LETTER FROM THE DAIS

Dear Delegates,

My name is Natasha Thondavadi, and I am excited to welcome you to YMUN XXXVIII and the simulation. I’ll be acting as your moderator for the conference, along with fellow dais member Grayson Clary, and I hope to get to know all of you over the course of our weekend together.

First, let us introduce ourselves. I’m a sophomore from Barrington, IL in Jonathan Edwards College, the oldest (and best) of Yale’s residential colleges. I’m a Classics major and just love languages (like Tamil! You’ve probably never heard of it, but it’s awesome. All great viral YouTube videos can probably be traced back to Tamil movies). In addition to YMUN, I’m the Architecture reporter for the Yale Daily News and work on a few other (read: nerdier) publications.

Grayson Clary is from Rye, NY and is seriously as preppy as his name sounds – yes, you can make fun of him for it. Grayson enjoys clothes from Vineyard Vines, playing squash, and analyzing the intensities of life by watching TV shows. He’s also a sophomore in JE (I know! So lucky.)

We’re also happy to introduce our great staffers, Danny Roza and Evelyn Robertson. Danny is a freshman in Silliman College from Hagerstown, Maryland. He is undecided on his major, but is interested in Chinese, Biology, and European history. In addition to staffing YMUN, he is a student guide at the Yale Center for British Art and a member of the Independent Party of the Yale Political Union. Evelyn is a freshman in Trumbull College and is considering a major in linguistics, but also enjoys art classes. Her hobbies include ballet and reading fantasy novels.

Now that you’ve heard all about us, I want to emphasize how incredibly interesting the enormous potential of this committee as an exciting and significant simulation. It was at the Congress of Vienna that Europe as we know it was created, and the political ramifications still reverberate today. As delegates in this committee, you have the potential to completely change those decisions, and thereby change the landscape of European history. There could be no ! There could be no Germany! And I hope that when January 19th rolls around, you’ll be as excited as we are.

If you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to contact us. See you at YMUN!

Natasha Thondavadi ([email protected]) Grayson Clary ([email protected]) Danny Roza ([email protected]) Evelyn Robertson ([email protected])

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HISTORY OF THE COMMITTEE

Taking place from September of 1814 to June of 1815, the Congress of Vienna was a tremendously significant gathering of representatives from across Europe. The objective of the meeting was to give Europe – ravaged by years of war, and reeling from the dissolution of power structures that had been in place for centuries – a chance at establishing a clear structure that could preserve peace and lead to a stable balance of power among the various European nations.

The immediate backdrop for the Congress was the unrest incited by the French Revolution, the , and the fragmentation of the – ’s initial surrender in May 1814 and the signing of the brought an end to a near quarter-century of ceaseless strife on the Continent, creating the opportunity for the Sixth Coalition (the countries allied against Napoleon) to convene a session to broker a more lasting peace.

The timeline of this committee begins with the inception of the Congress, soon after Napoleon’s presumable defeat, right when the delegates have begun discussions both formal and informal to decide what to do with the Europe he has left in his wake. The Congress hopes to define Europe’s new power structure by settling all residual geopolitical issues involving France, parts of Germany, and other regions throughout Europe, many of which are not united into clear states, lack clear political structures, and have porous and undefined borders.

All of the European powers – major and minor – have chosen their most skilled diplomats to attend the Congress and have invested them with the power to negotiate and authorize treaties of immense importance. Home governments are waiting anxiously to find out what settlements are produced and to see who will “win” and who will “lose” the negotiations, with huge amounts of land and power at stake.

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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The Congress of Vienna occurred as 1774. Second to the king came the clergy, or the result of centuries of complex European the First Estate; then the nobles, or the history, largely centered on France and Second Estate; and finally the remaining Germany. France accepted and rejected French subjects, or the Third Estate. revolutionary government after government before being swept up in Napoleon’s The Third Estate paid the taxes that charismatic expansionism. Germany, a kept the state running, since both the collection of loosely bound self-governing Catholic Church and the nobles were tax- units, faced years of warfare both internally exempt. All three groups were included in and against the other European powers. It the Estates-General, France's consultative was this backdrop that set the stage for the body, but the king had not convened the Congress of Vienna, and these events that assembly for more than 100 years. must be kept in mind to establish the context in which our committee will take place and Many attempt to redraw the map of Europe. things contributed to the downfall of Historical Context for France the ancien régime: among them were

Enlightenment The French Revolution was a major thought, the turning point in European history that increasing transformed France from a monarchy to a criticism of republic. This social, political, and economic absolute monarchy upheaval began modestly and was meant to and an interest in limit royal absolutism. Yet as the transformation continued, the republican ideals. Louis XVI revolutionaries became more violent and Writers such as extreme in their aims. At first a campaign Voltaire, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques for constitutional monarchy, the revolution Rousseau critiqued the monarchy and the metamorphosed into ten years of turmoil Catholic Church and examined democratic that resulted in six consecutive governments, forms of government. In 1789, in the the execution of the king, and finally, a aftermath of the American Revolution, dictatorship that set the stage for the France was laboring under a national debt of . approximately 4 billion livres. Nearly 50% of people in urban areas were unemployed, THE ANCIEN REGIME and the lower classes were aggravated by their lack of power in government – and The ancien régime, a phrase which indeed, by a perceived lack of say in all first appeared during the revolution, refers to aspects of society, while continuing to the structure of France before the French shoulder a crippling tax burden. Revolution. At the top of the regime's hierarchy sat King Louis XVI, an absolute As a result of the social turbulence monarch who had succeeded to the throne in and growing financial trouble, Louis XVI

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called the Estates-General to assembly for Frenchmen marched from Paris to Versailles the first time since 1614. on October 5. The marchers forced the royal family back to Paris and confined them. On THE NATIONAL AND LEGISLATIVE October 21, the National Assembly declared ASSEMBLIES martial law.

