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Nov 22, 2022 · A map by Simeon Netchev showing the territorial order of Europe after the diplomatic conference that restored the balance of power among the victorious nations over Napoleon. The map also depicts the Hundred Days of Napoleon's return to power and his final defeat at Waterloo.
A historical map of Europe in 1814, showing the results of the Congress of Vienna, which redrew the map of the continent after the Napoleonic Wars. The map also includes key events and facts related to the Congress and its impact on the European states.
- Overview
- Preliminaries
- Delegates
- Procedure
Congress of Vienna, assembly in 1814–15 that reorganized Europe after the Napoleonic Wars. It began in September 1814, five months after Napoleon I’s first abdication and completed its “Final Act” in June 1815, shortly before the Waterloo campaign and the final defeat of Napoleon. The settlement was the most-comprehensive treaty that Europe had eve...
Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Great Britain, the four powers that were chiefly instrumental in the overthrow of Napoleon, had concluded a special alliance among themselves with the Treaty of Chaumont, on March 9, 1814, a month before Napoleon’s first abdication. The subsequent treaties of peace with France, signed on May 30 not only by the “four” b...
Representatives began to arrive in Vienna toward the end of September 1814. All of Europe sent its most-important statesmen. Klemens, prince von Metternich, principal minister of Austria, represented his emperor, Francis II. Tsar Alexander I of Russia directed his own diplomacy. King Frederick William III of Prussia had Karl, prince von Hardenberg, as his principal minister. Great Britain was represented by its foreign minister, Viscount Castlereagh. When Castlereagh had to return to his parliamentary duties, the duke of Wellington replaced him, and Lord Clancarty was principal representative after the duke’s departure. The restored Louis XVIII of France sent Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand. Spain, Portugal, and Sweden had only men of moderate ability to represent them. Many of the rulers of the minor states of Europe put in an appearance. With them came a host of courtiers, secretaries, and ladies to enjoy the magnificent social life of the Austrian court.
Assisting Metternich as host, Friedrich Gentz played a vital role in the management of protocol and in the secretarial organization of the congress. The social side of the congress was, in fact, one of the causes of the long and unexpected delay in producing a result, for Metternich at least sometimes subordinated business to pleasure.
The procedure of the congress was determined by the difficulty and complexity of the issues to be solved. First there was the problem of the organization of the congress, for which there was no precedent. The “four” were determined to keep the management of the main problems entirely in their own hands, but since they had rather rashly summoned a congress, they had to pay some attention to it. Thus, the ministers of Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Great Britain assembled early for discussions and finally agreed, on September 22, 1814, that the “four” should be those to decide the future of all the conquered territories. They were then to communicate their decisions to France and Spain. The full congress was to be summoned only when all was ready.
Such was the situation that Talleyrand found when he arrived on September 24. He refused to accept it and was supported by Spain’s representative, the marqués de Labrador. Talleyrand denied that either the “four” or the “six” (including France and Spain) was a legally constituted body and desired that the congress should be summoned to elect a directing committee. If any other body had rights in the matter, it was the group of powers—Austria, Great Britain, Prussia, Russia, Sweden, Spain, and Portugal—that had signed the 1814 Treaty of Paris with France (thus, the “eight”), which ended the Napoleonic Wars for the first time. The core four were much disturbed, knowing that the smaller powers would support Talleyrand if they gave him the chance of appealing to them. They had no intention of giving way, however, and refused to summon a meeting of all the representatives. The opening of the congress was postponed until November 1. No solution could be found, however, and after a meeting of the “eight” on October 30, the opening was again postponed.
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A map of Europe as it appeared in 1815 after the Congress of Vienna. This article gives a detailed listing of all the countries, including puppet states, that have existed in Europe since the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to the present day.
Former CountriesEstablishmentDissolutionToday Part Of1813186719181920Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey1991202318041867Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, ...The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.
A color map of Europe after the Congress of Vienna in 1815, which redrew the continent's political boundaries after the French Revolution, Napoleonic Wars, and the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire. The map shows the German Confederation, major rivers, cities, and ports, and other countries and regions.
Sep 18, 2019 · The Congress began in Vienna in the autumn of 1814 and was attended by delegations from almost all the states and powers of Europe. From September 1814 to June 1815, Vienna became the political centre of the continent, and above all the venue, the Foreign Ministry (later also the State Chancellery) in the Palais am Ballhausplatz, the official ...
