CONGRESS OF VIENNA 1815

How far did the Congress of Vienna (1815) ignore the claims of nationality in Europe?

Representatives of Great Powers in Vienna: After the fall of Napoleon in 1814, it was decided to hold a Congress of Vienna to settle the affairs of Continent. Some of the sovereigns of Europe including the Tsar, the King of Prussia, and the Austrian Emperor were present. Many prominent statesmen also took part. Great Britain was represented by Lord Castlereagh, the foreign Secretary and the Duke of Wellington. Tallerat was the representative of France. Matternich, the leading minister of Austria, presided over the Congress.

The aim of the Congress: The aim of the Congress was to reward States which had opposed Napoleon and to penalize those which had supported him. It wanted to strengthen the states near France. In case there was a renewal of war by France, these states might check her. As far as possible, the Congress tried to restore legitimate rulers to the thrones they had lost. Yet the Congress did not aim at a complete restoration of pre-war Europe. It refused to re-establish the republics of Venice and Genoa. It had no wish to restore the Holy Roman Europe.

Distribution of Territories: Germany became a confederation of independent states under the presidency of Austria, Russia got Central Poland, some small Turkish territories and Finland. Prussia got Western Pomerania part of Saxony and some Rhenish provinces. Austria lost Belgium but received Lombardy and Venetia in Italy and the Illyrian provinces on the Adriatic Sea, Sweden received Norway, England Received Malta, Heligoland, protectorate over the Ionian islands, Ceylon, the Cape of Good Hope, and other colonial territories and commercial advantages. She became the greatest colonial power in the world.

Restoration of the Old Order: After making the above settlement of territories, the congress turned its attention to the work of resting pre-revolutionary conditions. France was allowed to retain her monarchial frontiers. The old Bourbon Monarchy was restored. Louis XVIII became the King of France. Holland and Belgium were united into one kingdom. Switzerland was given back her independence. German Confederation took the place of the old Holy Roman Empire. Spain was placed under the rule of her Bourbon King. Italy under the control of Austria was partitioned into a number of small states. The kingdom of Piedmont Sardinia was strengthened.

Criticism or Defects of the Congress of Vienna: The arrangements made at Vienna have been very much criticized. The wishes of Europe were not taken into consideration. The people of Belgium disliked the Dutch connection. Norwegians resented being ruled by Sweden. Poles chafed against Russian rule. Germany and Italy were left in a divided condition. This was done against the wishes of the more enlightened of their people. The Congress considered the interests of sovereigns rather than those of people. European territories were treated as private estates to be divided up at the will of their owners. Yet Napoleon had been overthrown by the people of Europe.

Criticizing the arrangements made at Vienna, Southgate says: ‘Since the Congress disregarded national feeling, which during the nineteenth century proved to be more powerful than royal interest, the settlement failed to be permanent. Many of the Vienna decisions were reversed or modified before the end of the nineteenth century’.

The real charge against the Congress of Vienna is that it ignored the challenge of the French Revolution. It failed to see the new forces of democracy and nationality. Hazen writes: ‘The Congress of Vienna was a congress of aristocrats to whom the ideas of nationality and democracy as proclaimed by the French Revolution were incomprehensive or loathsome. The rulers arranged Europe according to their own desires, disposing off it as it were their own personal property, ignoring the sentiment of nationality, been so wonderfully aroused, they were indifferent to the wishes of the people. Thiers could be settlement because they ignored the factors that alone would make the settlement permanent’.