terms of peace with France between the belligerents, which had already been decided by the Peace of Paris (1814), signed a few months earlier, on
May 30, 1814 returning the Bourbon monarchy and re-setting the borders to their 1792 locations. That outcome was widely unpopular with the population of France, and led indirectly to the resumption of power by Napoleon during the
Hundred Days.
Participants
, 1819.
At the Congress,
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was represented first by its Foreign Secretary, Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh; after Castlereagh's return to England in February 1815, by the
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington; and in the last weeks, after Wellington left to face Napoleon in the
Hundred Days, by the Richard Le Poer Trench, 2nd Earl of Clancarty.
Austria was represented by Clemens Wenzel von Metternich, the Foreign Minister, and by his deputy, Baron Wessenberg.
Prussia was represented by Prince
Karl August von Hardenberg, the Chancellor, and the diplomat and scholar
Wilhelm von Humboldt.
Louis XVIII of France France was represented by its foreign minister, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord.
Although Russia's official delegation was led by the foreign minister, Karl Robert Nesselrode, Czar
Alexander I of Russia for the most part acted on his own behalf.
Initially, the representatives of the four victorious powers hoped to exclude the French from serious participation in the negotiations, but Talleyrand managed to skilfully insert himself into "her inner councils" in the first weeks of negotiations..
The major Allies' indecision on how to conduct their affairs without provoking a united protest from the lesser powers led to the calling of a preliminary conference on protocol, to which both Talleyrand and the
Pedro Gómez Labrador, Marquis of Labrador, Spain representative, were invited on September 30, 1814.
Congress Secretary
Friedrich von Gentz (1764-1832) would report that "The intervention of Talleyrand and Labrador has hopelessly upset all our plans. Talleyrand protested against the procedure we have adopted and soundly rated us for two hours. It was a scene I shall never forget."Susan Mary Alsop,
The Congress Dances (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1984), 120.
The embarrassed representatives of the Allies replied that the document concerning the protocol they had arranged actually meant nothing. "If it means so little, why did you sign it?" snapped Labrador.
Talleyrand’s policy, directed as much by national as personal ambitions, demanded the close but by no means amicable relationship he had with Labrador. Talleyrand regarded Labrador with "Olympian disdain"Wenceslao Ramírez de Villa-Urrutia, Marqués de Villa-Urrutia,
España en el Congreso de Viena según la correspondencia de D. Pedro Gómez Labrador, Marqués de Labrador. Segunda Edición Corregida y Aumentada (Madrid: Francisco Beltrán, 1928), 13.; of Talleyrand, the testy Spaniard would remark: "that cripple, unfortunately, is going to Vienna."Antonio Rodríguez-Moñino (ed.),
Cartas Políticas (Badajoz: Imprenta Provincial, 1959), 14 (Letter IV, July 10, 1814). Labrador’s letters are full of such pungent remarks, and include his crotchety opinions on bad diplomats, the state of the postal system and the weather, and his non-existent salary and coach and accompanying livery for the Congress.
Talleyrand skirted additional articles suggested by Labrador: he had no intention of handing over the 12,000
afrancesados ("frenchified" Spanish fugitives who had sworn fealty to
Joseph Bonaparte), with whom he had shady business connections, nor the bulk of the documents, paintings, pieces of fine art, and works of hydrography and natural history that had been looted from the archives, palaces, churches and cathedrals of Spain.Villa-Urrutia,
España en el Congreso de Viena, 61-2.
The French had stripped an enormous amount of art from the country. Joseph had left Madrid with an enormous baggage train containing innumerable pieces of art, tapestries, and mirrors. The most rapacious of the French was Marshal
Nicolas Soult, who left Spain with entire collections, which have disappeared to unknown, separate locations around the world. At least, sighs Juan Antonio Gaya Nuño, " paintings have come to spread the prestige of Spanish art around the whole word."
Most of the work at the Congress was performed by the five main powers (United Kingdom, Russia, Prussia, Austria, France).
