What Were the Aims of the Peacemakers at the Congress of Vienna - Assignment Example

What were the aims of the peacemakers at the Congress of Vienna? How far were they achieved? After the 1st world war and the French revolution delegations from most European countries met at Vienna between September 1814 and June 1815 to solve the problems left behind. The main participants were the Big Four - Austria, Russia, Prussia and Britain. France was permitted to join them to take part in talks of less significant matters. The chief representatives for these five nations were Prince Metternich (Austria), Tsar Alexander I (Russia), Prince Hardenberg (Prussia), Lord Castlereagh and Duke of Wellington (Britain), and Prince Talleyrand (France). The important aims of the peacemakers at the Congress of Vienna were to prevent further violence of France, arriving at a general territorial agreement, and to make sure peace in Europe. The first crisis was how to stop further aggression of France on other countries. In the preceding years and during the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte, France had been a threat to Europe for some time. Now the allied armies of Russia, Prussia, and Austria had finally defeated Napoleon Bonaparte and driven him into exile and these powers wanted to avoid any similar French invasion of Europe. In spite of the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo (June 18, 1815) and his exile to St. Helena, the peacemakers at the Congress of Vienna were more resolute to deactivate France. The second difficulty was how to arrive at a common agreement of territorial alterations which entails redrawing of the political map of Europe that touched on a number of uncertain areas among the rival powers. Especially, Russia and Prussia were in disagreement with Austria and Britain over the Polish-Saxon crisis. Russia had already occupied much of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. Her emperor, Alexander I, further claimed the Prussian parts of Poland and in return, he was ready to help the Prussian takeover of the Kingdom of Saxony, a region of northern Germany. These tactics were opposed by Austria and Britain, because it would give Russia disproportionate share of territories and also it would disturb the balance of power in Russias and Prussias favour. All these subjects required a great deal of diplomacy and diplomatic skills to reach commonly suitable solutions. The third significant aim was to make certain an enduring peace in Europe. Emerging from so many years of war, there was hunger amid Europeans for peace and economic revival of devastated areas. It is expected that the big powers had to discover some ways and resources to keep the peace in Europe. These troubles were resolved to a great extent, by the Vienna Peace Settlement in addition to some other processes. In July 1815, the Treaty of Vienna was signed. It covered a range of territorial settlements made at the Congress of Vienna. Russia received most of the earlier Grand Duchy of Warsaw, Finland (from Sweden) and Bessarabia (from Turkey). Prussia got two-fifths of Saxony, Westphalia and Swedish Pomerania. She got hold of the Rhine provinces to reinforce the barrier against France. Austria got Lombardy, Venetia, Illyria, Dalmatia and Galicia. In addition, she was made president of the Diet of the German Confederation. Britain expanded mainly overseas colonies such as the Cape Colony, Ceylon, Mauritius, Malta, the Ionian Islands and Heligoland. The old Holy Roman Empire was replaced by the new German Confederation and it includes 39 German states that sent delegates to a Diet to converse issues of general significance. The Italian peninsula was once more divided into diverse realms. Piedmont-Sardinia acquired Genoa to protect the new border alongside France. The realm of Naples-­Sicily was ruled by a Bourbon king as the central Italian Duchies were administered by Hapsburg princes. The Papal States were under the Pope’s administration. Holland benefited by getting Belgium to form the realm of the Netherlands. This was done to make stronger the Netherlands border alongside France. Sweden received Norway (from Denmark) partially to compensate for her loss of Finland to Russia. Switzerland became a sovereign confederation and her neutral stance was assured by the powers. Besides such territorial settlements, some other processes were engaged to complete the work of the Vienna Congress. These comprise the signing of the Holy Alliance, the second Treaty of Paris, and the Quadruple Alliance. The Holy Alliance was not an agreement. Actually it was a solemn assertion of Christian values which was to guide the monarchs in their relations with their people and with every one. The second Treaty of Paris asked France to pay an indemnity and agree to an army of occupation for five years. She had to return some of the art possessions to their real owners. France boundaries were brought back to the position in 1790 that resulted in loss of several frontier areas. The same day the second Treaty of Paris was signed, Austria, Prussia, Russia and Britain formed the Quadruple Alliance which bound them to uphold by armed forces the Vienna Peace Settlement for twenty years. The Congress of Vienna and its Peace Settlement might be considered as the commencement of a new age of European history. The attainments can be assessed from many different angles.The Congress of Vienna was extremely victorious in solving struggles that it had to undertake. The Vienna Peace Settlement was mainly a territorial redrawing of Europe. The successful Big Four accomplished some territorial gains at the Congress. But these gains had significant effects on the European history. Russia got a major portion of Poland and this implicated her in consecutive Polish revolution for freedom, as in 1830 and 1863. Russia’s move towards the Balkan Peninsula by getting hold of Bessarabia increased her tension with the Turks and Austrians. Austria was capable of influencing strong pressure on Italy and also subjugated newly formed German Confederation through the Diet. Prussia appeared on post-1815 maps as two separate regions: Prussia proper in the northeast and Prussia on the Rhine. Britain did not get hold of territories on the continent. But the colonial gains made her a stronger maritime nation with a huge kingdom. Britain’s domination at sea was beyond challenge by any other power all through the19th century. France lost some border territories in the second Treaty of Paris. Nevertheless, she was not unsympathetically treated by the conquering collaborators. As a matter of fact, the peacemakers at the Congress of Vienna were more reasonable than those at the Versailles Conference after the First World War. The peacemakers of Vienna completely ignored the thought of nationalism in the drawing up of the territorial resolution. Their major deliberations were tactic and balance of power, not the wish of the people. Hence, they forced unnatural unions on Belgium and Holland, Norway and Sweden. They transferred Poland and Finland to Russia, regardless of the desire for freedom. They eliminated the Kingdom of Italy and the Confederation-of the Rhine which Napoleon had created. Instead, the Italian peninsula was alienated into small states, and a loose German Confederation was created. All these actions created dis­contents within the nationalists and caused into revolutions in the subsequent years. Actually, lot of the history of 19th century Europe was anxious with the struggle of the Belgians, Germans, Italians, Poles and other peoples for freedom and alliance. It witnessed two revolutionary moves in 1880 and 1848 as well as the unification movements of Italy and Germany in the mid 19th century. But the Vienna agreements had two significant virtues in its favour. First, it gave Europe an extensive period of peace since there was no major war among the great powers until the Crimean War of 1854. The important factor was the reinstatement of the European balance of power by the Vienna Congress. Yet 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 an institution of global cooperation by intermittent congresses. The idea of Congress System helped to develop the military alliance of the major powers against France into a lasting system of congresses to resolve European issues. Read More