The assembly began in May 1789, The National Assembly passed a but the Third Estate and some other series of liberal reforms, among these supporters split from the Estates-General on abolishing the nobility and reorganizing the June 17, 1789. They declared themselves the French bureaucracy. Louis was soon forced French National Assembly and set to work to accept the new Constitution of 1791 that on creating a national constitution. provided for a limited monarchy. The Constitution also created a new legislature to Rumors grew replace the National Assembly. On October about an 1, 1791, the unicameral French Legislative upper class Assembly convened. conspiracy to do away with The Legislative Assembly's single the Third year in power was characterized by friction Estate, and as between Louis XVI, who could veto any law soldiers passed by the assembly, and the majority of representatives who were wary of the king's Storming of the Bastille gathered intentions. Meanwhile, the revolution had around Paris, begun to concern the other powers in the angry crowd raided buildings, looking Europe, as revolutionary supporters, known for weapons during a three-day frenzy. On as Jacobins, were growing in number. July 14, the mob stormed the Bastille, the armory-prison that had become a symbol of In April 1792, Louis XVI, hoping the tyranny of the ancien régime. After that war with and Prussia would taking over the building, the crowd result in a French defeat and allow him to slaughtered the overseers and freed the reestablish his lost authority, asked the inmates. Legislative Assembly to declare war. The

assembly, hoping to unify the nation with Outside of Paris, peasant uprisings military victory abroad, acquiesced. France known as the Great Fear coincided with the went to war against Austria and Prussia, the urban revolution. On August 4, prompted by first in a series of conflicts known as the the rioting of the common people, the French Revolutionary Wars. National Assembly abolished serfdom, old feudal privileges, and ecclesiastical tithing. Upset by several defeats in the war The National Assembly made into law the and suspecting Louis of betrayal, new civil equality on August 26 with the revolutionaries began demanding the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the overthrow of the monarchy. After Citizen. successfully storming the Tuileries – the

royal palace on the banks of the River Seine As the revolution grew, the king rejected the – on August 10, 1792, they imprisoned the abolition of feudalism and the Declaration of royal family. In the following month, mobs the Rights of Man. In response, angry

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of Parisians invaded the city's prisons and ages of 18 and 25. Much of the old officer massacred imprisoned clergy and nobles. corps was either forced into exile or The Legislative Assembly was dissolved executed, which allowed new, non- and replaced by the French National aristocratic officers to rise rapidly through Convention. After convening on September the ranks. The French Army grew to 1 20, the Convention abolished the monarchy million troops. In addition, in October 1793, and proclaimed a republic. as part of its goal to be a completely secular government, the Convention abolished the Gregorian calendar, which had Christian THE REPUBLIC: CONVENTION AND associations, and replaced it with what it THE REIGN OF TERROR viewed as a more scientific one. The 12 months were renamed, each month was The next phase of the French divided into three so-called decades rather Revolution was characterized by political than weeks, and the year 1793 became extremism. In December 1792, the known as year I. Convention voted to try Louis XVI for treason. Convicted and condemned to death, Finally, in July 1794, in what is the former king was beheaded on January known as the Thermidorian reaction (named 21, 1793. The execution sent shockwaves after the revolutionary month Thermidor, as throughout Europe. termed by the new calendar), the Convention overthrew Robespierre and put In the spring of 1793, the an end to the Reign of Terror. Moderates in Convention established the Committee of the Convention hoped to revive the original Public Safety (CPS), a 12-man committee principles of the revolution, but a power that would function as the executive branch struggle ensued. of the revolutionary government. The CPS began to use their broad powers to root out DIRECTORY AND CONSULATE so-called enemies of the revolution. In 1795, wanting to decentralize The counterrevolutionary tactics of power to prevent another Robespierre, the the CPS soon became known as the Reign of Convention drew up a new constitution that Terror. Under the direction of Maximilien established the French Directory. Under this Robespierre, the CPS executed tens of fifth revolutionary government, France was thousands of people by guillotine in the to be governed by five directors, chosen by a name of the revolution. At least 300,000 bicameral legislature divided into the suspects were arrested, Council of Five Hundred and an upper 17,000 were officially chamber of 250 "ancients." Ruled by the executed, and many died in bourgeoisie, the Directory was plagued by prison or without trial. the same problems encountered by the Meanwhile, the Convention Convention. Struggles between continued to pass legislative revolutionaries and counterrevolutionaries reforms. In August 1793, the persisted, and war in Europe raged on. revolutionary government imposed the levée en Maximilien On November 9, 1799, Napoleon masse, a conscription of all Robespierre Bonaparte, a military hero of the able-bodied men between the revolutionary wars in Europe, overthrew the

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Directory in a coup d'état. Emmanuel Wars, the Austrians made peace with France Sieyès, who had helped plan the coup, drew in February 1801. Great Britain and the rest up the Constitution of 1799, which of Europe followed suit with the Treaty of established the French Consulate, the sixth Amiens (1802) on March 25, 1802. France and final revolutionary government. As first was finally at peace after 10 years of consul, Napoleon used his broad, dictatorial continuous warfare, and Napoleon's powers to bring the turmoil of the 10-year popularity soared. revolution to a close. In 1802, he was appointed consul for life, and in 1804, he The peace lasted only until May proclaimed himself emperor Napoleon I of 1803, when France returned to war with France. Great Britain. Austria and soon entered on the side of the British. In the The revolutionary dream of a French summer of 1805, Napoleon swiftly marched Republic would not be fully realized until his army across Europe and orchestrated a 1871, after the fall of the Second Empire stunning defeat of the Austrian Army at the under Napoleon III. . However, the victory was offset by British admiral Horatio Nelson's THE NAPOLEONIC WARS annihilation of a combined Franco-Spanish fleet during the on October 21, 1805. Napoleon redeemed himself on December 2 during the , when his heavily outnumbered army defeated a combined Austrian and Russian force. As a result, the Russian troops retreated to Poland, and Austria made peace with Napoleon through the Treaty of Pressburg.

