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What were the main problems to be tackled by the Congress of Vienna? How did the Vienna Peace Settlement try to solve them?
Between September 1814 and June 1815. delegations from most European countries met at Vienna to solve the problems left behind by the French Revolution and Napoleonic Era. The main decisions were made by the 'Big Four' - Austria, Russia, Prussia and Britain. France was allowed to join them to participate in discussions of less important issues.
The chief representatives for these five countries were Prince Metternich (Austria), Tsar Alexander I (Russia), Prince Hardenberg (Prussia), Lord Castlereagh and Duke of Wellington (Britain), and Prince Talleyrand (France).
These representatives had to deal with three main problems at the Congress of Vienna.
Preventing further aggression of France - The first problem was how to prevent further aggression of France on other countries. In the previous years, under Napoleon Bonaparte, France had been the master of Europe for some time. Now that Napoleonic France was defeated, the other powers wanted to prevent any similar French domination of Europe. The escape of Napoleon from Elba and the brief episode of- the "Hundred Days' greatly alarmed the Allied Powers. Despite the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo (June 18, 1815) and his exile to St. Helena, the ‘Big Four’ was the more determined to ‘neutralize' France.
Arriving at a general territorial agreement - The second problem was how to reach a general settlement of territorial changes. It implied a redrawing of the political map of Europe which touched on a number of disputed areas among the rival powers. In particular, Russia and Prussia were at loggerheads with Austria and Britain over the Polish-Saxon problem.
Russia had already occupied much of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. Her tsar, Alexander I, further demanded the Prussian parts of Poland. In return, he was prepared to support the Prussian annexation of the Kingdom of Saxony. These plans were opposed by Austria and Britain, partly because it would give Russia too much a share of territories and partly because it would upset the balance of power in Russia's and Prussia's favour.
This and other territorial issues required a great deal of tact and diplomatic skills to arrive at mutually acceptable solutions.
Ensuring peace in Europe - The third problem was how to ensure a lasting peace in Europe. After so many
years of war, there was a hunger among Europeans for peace and economic recovery of ravaged areas. This meant that the' big powers had to find ways and means to keep the peace in Europe.
To a great extent, these problems were solved by the Vienna Peace Settlement as well as some other measures.
Vienna Peace Settlement - In July 1815, the Treaty of Vienna was signed. It embodied the various territorial settlements made at the Congress of Vienna.
Russia received most of the former Grand Duchy of Warsaw, Finland (from Sweden) and Bessarabia (from Turkey).
Prussia got two-fifths of Saxony, Westphalia and Swedish Pomerania. She acquired the Rhine provinces to strengthen the barrier against France.
Austria got Lombardy, Venetia, Illyria, Dalmatia and Galicia. Moreover, she was made president of the Diet of the German Confederation.
Britain gained mostly overseas colonies such as the Cape Colony, Ceylon, Mauritius, Malta, the Ionian Islands and Heligoland.
A new German Confederation was created to replace the old Holy Roman Empire: It comprised 39 German states who sent delegates to a Diet to discuss matters of common interest.
The Italian peninsula was again divided into various kingdoms. Piedmont-Sardinia acquired Genoa to safeguard the new border against France. The Kingdom of Naples-Sicily was ruled by a Bourbon king while the central Italian Duchies were ruled by Hapsburg princes. The Papal States went back to the Pope.
Holland gained Belgium to form the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This was done to strengthen the Netherlands' border against France.
Sweden gained Norway (from Denmark) partly to compensate for her loss of Finland to Russia.
Switzerland became an independent confederation and her neutrality was guaranteed by the powers.
Apart from such territorial settlements, some other measures were taken to complete the work of the Vienna Congress. These included the signing of the Holy Alliance, the second Treaty of Paris, and the Quadruple Alliance.
Holy Alliance - Tsar Alexander I, much influenced by his religious fervour, proposed that the rulers of Europe should ‘take as their sole guide... the precepts of justice, Christian Charity, and Peace.' His proposal bore fruit in the Holy Alliance which was signed by most European rulers.' The Holy Alliance was not a treaty. It was in fact a solemn declaration of Christian principles which was to guide the rulers in their relations with their subjects and with each other.
Second Treaty of Paris - After defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, the Allies imposed more severe terms on France as punishment for her support of Napoleon
during the ‘Hundred Days'. The second Treaty of Paris required France to pay an indemnity and to accept an army of occupation for not more than five years. She had to return some of the art treasures to their original owners. Her boundaries were reduced to that of 1790 which meant that she lost several frontier areas.
Quadruple Alliance - On the same day the second Treaty of Paris was signed, Austria, Prussia, Russia and Britain formed the Quadruple Alliance. They bound themselves to maintain by armed forces the Vienna Peace Settlement for twenty years.
By Article VI of the Alliance, they agreed to 'renew their meetings at fixed periods' to discuss matters "of common interest" and to maintain "the peace of Europe". In this way, the so-called Congress System was born.
Conclusion - By the standard of problem-solving, the Congress of Vienna and its achievements had found good solutions to the three problems that it had to solve.
Firstly, it had taken measures to prevent future French) aggression. These included the strengthening of French neighbours such as Prussia, the Netherlands and Piedmont, the weakening of France through the second Treaty of Paris, as well as the signing of the Quadruple Alliance.
