World History Part 2, Unit 1, Lesson 13 - Core

Objective:

Identify the reactionary measures taken by the Congress of Vienna to restore Europe to pre-French Revolution status.

Essential Instruction

Use the Study Guide to take note of some of this lesson’s most important information.

The Congress of Vienna was a diplomatic conference attended by representatives from five of the major countries of Europe. Their main concern was how to undo the damage Napoleon’s empire had done in Europe. The group, led by the Austrian politician Clemens Wenzel von Metternich, met from November 1814 to June 1815. It focused on reorganizing Europe and returning it to the state it had been in before 1792, when the French Revolution began to change the face of the continent. However, it was more than just redrawing boundaries. The Congress of Vienna wanted to make sure France could never rise to that level of power again. Their final act was signed nine days before Napoleon’s defeat at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815.

The foreign minister of France, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord threatened a protest by ‘lesser nations,’, if he was not invited to the conference table. To exercise some control over the negotiations, he associated himself with the Committee of Eight, including Spain, France, Sweden, and Portugal. France was allowed to participate in the Congress, even though the purpose of the meeting was to restore Europe to its pre-French Revolution structure. The other countries feared angering France, since they needed France’s cooperation. The main participants were representatives from Austria, Prussia, Russia, Great Britain, and France. Other European powers involved to a lesser extent involved included Spain, Portugal, Sweden and Norway, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the German states of Hanover, Bavaria, Wurttemberg. The Congress settled a major issue of the Polish-Saxon crisis that centered on the division of modern Poland. Russia got Duchy of Warsaw and Prussia got Duchy of Poznan and half of Saxony. Krakow became a free city. The Congress looked into the expansion of Russia and Prussia, consolidating Germany, creating the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and making Norway semi-independent of Sweden by gaining its own army, navy and parliament.

Napoleon had been exiled to Elba after the French army’s defeat the year before. The news of the growing discontent with the rule of Louis XVIII, encouraged Napoleon to rally his troops and march on Paris, hoping to regain his crown.  Another indirect cause for Napoleon’s return was the Treaty of Paris signed between France and the nations of the Sixth Coalition. This treaty humiliated the French as it returned France to the original territory it occupied in 1792. The Congress of Vienna ruled him an outlaw, and its allied forces drove Napoleon into exile again, this time to the British island Saint Helena.

The Congress called for the reinstatement of Europe’s monarchies and did not take into account that the French Revolution had changed Europe in terms of equality and nationalism. Many peasants across Europe worried that the reinstated monarchs would also bring back feudalism or go back on to the Napoleonic Code making them second-class citizens again. To this end, the Congress, voted to make the slave trade illegal, stating it to be a violation of

World History Part 2, Unit 1, Lesson 13 - Core

human rights. In doing so, it brought about a balance of power in Europe ensuring peace in the continent for the next forty years.

 

World History Part 2, Unit 1, Lesson 13 - Core

Reteaching

The Congress of Vienna, led by Austrian politician Clemens Wenzel von Metternich, convened from 1814 to 1815. Its goal was to returning Europe to the state it was in back in 1792, before the French Revolution and Napoleon’s empire. They sought to reorganize Europe, changing its political landscape. The Congress of Vienna addressed the issues of expansion of Russia and Prussia, the consolidation of Germany, the creation ofng the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the transition of making Norway to be semi-independent. The Polish-Saxon crisis was also resolved by the Congress. Napoleon’s attempt to regain his lost power failed and he was sent driven back into exile to the British island, Saint Helena. Keeping in mind the changed European views on equality and nationalism, the Congress voted to make the slave trade illegal and tried to establish a balance of power in Europe.

Answer the questions below. When you are finished, check your answers here. If you have any questions, post them to the Forum so your teacher or other students can help.

1. Why was France allowed to participate in the Congress of Vienna?2. Give the reason for Napoleon’s second exile?3. How did Norway become semi-independent?4. How did The Congress address the issue of the expansion of Russia and Prussia?5. What was the fate of Krakow when the Polish-Saxon crisis was resolved?

World History Part 2, Unit 1, Lesson 13 - Core

Extension

Go online and research what the Congress of Vienna accomplished. Explore this site about what the Congress of Vienna accomplished.

Read a book about how the balance of power was restored in Europe with the Congress of Vienna. Read The Congress of Vienna: A Study in Allied Unity: 1812-1822, by Sir Harold Nicolson, Grove Press, 2001.

World History Part 2, Unit 1, Lesson 13 - Core

Assignment Checklist

Read the Essential Instruction [EI]

Complete the Study Guide [EI]

Complete the exercises on the Reteaching page. When you are finished, check your answers. If you have any questions, post them to the Forum so your teacher or other students can help. [RT]

Research the Congress of Vienna on the Internet. [EX]

Read a book about the Congress of Vienna. [EX]

Complete the graded assignment for this lesson.