In 1806, Napoleon turned his attention to Prussia and decimated the outdated Prussian Army at the Battle of Jena on October 14. Napoleon completed his conquest of Prussia and set his sights on Russia in under two months. After suffering a setback at the , Napoleon defeated the Russians at the . This defeat resulted in the Treaty Napoleon I of Tilsit, by which France and Russia became allies and divided Europe between Napoleon I waged a series of wars to them. Over the next several years, protect revolutionary France from its Napoleon's troops invaded Spain and European enemies. At the height of his , annexed the Papal States, and power, he controlled most of continental successfully defeated an uprising in Austria. Europe. He defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Marengo on June 14, 1800. After Napoleon conquered Spain and Bringing an end to the French Revolutionary removed King Ferdinand VII in 1808, the

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Spanish people rebelled with guerrilla now asking for peace and for civil and warfare tactics, which led to the Peninsular political liberties. War in Spain and Portugal from 1808 to 1814. The Spanish won about 30 battles in By the Treaty of Chaumont in March the , the British and 1814, Austria, Russia, Prussia, and Great Portuguese won approximately 50 battles, Britain bound themselves together for 20 and the French won more than 100, with years, undertook not to negotiate separately, about 10 undecided battles. and promised to continue the struggle until Napoleon was overthrown. When the allied During the Peninsular War, armies arrived before Paris on March 30, Napoleon notoriously erred by opening a Napoleon had moved east to attack their rear second front in Russia. Napoleon invaded guard. The Parisian authorities, no longer Russia with about 600,000 men in June overawed by the emperor, lost no time in 1812. Napoleon was unable to win negotiating with the allies. decisively at the in September and was forced to retreat a month As president of the provisional later since he was lacking supplies. The government, Talleyrand proclaimed the Russians savagely attacked the retreating deposition of the emperor and, without French forces, and the bitter cold froze many consulting the French people, began to of Napoleon's troops. Fewer than 100,000 of negotiate with Louis XVIII, the brother of Napoleon's men made it back to France the executed Louis XVI. Napoleon alive. abdicated on April 6.

The next challenge to Napoleonic By the Treaty of Fontainebleau, the allies France was the War of Liberation, which granted him the island of Elba as a sovereign pitted Austria, Great Britain, Prussia, principality, an annual income of two Russia, and Sweden against France in 1813. million francs to be provided by France, and At the in Saxony in a guard of 400 volunteers. He also retained October 1813, Napoleon's 185,000 troops the title of emperor. He arrived at Elba on were pitted against an allied force of more May 4. than 350,000 troops in what was the single largest battle of the Napoleonic Wars. After In France, however, the Bourbon three days of fierce fighting and after Restoration was suffering substantial losses, the French were soon exposed to forced to retreat. criticism. Though in 1814 the In January 1814, France was being majority of the attacked on all its frontiers. The allies French people cleverly announced that they were fighting were tired of the not against the French people but against emperor, they Napoleon alone, since in November 1813 he had expressed no had rejected the terms offered by the wish for the Austrian foreign minister Klemens, Prince return of the von Metternich, which would have Bourbons. They preserved the former territory of France. The were strongly Legislative Assembly and the Senate were attached to the Louis XVIII

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essential achievements of the Revolution, which Louis XVIII’s influence seemed to threaten. The apathy of April 1814 quickly gave way to mistrust. Sweden were represented. The rulers of the The Congress of Vienna is set to minor states of Europe put in an appearance. begin in 1813. Austria, Prussia, Russia, and With them came a host of courtiers, Great Britain, the four powers chiefly secretaries, and ladies to enjoy the instrumental in the overthrow of Napoleon, magnificent social life. 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” but also by Sweden and Portugal and on July 20 by Spain, stipulated that all former belligerents should send plenipotentiaries to a congress in Vienna.

Nevertheless, the “four” still intended to reserve the real making of decisions to themselves. Two months after the sessions began, however, Bourbon France was admitted to the “four.” The “four” thus became the “five,” and it was the committee of the “five” that formed the core of the Congress of Vienna. Illustration of the Congress

Representatives began to arrive in Vienna toward the end of September 1814. Klemens, prince von Metternich, principal minister of Austria, represented his emperor, Francis II. Tsar 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 Talleyrand. Spain, Portugal, and