Secondly, the conflicting interests of the rival powers were largely accommodated. Each of the Big Four got their share of territories and the explosive Polish-Saxon issue was compromised.
Thirdly, the great powers had successfully restored a ‘balance of power' in Europe through territorial rearrangements and restoration of legitimate rulers. Moreover, they agreed to a ‘Congress System' to discuss matters of common interest. These moves did much to give Europe a long period of peace after 1815.
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Evaluate critically the Vienna Peace Settlement.
The Congress of Vienna and its Peace Settlement could be regarded as the beginning of a new era of European history. Its achievements can be evaluated from several angles.
Problem solving – As discussed in previous question, the Congress of Vienna was remarkably successful in solving problems that it had to tackle.
Territorial Settlement - The Vienna Peace Settlement was mainly a territorial re-mapping of Europe. In particular, each of the victorious Big Four made some territorial gains at the Congress. These gains, however, had important effects on later European history.
Russia got a large part of Poland and this involved her in successive Polish revolts for independence, as in 1830 and 1863. Russia also moved closer to the Balkan Peninsula by acquiring Bessarabia. This increased her conflicts with the Turks and Austrians.
Austria, by getting Lombardy and Venetia, was able to exercise strong influence on Italy. She also dominated newly created German Confederation through the Diet. These created much trouble for her with both Italian and German nationalists in the ensuing decades.
Prussia appeared on post-1815 maps as two separate areas: Prussia proper in the northeast and Prussia on the Rhine. The Rhenish gains provided Prussia with mineral resources for her economic development. She also became the only possible competitor with Austria for leadership of the German states.
Britain did not acquire territories on the continent. Her colonial gains, however, made her a stronger maritime nation with a vast empire.
Heligoland in the North Sea and Malta in the Mediterranean were important naval bases. Her supremacy at sea was beyond challenge by another power throughout the19th century.
France lost some frontier territories in the second Treaty of Paris. Nonetheless, she was not harshly treated by the victorious Allies. In this respect, the representatives at the Vienna Congress were more sensible than those at the Versailles Conference after the First World War.
The peacemakers of Vienna entirely disregarded the idea of nationalism in the drawing up of the territorial settlement. They used territories as mere pawns in the game of power politics. Their main considerations were strategy and balance of power, not the desire of the people. So, they forced ‘unnatural unions' on Belgium and Holland, Norway and Sweden. They handed over Poland and Finland to Russia, despite the desire for independence. They also abolished the Kingdom of Italy and the Confederation'-,of the Rhine which Napoleon had created. In their places, the Italian peninsula was divided into small states, and a loose German Confederation was created. All these actions nursed discontents among the nationalists who rose into revolutions in the following years. As a matter of fact, much of the history of 19th century Europe was concerned with the struggles of the Belgians, Germans, Italians, Poles and other peoples for independence and unifications. It brought about two revolutionary waves in 1880 and 1848 as well as the unification movements of Italy and Germany in the mid 19th century.
Other criticisms - A second major criticism on the representative of the Vienna Congress was their disregard of liberalism. In the preceding revolutionary years, liberalism had made great impact on Europe. Many despotic rulers had been overthrown, liberal constitutions were adopted, rights of the people were guaranteed, and voting power was given to the propertied class. Yet, the Vienna representatives failed to recognize these significant trends. In accordance with the principle of legitimacy, they restored many despotic, unpopular rulers to their thrones. For instance, King Ferdinand was restored to Spain, and Bourbon kings to France and Naples. These rulers either abolished the constitution or ruled repressively. Consequently, revolutions soon broke out in these countries. For this unsuccessful attempt to ‘turn the clock back', the peacemakers at Vienna had little excuse.
A third criticism was the disrespect paid to the views of the smaller countries. Though the Vienna Congress was in form a general assembly of European countries, there was no congress as such for all the delegates to agree o important issues. Rather there were numerous negotiations between this country and that or one group and another. The main decisions were made by the Big Four who had already discussed the terms of the final settlement before they came to Vienna. (The main exception was the Polish-Saxon quest Wherever their interests coned, they would sacrifice the smaller states for the benefit of the larger. For instance, Russia got Finland while Prussia obtained a large part of Saxony.
Merits - Nonetheless, the Vienna settlements had two important merits in its favour. Firstly, it gave Europe a long period of peace. There was no major war among the great powers until the Crimean War of 1854. A major factor was the restoration of the European balance of power by the Vienna Congress. France, though defeated, was fairly treated land nursed no particular hatred on the Vienna settlements. She was also surrounded by stronger neighbours. At the same time, each of the victorious Big Four got her share of territories. None became predominantly powerful as to threaten the others. Another factor was the signing of the Quadruple Alliance to ensure peace in Europe through a Congress System.
Secondly, Article VI of the Quadruple Alliance gave birth to a tradition of international cooperation by periodic congresses. The idea of Congress System largely came from Castlereagh. He hoped to expand the military alliance of the major powers against France into a permanent scheme of congresses to settle European issues. He proposed that congresses should be held before war or conflicts broke out, not afterwards. Consequently, between 1818 and 1822, the great powers held four congresses to discuss issues of the time.
Though the 'Concert of Europe' ultimately failed, it did leave a blueprint for another attempt at international cooperation - the League of Nations in 1919.
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