What were the aims and achievements of Lord Castlereagh in foreign affairs after the Congress of Vienna
What were the aims and achievements of Lord Castlereagh in foreign affairs after the Congress of Vienna?
At the end of the congress of Vienna he had enormous prestige among the statesmen of Europe and already had considerable achievements to his credit.
Castlereagh’s main concerns:
- Was to preserve peace and he had hoped this could be achieved by regular meetings with the great powers to solve problems and quell disturbances by a concert of Europe. This is states acting in a concert and not by confrontation.
- However, he did not believe it was right for the great powers to intervene in the internal affairs of other states, and did not want Britain to become involved in any such action.
- He was also keen to get the army occupation removed in France- they agreed – gave Louis 18th popularity and help stabilize the country.
- Castlereagh felt it was wrong to punish the Bourbon family too heavily for the behaviour of Napoleon.