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Historical Context: Germany

Holy Roman Empire resembled an actual From its very beginnings, German empire less and less. Feudalism became the society could not be considered a modern political and societal modus operandi, state with a national identity, as we know it decentralizing power to an even greater to be today, but merely a geographic extent. expression. For example, in ancient Germany, with the exception of loose In the 1500’s, the Lutheran military alliances, society was organized Reformation stripped the Holy Roman into independent and competitive heritage- Empire of even more unity. Ambitious based clans. northern German princes saw the Reformation as a means to assert their The political and economic sovereignty over not expansion of only their emperor, but the Pope as well. Charlemagne and Bitter and devastating religious wars ensued the Carolingian throughout the German states. In 1555, Empire into most of the fighting was temporarily brought Germany in the to an end by the Peace of Augsburg, which 8th and 9th gave German princes a choice between centuries posed Lutheranism and Catholicism. The political the first challenge ramifications of the Peace of Augsburg were to this system. profound. After this, the nearly 300 German Charlemagne states that composed the Holy Roman instituted a series of Charlemagne Empire were not only nearly entirely reforms to promote politically independent of each other, but unity throughout his empire. For example, they also lacked a common religion. In this Charlemagne forcibly converted his sense, the Holy Roman Empire was a stark territories to Christianity and standardized contrast to states such as France, England currency, education and the Bible. and Austria, whose central governments were becoming stronger as their leaders After Charlemagne’s death, the centralized power. Frankish Empire splintered, and the German region became the Holy Roman Empire in The Holy Roman Empire’s lack of the twelfth century. Although the Holy central authority and unifying institutions Roman Empire was at first a relatively rendered it incapable of containing small- unified state, German leaders managed to scale conflicts. Religious fighting between establish independent authority for their and within various German states was respective cities, bishoprics, dukedoms and ubiquitous after the 1550s, and set the stage principalities. Emperors were elected by for the most wide-spread and destructive diets, or legislative assemblies of the leaders war on the European continent yet: the of the various states, and generally had very Thirty Years’ War. The Holy Roman little power. Indeed, as time passed, the Empire became witness to unprecedented

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warfare as religious conflict among the plan came to fruition through cunning states grew more acute and the major politicking and support from the Junkers, the powers of Europe, such as Austria, France class of Prussian nobility. A string of and Sweden, capitalized on the Empire’s Fredericks and Frederick Williams weakness by incessantly pillaging it and succeeded him, each one fortifying Prussia’s using it as their battleground. position on the international stage. In time, Prussia became a highly centralized, The Peace of Westphalia ended the cultured and bureaucratic state. Multiple Thirty Years’ War and shaped foreign wars with Austria over possession of the affairs on the European continent for the province of Silesia earned Prussia a next century. The peace agreement gave formidable reputation. Prussia was indeed German princes the rights to choose any the only new power to rise to prominence religion and to conduct their own foreign after the Thirty Years’ War. affairs. The Thirty Years’ War left the Holy Roman Empire ravaged and decimated. All This was seen as a threat by the told, the war had reduced the German already-established states of Europe, notably population by Austria and France. The tension between the nearly a third, powers resulted in the Seven Years’ War, and caused which pitted Prussia and Britain against severe economic France and Austria in a continent-wide depression, struggle for dominance. King Frederick II population (r. 1772-1786) won the war, in part due to dislocation and tactical brilliance, in part due to the property damage. incredible luck of gaining Russia’s support midway through the war. Prussia emerged The from the war not only with land gains but German states of also with a staying presence in European the Holy Roman affairs. Empire now had unrestrained Prussia, along with the rest of the freedom to Holy Roman Empire, was on the cusp of recover from the Frederick William entering a glorious age of centralized, abject absolutist rule. Therefore, Frederick destruction left in the wake of the Thirty William II (r. Years’ War. The 1789-1797), emerged as the leading state of the Empire. King Leopold II Under the leadership of the “great elector” (r. 1790-1792), Frederick William (r. 1640-1688), Prussia the Emperor of relentlessly pursued strengthened absolutism the Holy at home and Europe-wide influence abroad. Roman Empire, Frederick William was a savvy nobleman and King from the prominent Calvinist Hohenzollern Francis II (r. family of and knew that the key to 1792-1806), his asserting Prussia’s dominance amidst a time successor, paid of extreme political upheaval was through strict attention centralized power and a strong military. His to the Charles William Ferdinand

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tumultuous revolutionary activity in France. of territory until the in 1802. Intimidated by the Revolution’s radical ideologies and fearful of the prospect By 1806, most non-Prussian German of those ideas spreading across borders, states in the Rhineland and western German leadership decided to release two Germany were under French control. At this statements. First, King Frederick II issued point, Napoleon was secure in his power and the Declaration of Pillnitz in 1791, decided to reorganize the German states in threatening France with Prussian order to provide a buffer zone between intervention if the Royal family was ever France and the rest of the continent, as well harmed. Second, in 1792, Charles William as to improve government efficiency. He Ferdinand, the Duke of Brunswick, released amalgamated these states into the the Brunswick Manifesto, which reiterated Confederation of the Rhine. The Holy the sentiments of the Declaration of Pillintz. Roman Empire was officially abolished. These two documents outraged the French citizenry, and eventually led to war between Also in 1806, under the leadership of France and an Austrian-Prussian coalition. King Frederick William III, Prussia decided Prussian-Austrian forces initially succeeded; to go to war with France independent of any however, at the Battle of Valmy in 1792, the coalition. Napoleon responded by crushing French forces, swelled by recent drafts, the Prussian army in less than three weeks. triumphed over the German-Austrian army, and forced Prussia to withdraw from the From 1806 to 1812, nearly all of fighting. Germany was under French control. However, in 1812, Napoleon’s luck and Soon after, France commenced an battle prowess ran out. After a failure in invasion of the continent, occupying swaths Russia, the French were substantially of land in northern Europe including weakened. Occupied Europe seized its opportunity. In October 1813, Prussia, Russia, Austria and a number of other German states engaged the French in battle at Leipzig, a trading city about 100 miles south of Berlin. After three days, the French were driven out of Germany. Germany had thrown off the yoke of France.