On some issues, these powers cooperated with:
- Spain (represented by the Marquis of Labrador)
- Portugal (represented by Pedro de Sousa Holstein; António Saldanha da Gama; Joaquim Lobo da Silveira).
- Sweden (represented by Carl Löwenhielm)
- The Netherlands (represented by the British Ambassador at the Dutch court, the Earl of Clancarty){{cite book
| last =Couvée
| first =D.H.
| coauthors =G. Pikkemaat
| title =1813-15, ons koninkrijk geboren
| publisher =N. Samsom nv
| date =1963
| location =Alphen aan den Rijn
| pages =123-124
-->
- On German issues, with the states of Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg (a personal union with the British crown of the day), Bavaria, and Württemberg. It is of no little interest that as a constant belligerent, King George III of the United Kingdom had refused to recognize the abolishment of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 and maintained a separate diplomatic staff to conduct the affairs of the family estate (Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg) as Elector of Hannover until the results of the congress were concluded establishing the Hanover (state).
The
Iroquois Confederacy participated in the congress as it had been an ally of the British during the
War of 1812 which was viewed by the British as part of the
Napoleonic Wars.
Elements of the Treaty
- Russia was given most of the Duchy of Warsaw (Poland) and was allowed to keep Grand Duchy of Finland (which it had annexed from Sweden in 1809 and held until 1917).
- Prussia was given two fifths of Saxony, parts of the Duchy of Warsaw (the Grand Duchy of Posen), Danzig, and the Rhineland/Westphalia.
- A German Confederation of 38 states was created from the previous 300, under the presidency of the Austrian Emperor. Only portions of the territory of Austria and Prussia were included in the Confederation.
- The Netherlands and the Southern Netherlands (approx. modern-day Belgium) were united in a constitutional monarchy, with the House of Orange-Nassau providing the king.
- To compensate for the Orange-Nassau's loss of the Nassau lands to Prussia, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg were to form a personal union under the House of Orange-Nassau, with Luxembourg (but not the Netherlands) inside the German Confederation.{{cite book
| last =Couvée
| first =D.H.
| coauthors =G. Pikkemaat
| title =1813-15, ons koninkrijk geboren
| publisher =N. Samsom nv
| date =1963
| location =Alphen aan den Rijn
| pages =127-130
-->
- The Denmark–Norway was dissolved and Norway transferred to Sweden (in personal union).
- Sweden ceded Swedish Pomerania to Prussia.
- The neutrality of Switzerland was guaranteed.
- Hanover (state) gave up the Duchy of Lauenburg to Denmark, but was enlarged by the addition of former territories of the Bishop of Münster and by the formerly Prussian East Frisia, and made a kingdom.
- Most of the territorial gains of Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden, Grand Duchy of Hesse, and Duchy of Nassau under the mediatizations of 1801-1806 were recognized. Bavaria also gained control of the Rhenish Palatinate and parts of the Napoleonic Duchy of Würzburg and Grand Duchy of Frankfurt. Hesse-Darmstadt, in exchange for giving up the Duchy of Westphalia to Prussia, was granted the city of Mainz.
- Austria regained control of the Tirol and Salzburg; of the former Illyrian Provinces, and received Lombardy-Venetia in Italy and Ragusa in Dalmatia. Former Austrian territory in Southwest Germany remained under the control of Württemberg and Baden, and the Austrian Netherlands were also not recovered.
- Habsburg princes were returned to control of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and the Duchy of Modena.
- The Papal States were under the rule of the pope and restored to their former extent, with the exception of Avignon and the Comtat Venaissin, which remained part of France.
- The United Kingdom was confirmed in control of Cape Colony, South Africa; Tobago; Ceylon; and various other colonies in Africa and Asia. Other colonies, most notably the Dutch East Indies and Martinique, were restored to their previous owners.
- The King of Kingdom of Sardinia was restored in Piedmont, Nice, and Savoy, and was given control of Genoa (putting an end to the brief proclamation of a restored Republic of Genoa).
- The Duchy of Parma were given to Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma, Napoleon's wife.
- The Duchy of Lucca was created for the House of Bourbon-Parma, which would have reversionary rights to Parma after the death of Marie Louise.
