How did the Congress of Viennaattempt to solve the problems in Europe which were caused by the French Revolution and Napoleon?

University Degree Historical and Philosophical studies

How did the Congress of Vienna attempt to solve the problems in Europe which were caused by the French Revolution and Napoleon?

The European states attended the Congress of Vienna to discuss brought by Napoleon. Nearly every state in Europe was represented, but everything was decided by five men. They were Metternich (Au), Castlereagh (Br), Alexander I (Ru), Frederick William III (Pr) and Talleyrand (Fr). They faced 4 problems: namely, the problem of re-mapping Europe, preventing Napoleon’s return to power, maintaining European peace, and restoring the social and political system of pre-revolutionary days (1789). To solve these problems, they adopted the principles of the Balance of Power and Restoration.

The First problem and how it was solved. The rise of Napoleon to power and his expansion in Europe brought many problems. The first problem was how to re-map Europe. As Napoleon had conquered many states and destroyed their boundaries, the Powers had to decide how to rebuild the European boundaries. In re-mapping Europe, they had additional problems of rewarding those which had helped to defeat Napoleon. In solving these problems, the Powers applied the Principle of Compensation and Reward. As a result, the map of Europe was rebuilt.

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The second problem and how it was solved. The representatives at the Vienna Congress also had to prevent Napoleon’s return to power and to stop future aggression from France. This problem particularly worried them because Napoleon succeeds in escaping from Elba in early 1815. He waged a war against the European Powers and upset European peace again. To remove this dangerous threat, the Powers applied the principle of bulwarks against France and a ring of buffer states was set up along France France’s eastern frontiers. In the north, Belgium and Luxembourg joined with Holland to form the Kingdom of the United Netherlands. To check future aggression from France, the Confederation of Germany was formed and Switzerland’s permanent neutrality and independence were guaranteed. Piedmont joined with Sardinia to form from a stronger kingdom - Kingdom of Sardinia. This new kingdom was strengthened by additions of Savoy, Nice and Genoa.

The third problem and how it was solved. The nest problem was how to maintain European peace. The European Powers had been at war with France and Napoleon for about 20 years. These were ended after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. As a result, the European Power had to work out a way by which lasting peace could be kept in Europe. To maintain peace, they applied the Principle of Balance of Power. They first surrounded France with stronger states, which made future aggression from France difficult. They also ensured that each of the victors would be as strong as each other to keep a Balance of power among them.

The forth problem and how it was solved. The lasting problem facing the Vienna statesmen was how to restore the social and political system of the pre-revolution days (1789). States under Napoleon’s control had established a social and political system modeled after France. Europe’s conservative ruling classes felt that the new social and political system threatened their existence. They had to discharge change and to restore the old order. To solve this problem, they applied the principle of Restoration and Legitimacy, which was regarded as an insurance against future revolutions. As a result, rulers who lost their position as a result of Napoleon were restored.

All in all, on the whole of the Congress of Vienna was a successful congress. By applying Castlereagh (Br)’s principle of the Balance of Power and Metternich (Au)’s Principle of Restoration, the European statesmen succeeded in solving the problems brought by Napoleon’s conquests and expansion. In setting the problems, they ignored some ideas made popular by the French Revolution and Napoleon. These included Nationalism and Liberalism. As a result, material for future disputes was created, though the Powers managed solve the problems they faced at Vienna.

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