Although Germany was no longer under French political control, the political impacts of Napoleon were irrevocable and profound. The Holy Roman Empire was history. Feudalism was eliminated. The Battle of Leipzig, 18 rights of trial by jury and protection from arbitrary arrest were established and the whole of Belgium and the Rhineland. In fostered. German nationalism was born. For 1795, the Prussians made peace with the absolutists trying to reestablish their French Republic and ceded the left bank of authority, there could be no greater threats. the Rhine River. France continued to invade other German states, gaining large amounts

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With the Congress of Vienna fast approaching, the fate of Germany could not be more uncertain.

HISTORICAL RECORD: WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED

Below are concise histories of what Since France was to retain its was actually decided at the Congress of sovereignty and much of its territory, the Vienna. These should by no means limit question then became in whom to invest the what you, as delegates, decide. This is authority of the state. There was merely intended to give you an idea of the considerable disagreement within the different possibilities you may pursue and Coalition on this point. At first, in 1814, the the issues that are the most important. You throne was offered to Napoleon on the should feel fully free, however, to take this condition that France retreat to its 1792 committee in an entirely different direction. border, but he rejected the proposal; after his return during the , the offer France was not repeated. Disagreement was chiefly focused on whether the new ruler of France would be a member of the Bourbon family, The Treaty of Paris of 1814 defined a member of the Orléans family, or a France’s role in the post-Napoleonic member of Napoleon’s own family. In the European system; the First Treaty of Paris, end, largely at the skillful urging of signed in 1814, was updated and hardened to Talleyrand, the Sixth Coalition chose to reflect Napoleon’s brief resurgence during restore the House of Bourbon to the throne the so-called “Hundred Days.” Still, the of France; Louis XVIII then became King of punishments levied against France were remarkably light thanks to the able diplomacy of Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, the French representative to the Congress of Vienna. In fact, the First Treaty of Paris had France paying no reparations at all.

Under the stiffer terms adopted in the Treaty of Paris of 1815, France would return to the borders it held in 1790, giving up all the lands won in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars but retaining A map showing the agreements of the Congress of Vienna a number of territories that the nation had lost to the other European powers, and would pay reparations to the tune of 700 France, albeit with the powers of the million francs, along with all expenses monarchy somewhat restricted by a new associated with the temporary occupation of constitution, instituted at the insistence of France by the armies of the Sixth Coalition. the occupying armies of the Sixth Coalition.

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Louis took the crown in what was powers, as Poland was in various historical legally established as the 19th year of his episodes and as the French originally feared reign, despite the fact that he had never after Napoleon’s defeat. France could have before possessed the throne. This was a been allowed to keep larger swathes of its pointed institutional denial of the French empire or forced to surrender territory it had Revolution; in the newly official timeline, already possessed before the Revolution. Louis XVII would have inherited the throne The throne could have gone to the from Louis XVI in 1793, and Louis XVIII unpredictable Napoleon again, or a member would then have begun his rightful rule in of his family, a move that would have meant 1795. In reality, Louis XVII had never held the continuation of imperial rule. The throne the crown (he died in prison, still the heir could have gone to a member of the more apparent), but this effort by the aristocracy liberal House of Orléans, as it would after to reject France’s revolutionary past was 1830’s July Revolution, potentially fast typical of post-Napoleonic politics. tracking France’s modernization by several decades. The Sixth Coalition could even Tellingly, Louis XVIII did not take have restored the up the title of “King of the French” as Louis French Republic XVI did during the early days of the as it existed and revolution and as Louis-Philippe would after was the July Revolution, a reflection of the internationally decidedly conservative principles that recognized at the triumphed at the Congress of Vienna. end of the French Despite new constitutional restrictions on Revolutionary the king’s rule, this was still an absolute Wars with the rather than a popular monarchy. This Peace of Amiens, wholesale repudiation of that stretch of before the rise of French history and strain of French thought Napoleon. would have serious consequences for the further development of European politics in the 19th century, particularly in its failure to Louis XVIII address latent socio-political issues that would resurface in later revolutionary All these potential histories would episodes across the Continent; France had have had radical consequences for the incubated a particularly virulent conception further development of European of democracy during the revolution, and international politics and society. Napoleon’s armies spread it as they marched across Europe. Germany In sum, the Congress of Vienna took an approach to post-Napoleonic France that was essentially regressive, an effort to return Out of the shambles of the Holy to European politics as they had existed Roman Empire and the political uncertainty before the French Revolution. As inevitable left behind after Napoleon’s decisive victory as history seems in retrospect, the result at Austerlitz, the French Empire assembled could have been very different. France could the fragmented German states into the have been partitioned among the victorious Confederation of the Rhine, which Napoleon imagined together as a useful buffer on his