- The Bourbon Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, King of Sicily was restored to control of the Kingdom of Naples, but only after Joachim Murat, the king installed by Bonaparte, rose up and supported Napoleon in the Hundred Days, triggering the Neapolitan War.
- The slave trade was condemned.
- Freedom of navigation was guaranteed for many rivers, Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine.
===Polish-Saxon crisis===The most contentious subject at the Congress was the so-called Polish-Saxon Crisis. The Russians and Prussians proposed a deal in which much of the Prussian and Austrian shares of the partitions of
Poland would go to Russia, which would create an independent Polish Kingdom in personal union with Russia with Alexander as king. In exchange, the Prussians would receive as compensation all of
Saxony, whose King was considered to have forfeited his throne because he had not abandoned Napoleon soon enough. The Austrians, French, and British did not approve of this plan, and, at the inspiration of Talleyrand, signed a secret treaty on
January 3,
1815, agreeing to go to war, if necessary, to prevent the Russo-Prussian plan from coming to fruition.
Although none of the three powers was particularly ready for war, the Russians did not call the bluff, and an amicable settlement was soon worked out, by which Russia received most of the Napoleonic
Duchy of Warsaw as a "Kingdom of Poland" (called
Congress Poland), but did not receive the district of Poznań (Grand Duchy of Poznań), which was given to Prussia, nor Kraków, which became a
Free City of Kraków. Prussia received 40% of Saxony (later known as the province of Saxony), with the remainder returned to King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony (kingdoms of Saxony).
===Other changes===The Congress's principal results, apart from its confirmation of France's loss of the territories annexed in 1795 - 1810, which had already been settled by the Treaty of Paris (1814), were the enlargement of Russia, (which gained most of the Duchy of Warsaw) and
Prussia, which acquired
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 more manageable thirty-nine states was confirmed. These states were formed into a loose
German Confederation under the leadership of Prussia and Austria.
Representatives at the Congress agreed to numerous other territorial changes.
Norway was transferred from Denmark to
Sweden, this sparked the nationalist movement which led to the establishment of the short-lived
Kingdom of Norway on
May 17 1814. Austria gained
Kingdom of 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 Pope was restored to the Papal States. The Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia was restored to its mainland possessions, and also 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 following his support of Napoleon in the
Hundred Days, he was deposed, and the Bourbon Ferdinand IV of Naples was restored to the throne.
A large
United Kingdom of the Netherlands was created for the Prince of Orange, including both the old Dutch Republic and the formerly Austrian-ruled territories in the Southern Netherlands. There were other, less important territorial adjustments, including significant territorial gains for the German Kingdoms of Hanover (state) (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 Swedish Pomerania was annexed by Prussia. Switzerland was enlarged, and Swiss neutrality was guaranteed.
The treaty did not recognize Portuguese rights over Olivenza, but instead in the treaty there was only a formal declaration stating that both Spain and Portugal should negotiate over the town's sovereignty in order to preserve "total and permanent harmony" between both countries. However Spain has never desired to start these negotiations. The
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 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, and also kept Malta and
Heligoland. Under the
Treaty of Paris (1815), Britain obtained the protectorate over the Ionian islands#British rule and the
Seychelles.
Later criticism
The Congress of Vienna was frequently criticized by nineteenth-century and more recent historians for ignoring national and liberal impulses, and for imposing a stifling
reactionary on the continent. The Congress of Vienna was an integral part in what became known as the Conservative Order, in which peace and stability were traded for the liberties and civil rights associated with the
American Revolution and French Revolutions.
