II. Restoring the Old Order: the Congress of Vienna
- A. Prince Klemens von Metternich (1773-1859)
- 1. Austrian foreign minister and host for the Congress of Vienna
- 2. Committed to the principles of conservatism
- 3. Viewed liberalism and nationalism as threats to European stability and the survival of the Austrian Empire
- B. The Principle of Legitimacy
- 1. Legitimacy meant restoring ruling families that had been deposed by the French Revolution and Napoleon.
- 2. As the younger brother of Louis XVI, Louis XVIII returned as the legitimate Bourbon ruler of France.
- 3. Bourbon rulers were also returned to their thrones in Spain and Naples.
- 4. The Congress restored the House of Orange in Holland and the House of Savoy in Sardinia-Piedmont.
- C. The Balance of Power
- 1. The leaders at Vienna wanted to weaken France so that it would no longer be able to wage wars of aggression and threaten the balance of power.
- 2. At the same time, the victorious powers did not want to impose a punitive treaty that would humiliate and antagonize France.
- 3. France was forced to return to its 1 790 borders and to pay an indemnity of 700 million francs. However, France was allowed to keep most of its overseas possessions, its army, and an independent government.
- 4. To keep France from renewing its drive for power, the Congress encircled France with strengthened powers:
- a. The Austrian Netherlands was united with the Dutch Republic to form a single kingdom of the Netherlands.
- b. A group of 39 German states were loosely joined into a newly created German Confederation, dominated by Austria.
- c. The Congress recognized Switzerland as an independent and neutral nation.
- d. The kingdom of Sardinia in Italy was strengthened by the addition of Piedmont and Savoy.
- D. Territorial Settlements
- 1. Russia acquired more Polish territory.
- 2. Sweden retained Norway.
- 3. Prussia acquired two-fifths of Saxony and territory in the Rhineland along the border of France.
- 4. Austria acquired the northern Italian provinces of Lombardy and Venetia as compensation for its loss of Belgium.
- 5. Britain gained valuable territories for its overseas empire, including Malta, the Cape of Good Hope, Trinidad, and Tobago.
- E. Evaluation
- 1. The Congress of Vienna enacted a settlement that was acceptable to both the victors and to France.
- 2. It created a balance of power that lasted until the unification of Germany in 1871.
- 3. It underestimated the forces of liberalism and nationalism unleashed by the French Revolution.