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empire’s eastern border. With Napoleon’s was subsumed into the Empire, having done defeat, the powers of the Sixth Coalition little to maintain the balance of power in sought to remake Central Europe into a form Central Europe and even less to avoid the that would be conducive to their interests; to nationalist groundswell that the Sixth that end, they created the German Coalition had feared in 1815. Confederation, a weak association of a variety of German speaking states largely The reactionary efforts of the under the influence of Prussia and the victorious powers at the Congress of Vienna that would endure more or backfired at least in part in the case of less intact from 1815 until 1866. Germany; the German Confederation, designed to prevent the rise of German In creating the German nationalism, served instead as an instrument Confederation, the Sixth Coalition was in the hands of Otto von Bismarck to operating under the same reactionary promote it, a tool towards the end of principles that had guided its response to German unification. That unification, under France. The loosely bound German a conservative, nationalist state, would have Confederation would, they hoped, hem in enormous consequences for European French ambitions to the east, maintain the politics, particularly as regards Germany’s balance of power between Prussia and eventual role in the First and Second World Austria, and serve to hamstring nascent Wars. Central Europe could have developed German nationalist sentiment (nationalism very differently at the hands of the Sixth being an ideology that was, at the time, Coalition. anathema to many of Europe’s conservative regimes). They could have left the Confederation of the Rhine as it was - that As time would prove, the German is, without the inclusion of Prussia and Confederation stalled but did not stifle Austria – a move that might have impeded German nationalist ambitions, which would the Prussian rise to dominance in a later express themselves in the unsuccessful unified Germany. Alternatively, they could revolutions of 1848 and have left the many German states would finally be independent and unconnected, creating a realized through Otto political quagmire in Central Europe that von Bismarck, might have significantly delayed the Minister-President of economic and political development of that the Kindom of Prussia region, potentially to Western Europe’s advantage. They could even have restored and then Chancellor of Otto von Bismarck the Holy Roman Empire as it existed before the German Empire its dissolution during the Napoleonic Era, after its unification. Bismarck succeeded returning Emperor Francis II, some member through both a canny marriage of of his family, or another emperor entirely to conservatism and nationalism that co-opted the throne. Any and all of these choices nationalist sentiment away from its earlier could have spurred the development of a liberal ties and a savvy manipulation of the vastly different Central European political international political system; the result was landscape and a vastly different Germany an extremely powerful and distinctly than the ones that did in fact come to be. conservative German state that leapt quickly to status. The Confederation

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ROLE OF THE COMMITTEE

Addressing the complex array of interlinked problems facing the Congress of Vienna is can incredibly important undertaking – nothing less than the future of Europe is at stake. The main questions that delegates in this committee should consider are the fate of France and the remnants of Holy Roman Empire, and the following are some lenses by which we can frame the problem:

1. Should France be left as one country? After the Napoleonic wars, can it be trusted to exist as a unified state? 2. If so, should it have a military? 3. What should be done with the many competing groups striving to take power in Germany and other parts of the former Holy Roman Empire? 4. Similar questions may be asked about the status of the various states striving for predominance in the Italian peninsula.

We do not expect you as delegates to draw a detailed map of all of Europe’s future borders. Rather, we expect you to come in with a well-researched notion of your character and country’s policy and then to try to see that achieved on the major points under discussion. Ideally, the committee will produce a broad political framework that will serve as a guide for Europe in centuries to come, while dealing with crises and political intrigues which may arise along the way and change the course of the Congress.

STRUCTURE OF THE COMMITTEE

Committee Positions

THE FOUR GREAT POWERS OF THE protect is multinational identity, and, along SIXTH COALITION with the emperor, developed his support for the idea of a balance of power in Europe. Prince Metternich then shifted his eye to (Austria) Napoleon’s war against Russia in 1812. He Klemens von advocated for the independence of Austrian Metternich was troops under Prince Karl Schwarzenberg a conservative who were fighting alongside the French. Austrian Though he had the chance to switch his Prince Klemens von statesman Metternich allegiance to Russia in January of 1813, instrumental in Metternich proclaimed Austria’s neutrality restoring Austria to importance in the period to the world. This, however, was simply a before and during the Congress of Vienna. diplomatic ploy to avert attention from the Metternich began his involvement in the Austrian military while it rearmed. Despite contentiousness of the European map in the caveat that Austria would re-enter the 1803, when he became the Austrian minister war if Napoleon refused to acknowledge his in Berlin. Though he was unable to form a terms of peace, he negotiated an armistice against France with between Austria, Prussia, and Russia, Frederick William III as he had hoped, buying his army even more time. When Metternich spent his ambassadorship Metternich finally did declare war on observing Prussia’s inner conflict, leading France, he promised the Southern German him to predict the nation’s downfall well in states that, if they joined the Allies, they advance. would not forfeit the gains they had made with Napoleon. Thus, Metternich’s main By 1806 Metternich had moved to Paris, goal during the war was not only to achieve where he began reporting on the state of military dominance, but also to set up a Napoleonic government to his home structure of Austrian alliances to country. These reports included encouraging counterbalance Russia and Prussia in the news about Napoleon’s army that ultimately event of Napoleon’s loss. proved to be false, as Austria’s loss in the in 1809 suggests. This diplomatic strategy culminated in the Nevertheless, Metternich was still appointed Congress of Vienna, held in Austria largely minister of foreign affairs by Emperor due to the Metternich’s work over the Francis I of Austria. Metternich’s main previous two years. During the conference, achievement in the following two years was he hoped to form two confederations, one to link Napoleon to Austria through with Germany and the other with Italy. He marriage, which perhaps kept the nation also aimed to oppose other European from being the emperor’s prime target. He powers’ plans of eliminating France, also advocated for, but failed to achieve, a working with Lord Castlereagh to preserve reorganization of the Austrian state to its identity to balance Russia’s power.