In the
20th century, however, many historians have come to admire the statesmen at the Congress, whose work had prevented another European general war for nearly a hundred years (1815-1914). Among these is
Henry Kissinger, whose doctoral dissertation was on the Congress of Vienna. Prior to the opening of the Paris peace conference of 1918, the British Foreign Office commissioned a history of the Congress of Vienna to serve as an example to its own delegates of how to achieve an equally successful peace. Besides, the decisions of the Congress were made by the Five Great Powers (Austria, France, Prussia, Russia and the United Kingdom), and not all the countries of Europe could extend their rights at the Congress. For example, Italy became a mere "geographical expression" as divided into eight parts (Parma, Modena, Tuscany, Lombardy, Venetia, Piedmont-Sardinina, the Papal States, Naples-Sicily) under the control of different powers, while Poland was under the influence of Russia after the Congress. The arrangements that made the Five Great Powers finally led to future disputes. The Congress of Vienna preserved the balance of power in Europe, but it could not check the spread of revolutionary movements on the continent.
See also
- Age of Metternich
- Concert of Europe
- List of treaties
Notes
The
Congress of Vienna was a conference between ambassadors from the major powers in Europe that was chaired by the Austrian statesman Klemens Wenzel von Metternich and held in Vienna, Austria, from late September, 1814, to June 9, 1815.
Its purpose was to settle issues and redraw the continent's political map after the defeat of
Napoleonic Wars the previous spring, which would also reflect the change in status by the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire eight years before. The discussions continued despite the ex-Emperor
Napoleon I's return from exile and resumption of power in France in March 1815, and the Congress's Final Act was signed nine days before his final defeat at Battle of Waterloo on
June 18,
1815.
Technically, one might note that the "Congress of Vienna" never actually occurred, as the Congress never met in
plenary session, with most of the discussions occurring in informal sessions among the
great power meeting without the greater number of delegates from the lesser states.
The Congress was concerned with determining the entire shape of Europe after the Napoleonic wars, with the exception of the terms of peace with France between the belligerents, which had already been decided by the Peace of Paris (1814), signed a few months earlier, on May 30,
1814 returning the Bourbon monarchy and re-setting the borders to their 1792 locations. That outcome was widely unpopular with the population of France, and led indirectly to the resumption of power by Napoleon during the Hundred Days.
Participants
, 1819.
At the Congress, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was represented first by its Foreign Secretary,
Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh; after Castlereagh's return to England in February 1815, by the
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington; and in the last weeks, after Wellington left to face Napoleon in the
Hundred Days, by the Richard Le Poer Trench, 2nd Earl of Clancarty.
Austria was represented by Clemens Wenzel von Metternich, the Foreign Minister, and by his deputy, Baron Wessenberg.
Prussia was represented by Prince Karl August von Hardenberg, the Chancellor, and the diplomat and scholar Wilhelm von Humboldt.
Louis XVIII of France France was represented by its foreign minister, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord.
Although
Russia's official delegation was led by the foreign minister,
Karl Robert Nesselrode, Czar Alexander I of Russia for the most part acted on his own behalf.
Initially, the representatives of the four victorious powers hoped to exclude the French from serious participation in the negotiations, but Talleyrand managed to skilfully insert himself into "her inner councils" in the first weeks of negotiations..
The major Allies' indecision on how to conduct their affairs without provoking a united protest from the lesser powers led to the calling of a preliminary conference on protocol, to which both Talleyrand and the
Pedro Gómez Labrador, Marquis of Labrador, Spain representative, were invited on September 30, 1814.
Congress Secretary
Friedrich von Gentz (1764-1832) would report that "The intervention of Talleyrand and Labrador has hopelessly upset all our plans. Talleyrand protested against the procedure we have adopted and soundly rated us for two hours. It was a scene I shall never forget."Susan Mary Alsop,
The Congress Dances (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1984), 120.
The embarrassed representatives of the Allies replied that the document concerning the protocol they had arranged actually meant nothing. "If it means so little, why did you sign it?" snapped Labrador.
Talleyrand’s policy, directed as much by national as personal ambitions, demanded the close but by no means amicable relationship he had with Labrador. Talleyrand regarded Labrador with "Olympian disdain"Wenceslao Ramírez de Villa-Urrutia, Marqués de Villa-Urrutia,
España en el Congreso de Viena según la correspondencia de D. Pedro Gómez Labrador, Marqués de Labrador. Segunda Edición Corregida y Aumentada (Madrid: Francisco Beltrán, 1928), 13.; of Talleyrand, the testy Spaniard would remark: "that cripple, unfortunately, is going to Vienna."Antonio Rodríguez-Moñino (ed.),
Cartas Políticas (Badajoz: Imprenta Provincial, 1959), 14 (Letter IV, July 10, 1814). Labrador’s letters are full of such pungent remarks, and include his crotchety opinions on bad diplomats, the state of the postal system and the weather, and his non-existent salary and coach and accompanying livery for the Congress.
Talleyrand skirted additional articles suggested by Labrador: he had no intention of handing over the 12,000
afrancesados ("frenchified" Spanish fugitives who had sworn fealty to Joseph Bonaparte), with whom he had shady business connections, nor the bulk of the documents, paintings, pieces of fine art, and works of hydrography and natural history that had been looted from the archives, palaces, churches and cathedrals of Spain.Villa-Urrutia,
España en el Congreso de Viena, 61-2.
The French had stripped an enormous amount of art from the country. Joseph had left Madrid with an enormous baggage train containing innumerable pieces of art, tapestries, and mirrors. The most rapacious of the French was Marshal
Nicolas Soult, who left Spain with entire collections, which have disappeared to unknown, separate locations around the world. At least, sighs Juan Antonio Gaya Nuño, " paintings have come to spread the prestige of Spanish art around the whole word."
Most of the work at the Congress was performed by the five main powers (United Kingdom, Russia, Prussia, Austria, France).
On some issues, these powers cooperated with:
- Spain (represented by the Marquis of Labrador)
- Portugal (represented by Pedro de Sousa Holstein; António Saldanha da Gama; Joaquim Lobo da Silveira).
- Sweden (represented by Carl Löwenhielm)
- The Netherlands (represented by the British Ambassador at the Dutch court, the Earl of Clancarty){{cite book
| last =Couvée
| first =D.H.
| coauthors =G. Pikkemaat
| title =1813-15, ons koninkrijk geboren
| publisher =N. Samsom nv
| date =1963
| location =Alphen aan den Rijn
| pages =123-124
-->
- On German issues, with the states of Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg (a personal union with the British crown of the day), Bavaria, and Württemberg. It is of no little interest that as a constant belligerent, King George III of the United Kingdom had refused to recognize the abolishment of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 and maintained a separate diplomatic staff to conduct the affairs of the family estate (Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg) as Elector of Hannover until the results of the congress were concluded establishing the Hanover (state).
The Iroquois Confederacy participated in the congress as it had been an ally of the British during the
War of 1812 which was viewed by the British as part of the
Napoleonic Wars.
Elements of the Treaty
- Russia was given most of the Duchy of Warsaw (Poland) and was allowed to keep Grand Duchy of Finland (which it had annexed from Sweden in 1809 and held until 1917).
- Prussia was given two fifths of Saxony, parts of the Duchy of Warsaw (the Grand Duchy of Posen), Danzig, and the Rhineland/Westphalia.
- A German Confederation of 38 states was created from the previous 300, under the presidency of the Austrian Emperor. Only portions of the territory of Austria and Prussia were included in the Confederation.
- The Netherlands and the Southern Netherlands (approx. modern-day Belgium) were united in a constitutional monarchy, with the House of Orange-Nassau providing the king.
- To compensate for the Orange-Nassau's loss of the Nassau lands to Prussia, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg were to form a personal union under the House of Orange-Nassau, with Luxembourg (but not the Netherlands) inside the German Confederation.{{cite book
| last =Couvée
| first =D.H.
| coauthors =G. Pikkemaat
| title =1813-15, ons koninkrijk geboren
| publisher =N. Samsom nv
| date =1963
| location =Alphen aan den Rijn
| pages =127-130
-->
- The Denmark–Norway was dissolved and Norway transferred to Sweden (in personal union).
- Sweden ceded Swedish Pomerania to Prussia.
- The neutrality of Switzerland was guaranteed.
- Hanover (state) gave up the Duchy of Lauenburg to Denmark, but was enlarged by the addition of former territories of the Bishop of Münster and by the formerly Prussian East Frisia, and made a kingdom.