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Metternich also played a key social role as Napoleon’s attack, Castlereagh advocated the Congress’ host, spending much time fiercely for the union and was instrumental entertaining monarchs with the hope that his in its eventual passage. Prime Minister Pitt diplomatic objectives could be achieved then provided Castlereagh with the without their interference. opportunity to serve as the for War for the whole in Baron Johann von Wessenberg (Austria) 1805. After engaging in various government As the deputy to Austrian statesman duties on and off, he became the Secretary Klemens von Metternich, the Baron Johann for Foreign Affairs and the leader of the von Wessenberg served as a diplomat during House of Commons in 1812. the Napoleonic wars and as Austria’s secondary delegate to the Congress of Castlereagh’s main Vienna. Wessenberg’s first involvement in objective at the anti-Napoleon politics occurred in 1808, time was to when he served as the ambassador to the maintain the Prussian court in alliance between Berlin. He intended to Napoleon’s convince Prussian King enemies and he Viscount Frederick William III began to draw up Castlereagh to join the fifth plans for post- coalition against Napoleonic Europe even before the end of France, but the king the war. He secured negotiation rights for had fled to East Prussia the United Kingdom and determined the in response to terms of agreements between the allies Baron Johann von Napoleon’s advances. through a series of treaties before the Wessenberg Wessenberg, unable to Congress of Vienna. The Treaty of fulfill his mission, Paris, the most well known of these returned home and departed on other settlements, restored the Bourbon Monarchy diplomatic travels around Europe – for the and created a separate kingdom out of the two years preceding the Congress of Vienna, Low Countries. With these British policy Wessenberg represented Austria’s interests aims already achieved, Castlereagh was left in London, France and Milan. After to play a particularly unencumbered role at returning home in 1814 to attend the the Congress of Vienna. Thus, Castlereagh Congress of Vienna, the Baron’s main focus hoped to enact his vision of Europe more became Metternich’s vision of creating a generally at the Congress, with a focus on united German confederation with an strengthening central Europe, preventing Austrian core. Russian and Prussian representatives from attempting to obtain unfairly large land Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh settlements, and establishing a tradition of (United Kingdom) regular meetings between large European Known as one of Britain’s most powers. distinguished foreign secretaries, Viscount Castlereagh began his political career in the Duke of Wellington (United Kingdom) Ireland before the passage of the Act of Arthur Wellesley began his career in public Union that joined Ireland to Great Britain. service in the army. He fought in several key Compelled by the growing fear of colonial battles in the late 1790’s and was

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knighted and made a Member of Parliament began representing Russia in various upon his return to England. After briefly embassies across Europe. That same year, he serving in the domestic government, he moved to southern Germany, hoping to became commander of British forces on the secretly report to Alexander I about peninsula in 1808. After driving British, Napoleon’s troops as Alexander began to Portuguese, and Spanish forces to a victory question his support of Napoleon. He also against Napoleon, Wellesley was given the collaborated over the Peace of Tilsit in 1811. title of the Duke of Wellington, by which he During the Franco-Russian war in the next is now more commonly known. In his role year, Nesselrode served as the diplomatic as the preeminent English military hero of secretary to several significant Russian the time, he spent a year in the Foreign generals and had been appointed as the Service, during which he attended the minister of foreign affairs by the Congress Congress of Vienna as a representative for of Vienna. During the Congress, Nesselrode the United Kingdom. hoped to assert Russia’s claims on Poland, though Alexander I, who was also present at Karl August von Hardenberg (Prussia) the conference and didn’t work very closely Karl August von Hardenberg was a Prussian with his foreign minister, often subordinated statesman and administrator. After serving him. in a variety of administrative and diplomatic positions, he became prime minister with Alexander I (Russia) full powers in 1810. After Napoleon’s Alexander Pavlovich, also known as campaign in Russia, Hardenberg secretly Emperor Alexander I, was the sole ruler of advocated for an alliance with Russia, which Russia during the Napoleonic wars. Though was solidified in 1813. In his diplomatic he enjoyed some military successes in the negotiations he strove to liberate Prussia early part of his reign, Alexander’s first from French rule and obtain more territory. encounters with Napoleon resulted in devastating losses for Frederick William III (Prussia) Russia. Alexander, trying The king of Prussia from 1797 to 1840, to win over Napoleon Frederick William III led Prussia to its through their mutual defeat in the battle of Jena in 1806 enmity with Britain, immediately after renouncing his isolationist agreed to the Treaty of foreign policy. After losing most of its land Tilsit, though many in the resulting Peace of Tilsit, Frederick Alexander I thought this would lead to William’s ministers carried out reforms to only further battles restore the country to enough strength to between the two emperors. This period of reenter the Napoleonic Wars in 1813. friendship between the two men is thought Frederick William hoped to fight foreign to have relied on Alexander’s acceptance of invaders off of German soil and hoped to Napoleon in a time when many other regain Prussia’s lost territory during the European royals looked down upon the Congress of Vienna. Frenchman for possessing power beyond his birth. After a five-year period of peace, Count Karl Nesselrode (Russia) Napoleon invaded Russia due to rising Karl Nesselrode, a Russian diplomat, and hostilities between the two nations. minister of foreign affairs from 1814 Napoleon claimed that the invasion was onwards, began his career in 1806, when he justified since he planned to liberate the

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Russian serfs, which was actually a key Though he served as Napoleon’s foreign domestic policy aim of Alexander’s. The minister, Talleyrand did not agree with campaign did not go as planned for several of the emperor’s strategies. Thinking Napoleon, and Russia’s victory caused the the emperor too aggressive, Talleyrand Russian people to begin to regard Alexander wanted to protect France’s newly attained as divine. Alexander then represented Russia possessions by staying out of conflict with at the Congress of Vienna, leaving less to England and Russia. While in the emperor’s his minister than others and fervently service, though he was eventually dismissed, working on the resolution himself. he communicated secretly with Alexander I and Louis XVIII, who he eventually helped OTHER SIGNATORIES OF THE reestablish to power. TREATY OF PARIS (1814) Louis XVIII (France) Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord The King of France from 1814 to 1824 (France) (though he began to hold the title in 1795), Napoleon’s foreign minister, more often Louis XVIII originally remained in Paris known simply as “Talleyrand,” served under when the Revolution broke out, hoping to nearly every French become a royal candidate, but eventually regime for half a century. fled in 1791. He then fiercely promoted the Talleyrand was notorious royalist cause around Europe, refusing to for his unmatched ability accept compensation payment from to deceive fellow Napoleon in exchange for the renunciation statesmen and seek of his royalty. After Napoleon’s defeats, he bribes, shifting political was received into Paris under a restoration allegiance often and negotiated by Talleyrand. Charles Maurice negotiating in secret with de Talleyrand- public enemies. His Marquis Don Pedro Gómez de Labrador Périgord vision of France involved (Spain) a painless transition from After a long career under various European the old regime to the new coupled with the royals, the Marquis de Labrador was preservation of France’s territorial interests. appointed Spain’s foreign ambassador, despite being well known for his weakness Talleyrand began his career in the Church of character and diplomatic incompetence. and soon gained powerful administrative The Marquis, having positions; however, after using his influence accompanied Pope to advance his own agenda for France’s Pius VI in exile, was future, he was excommunicated from the well versed in Church by Pope Pius VI in 1791. Talleyrand religious matters and then acted as an unofficial envoy to England advocated a special until expelled due to the revolutionary alliance between government’s bad mark against his name; Spain and the Holy however, he returned after the formation of See, though it was the Directory and began to serve on-and-off eventually rejected. as France’s foreign minister for the rest of As Spain’s his career. Marquis de Labrador representative to the Congress of Vienna,

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Gomez hoped to restore the deposed disputed Scandinavian land, such as Bourbons to the thrones of Spain’s Italian Swedish Pomerania and the Duchy of possessions and to regain control over Lauenburg. Spanish colonies in South Americas, some of which had revolted during the Napoleonic Cardinal Ercole Consalvi (Papal States) invasion of Spain. Regarded by many as one of the greatest statesmen to ever serve the papal court, Pedro de Sousa Holstein (Portugal) Cardinal Ercole Consalvi entered his public Also known as the Duke de Palmela, Pedro career in 1783 by Pope Pius VI. In 1796 he de Sousa Holstein began his career in was made assessor of a military commission Portugal’s foreign service in 1802. He created to prevent the intervention of French commanded Portuguese troops along with revolutionaries. When the French general the Duke of Wellington during Napoleon’s Duphot was killed in Rome, despite a lack peninsular campaign and represented of involvement by the Papal States, the Portugal in various European conferences French army invaded Rome and deprived from the 1802 to the Congress of Vienna, the Pope of his sovereignty. Though which resulted in his future permanent Consalvi was arrested, he returned soon position as Portugal’s minister of foreign after and was made cardinal and Secretary affairs. of State under Pope Pius VII in 1800.

Count Carl Lowenheim (Sweden and Consalvi then Norway) worked to protect Count Lowenheim held both administrative the Pope’s role as and military positions for Sweden during the the head of time of the Napoleonic wars. He was a Christianity in the lieutenant general, but achieved more fame eyes of the due to the paintings he made while abroad than because of any significant military European states, Cardinal Ercole Consalvi accomplishments. Due to the Treaty of Kiel, particularly by in which the King of Denmark-Norway had helping create the ceded Norwegian territory to the King of French Concordat. When Napoleon was Sweden, Lowenheim represented both crowned emperor in 1804, Consalvi was Sweden and Norway at the Congress of blamed for the Pope’s refusal to become a Vienna, advocating for these nations’ vassal under the emperor and was forced to interests in land lost due to various treaties step down by 1806. Later, after refusing to over the prior forty years. assist in the ceremonies for Napoleon’s second marriage, he was deprived of all OTHER REPRESENATIVES property and sent into forced retirement.

Count Niels Rosenkrantz (Denmark) After Napoleon’s abdication, Consalvi was Count Niels Rosenkrantz was a foreign reappointed Secretary of State for the Papal policy advisor to Danish King Frederick VI. States and represented the Pope in Though the King was also present in Vienna negotiations in France, England, and the at the time of the conference, Rosenkrantz Congress of Vienna, where he hoped for the played an important role in negotiations over reinstatement of lost papal territories.

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RULES AND PROCEDURE

This committee will operate within the constraints of a modified, somewhat-less-strict form of parliamentary procedure. Expect little time on the Speaker’s List (if any) and many moderated and un-moderated caucuses, as we try to move substantive debate along quickly so that many points of view may be expressed on these complicated issues. We may, however, modify procedure as we go forward in such a way as seems most conducive to the particular needs of the committee.

Votes both procedural and substantive will generally be decided on the basis of a simple majority—on certain matters, we might modify this to demand a higher threshold for approval. We will give you more detailed information when the conference arrives. Delegates will also have the opportunity to correspond with their home government and undertake certain unilateral actions via notes.

Though the committee will not be run as a rapid-fire crisis committee, delegates should be prepared to respond to unexpected events quickly and thoroughly via one-off documents. Ultimately, we are hoping that delegates will work together to produce a comprehensive and practical treaty, laying out a broad framework for Europe’s future.

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"Karl August, prince von Hardenberg." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 26 Sep. 2011. . Herold, J. Christopher. The Age of Napoleon. New York: American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc., 1963.

"Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 27 Sep. 2011. .

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