- Most of the territorial gains of Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden, Grand Duchy of Hesse, and Duchy of Nassau under the mediatizations of 1801-1806 were recognized. Bavaria also gained control of the Rhenish Palatinate and parts of the Napoleonic Duchy of Würzburg and Grand Duchy of Frankfurt. Hesse-Darmstadt, in exchange for giving up the Duchy of Westphalia to Prussia, was granted the city of Mainz.
- Austria regained control of the Tirol and Salzburg; of the former Illyrian Provinces, and received Lombardy-Venetia in Italy and Ragusa in Dalmatia. Former Austrian territory in Southwest Germany remained under the control of Württemberg and Baden, and the Austrian Netherlands were also not recovered.
- Habsburg princes were returned to control of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and the Duchy of Modena.
- The Papal States were under the rule of the pope and restored to their former extent, with the exception of Avignon and the Comtat Venaissin, which remained part of France.
- The United Kingdom was confirmed in control of Cape Colony, South Africa; Tobago; Ceylon; and various other colonies in Africa and Asia. Other colonies, most notably the Dutch East Indies and Martinique, were restored to their previous owners.
- The King of Kingdom of Sardinia was restored in Piedmont, Nice, and Savoy, and was given control of Genoa (putting an end to the brief proclamation of a restored Republic of Genoa).
- The Duchy of Parma were given to Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma, Napoleon's wife.
- The Duchy of Lucca was created for the House of Bourbon-Parma, which would have reversionary rights to Parma after the death of Marie Louise.
- The Bourbon Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, King of Sicily was restored to control of the Kingdom of Naples, but only after Joachim Murat, the king installed by Bonaparte, rose up and supported Napoleon in the Hundred Days, triggering the Neapolitan War.
- The slave trade was condemned.
- Freedom of navigation was guaranteed for many rivers, Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine.
===Polish-Saxon crisis===The most contentious subject at the Congress was the so-called Polish-Saxon Crisis. The Russians and Prussians proposed a deal in which much of the Prussian and Austrian shares of the partitions of
Poland would go to Russia, which would create an independent Polish Kingdom in personal union with Russia with Alexander as king. In exchange, the Prussians would receive as compensation all of Saxony, whose King was considered to have forfeited his throne because he had not abandoned Napoleon soon enough. The Austrians, French, and British did not approve of this plan, and, at the inspiration of Talleyrand, signed a secret treaty on
January 3,
1815, agreeing to go to war, if necessary, to prevent the Russo-Prussian plan from coming to fruition.
Although none of the three powers was particularly ready for war, the Russians did not call the bluff, and an amicable settlement was soon worked out, by which Russia received most of the Napoleonic
Duchy of Warsaw as a "Kingdom of Poland" (called
Congress Poland), but did not receive the district of Poznań (Grand Duchy of Poznań), which was given to Prussia, nor
Kraków, which became a Free City of Kraków. Prussia received 40% of Saxony (later known as the province of Saxony), with the remainder returned to King
Frederick Augustus I of Saxony (kingdoms of Saxony).
===Other changes===The Congress's principal results, apart from its confirmation of France's loss of the territories annexed in 1795 - 1810, which had already been settled by the
Treaty of Paris (1814), were the enlargement of
Russia, (which gained most of the Duchy of Warsaw) and
Prussia, which acquired
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 more manageable thirty-nine states was confirmed. These states were formed into a loose
German Confederation under the leadership of Prussia and Austria.
Representatives at the Congress agreed to numerous other territorial changes.
Norway was transferred from Denmark to Sweden, this sparked the nationalist movement which led to the establishment of the short-lived
Kingdom of Norway on May 17
1814. Austria gained
Kingdom of 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 Pope was restored to the
Papal States. The Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia was restored to its mainland possessions, and also 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 following his support of Napoleon in the Hundred Days, he was deposed, and the Bourbon Ferdinand IV of Naples was restored to the throne.
A large
United Kingdom of the Netherlands was created for the Prince of Orange, including both the old Dutch Republic and the formerly Austrian-ruled territories in the Southern Netherlands. There were other, less important territorial adjustments, including significant territorial gains for the German Kingdoms of
Hanover (state) (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
Swedish Pomerania was annexed by Prussia.
Switzerland was enlarged, and Swiss neutrality was guaranteed.
The treaty did not recognize Portuguese rights over Olivenza, but instead in the treaty there was only a formal declaration stating that both Spain and Portugal should negotiate over the town's sovereignty in order to preserve "total and permanent harmony" between both countries. However Spain has never desired to start these negotiations. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 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, and also kept Malta and Heligoland. Under the Treaty of Paris (1815), Britain obtained the protectorate over the Ionian islands#British rule and the
Seychelles.
Later criticism
The Congress of Vienna was frequently criticized by nineteenth-century and more recent historians for ignoring national and liberal impulses, and for imposing a stifling
reactionary on the continent. The Congress of Vienna was an integral part in what became known as the Conservative Order, in which peace and stability were traded for the liberties and civil rights associated with the
American Revolution and French Revolutions.
In the 20th century, however, many historians have come to admire the statesmen at the Congress, whose work had prevented another European general war for nearly a hundred years (1815-1914). Among these is
Henry Kissinger, whose doctoral dissertation was on the Congress of Vienna. Prior to the opening of the Paris peace conference of 1918, the British Foreign Office commissioned a history of the Congress of Vienna to serve as an example to its own delegates of how to achieve an equally successful peace. Besides, the decisions of the Congress were made by the Five Great Powers (Austria, France, Prussia, Russia and the United Kingdom), and not all the countries of Europe could extend their rights at the Congress. For example, Italy became a mere "geographical expression" as divided into eight parts (Parma, Modena, Tuscany, Lombardy, Venetia, Piedmont-Sardinina, the Papal States, Naples-Sicily) under the control of different powers, while Poland was under the influence of Russia after the Congress. The arrangements that made the Five Great Powers finally led to future disputes. The Congress of Vienna preserved the balance of power in Europe, but it could not check the spread of revolutionary movements on the continent.
See also
- Age of Metternich
- Concert of Europe
- List of treaties
Notes
Congress of Vienna - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of the major powers of Europe, chaired by the Austrian statesman Clemens Wenzel von Metternich and held in Vienna from ...
The Congress of Vienna, 1 November 1814- 8 June 1815
The reign of George III; the reign of George IV; the reign of William IV; Bute; Chatham; Grenville; Rockingham; the American War of Independence; the impact of the French Wars ...
Congress of Vienna | Vienna Life
The Congress of Vienna 1814-15 ... If Vienna's Hofburg had been struck by a rogue meteorite in the Autumn of 1814, Europe would have been in quite a fix.
Vienna, Congress definition of Vienna, Congress in the Free Online ...
Vienna, Congress of (1814–15) Assembly that reorganized Europe after the Napoleonic Wars. The powers of the Quadruple Alliance had concluded the Treaty of Chaumont just before ...
Vienna, Congress of. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07
Vienna, Congress of. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07 ... Sept., 1814–June, 1815, one of the most important international conferences in European history, called ...
Vienna, Congress of
International conference held from 1814 to 1815 which agreed the settlement of Europe after the Napoleonic Wars
The Congress of Vienna, 1 November 1814- 8 June 1815
As agreed at the first Treaty of Paris in 1814, a congress of the Great Powers of Europe met at Vienna to settle the future boundaries of the continent.
The Congress of Vienna
hs-12 readings. congress of vienna. what were the goals of the major powers at the congress of vienna? how realistic were the goals? how well did they meet them?
Congress of Vienna
Personalities | Timeline | Quiz | C.O.V. Essay. by Lacey Donohue, Class of 1999. T he Congress of Vienna was an international conference that was called in order to remake Europe ...
Congress Of Vienna
Brilliantly set up, quite explicitly, the balance of power in Europe that led to unprecedented continental peace - pace Crimea - for a hundred years, from 1815 to 1914, thanks ...