sign in sign up
<<
Home , Treaty of Chaumont, Treaty of Kiel, Treaty of Paris (1812)

The November 1, 1814

Greetings all,

This message has been sent to you from Vienna, Austria as an invitation to take part in a meeting that involves all members of European society with the purpose of discussing the conflicts that have been enveloping our continent for the last twenty years. As a form of reference and appreciation to Prince Metternich for hosting this meeting, it shall be called the Congress of Vienna. This meeting will be held on the first of November of this year, 1814. All representatives invited to this committee are aware of the atrocities committed by that altered the geopolitical face of Europe. The purpose of this congress is to counteract said actions by working in concert, with the ultimate goal of together restoring Europe’s past glory. This meeting shall serve as a contrast to Napoleon’s belligerent tactics, being as diplomatic as possible, in order for the old European order to be restored.

Historical Background:

This congress would mean nothing without the events that led up to it. These events, although broad, are essential to review in order to be properly prepared for what will be discussed in this meeting. The following events are those all representatives should know perfectly well when entering the congress:

The Enlightenment

The Enlightenment, or the Age of Reason, took place in eighteenth century Europe. Living up to its name, the Enlightenment became the time when the use of reason became the key to solving the issues of the time period. As the ideas of the Enlightenment spread to the masses, people began to question their current governments and noticed there were better ways to be ruled. The Enlightenment created a platform for completely new ways of political thinking which involved a reevaluation of the values of the time. Making decisions simply because it was a tradition wasn’t enough anymore, they had to be proven efficient using a method similar to that of Isaac Newton’s, which was applied to everyday life.

The French Revolution

Did the French Revolution begin because of the ideas spread by the Enlightenment? Or because of the poverty was facing at the time, while an absolutist regime was hiding away in Versailles? At one point while the revolution was happening in France, politics brought Austria to war with France, which forced the French to deal with an internal and external conflict. joined in on the Austrian side and after long battles the French came out of this conflict victorious. With the execution of Louis XVI the stage was set for the Reign of Terror where many people were killed through the Guillotine. This revolution came to an end when the Directoire was signed and Napoleon came to be known as emperor. The French Revolution is significant because the passion that stirred the people of France to action is what created the perfect scenario for brilliant minds such as Napoleon’s to manipulate the people to their favor. At first, no other nation got involved in the French Revolution because they were more worried about their internal issues. Prussia and Austria didn’t want to recognize the new republic started by the French Revolution, but they didn’t want to go against it because of fear that their people were going to rebel against them. Spain was too involved in making its absolute monarchy more absolute, and Great Britain had enough problems between the Whigs and Torries to get involved.

Treaty of Amiens

This was the Treaty that ended conflicts between the Second Coalition and France in 1802. Great Britain decided to get involved because they noticed that the problems in France had begun to affect their commerce, so they decided to recognize the French republic. Although the standstill it brought on Europe lasted only a year, it allowed France to be able to concentrate on its domestic policies instead of on constant warfare. This coalition eventually led Napoleon to create the . The Continental System was Napoleon’s way to fight the British. He knew he would stand no chance against Britain’s navy, so instead of directly waging war against them, he created an embargo which would destroy their economy. By cutting off commerce with mainland Europe, Great Britain would have no funds to maintain their navy.

The and the Coalitions

The Napoleonic Wars began with the War of the First Coalition in 1793 and have so far ended with Napoleon’s defense of Paris after the invasion of Russia in 1812 . The Napoleonic Wars were consistent only in the following: they all involved Napoleon and they were all fought to make France the leading nation in Europe. Other than that, the wars were fought all with different gaps between them and against different allies that went against Napoleon’s regime. While Napoleon showed desires of conquering, Austria and Prussia became scared that Napoleon would limit or overthrow their sovereignty. Thus a coalition formed between Austria, , Russia and Great Britain to stop the French leader. This came to be known as the Third Coalition. There had previously been two coalitions, but not as organized and well-formed as the third one. By 1803, both sides were at war and in 1805 at the , Napoleon lost due to the naval force of Britain. Although defeated at sea, Napoleon proved to be a much stronger force than the Third Coalition. Napoleon defeated the Austro-Russian army at Austerlitz, forcing Austria to withdraw from the war. Later a Fourth Coalition would be set up between Great Britain, Saxony, Sweden, Russia and Prussia; this would be the coalition where the Continental System would be set up. Also in 1806, Napoleon set up the Confederation of the Rhine which created 16 German states which were client states of the French Empire. Napoleon called himself “Protector of the Conf. of the Rhine”. After this came the Fifth Coalition, where the French Empire was able to expand to its greatest extent due to the defeat of Austria at the battle of Aspern. After the Fifth Coalition in 1812, Russia was holding off secret treaties with Britain against France and broke the Continental System. Napoleon taking matters into his hands marched into Russia where he followed the Russian armies deep into Russian territory but realized too late that his troops would soon run out of supplies and would have to face a deadly winter if they remained in Russia. After many battle Napoleon took the decision to retreat to France, and the Sixth Coalition was formed to finish Napoleon once and for all. The Coalition closed in on Paris, and Napoleon fought the Six Days Campaign where he was finally defeated and exiled to the island of Elba. Napoleon got more powerful after every war he won, but he also made more and more enemies within the continent, seeing as six coalitions were formed against him in a frame of twenty years. One of the most important battles in Napoleon’s favor was the battle of Jena in 1806, which resulted in Prussia’s defeat by Napoleon. Napoleon’s winning streak had gotten as far is it would go by 1808, because in this year Napoleon began to make mistakes which would eventually lead to his defeat. The first of these mistakes was to make his brother, , the king of Spain after dethroning King Charles IV. This action led to Spanish revolts, which made it a perfect opportunity for Napoleon’s enemies to aid France in order to weaken France. The resulted in the expulsion of the French from Spain by British, Spanish, and Portuguese forces.

The Treaty of

The Treaty of Kiel included the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Sweden on one side with the Kingdoms of and on the other. During the Napoleonic Wars Denmark and Norway maintained ties to Napoleon, but Great Britain and Sweden fought against him. At this meeting, Denmark agreed to give Norway to Sweden in return for Swedish but the treaty failed in coming into action as Norway became and independent nation with its own king. Later at the Convention of Moss, Norway agreed to unite with Sweden leaving the status of to be decided at the congress of Vienna…

Treaty of Chaumont

The Treaty of Chaumont was a cease-fire created by the Sixth Coalition to end war with Napoleon, but Napoleon flatly rejected the cease-fire. Due to Napoleon rejecting this treaty, the Sixth Coalition would continue fighting against Napoleon until he was defeated. The Treaty of Chaumont basically marks the beginning of secret treaties within European nations.

We urge you to be sure of what your stance was in each of these events for this committee to be able to run smoothly. The ideas you present in the congress should be according to your policy in each of these events.

Structure of the Congress itself:

The Congress will run depending on how long it takes to debate each topic; it is to your discretion how much time will be spent on each one, however you see fit. The first step to arrive to an agreement amongst all representatives will be to make a list of what needs to be done to bring Europe back to the way it was geographically. Bring prepared a list of “demands” that you want to be met and that you believe will restore past peace in Europe. Your solutions should consist of “Peace treaties” that benefit your region and Europe as a whole, according to your policy. These Peace treaties are meant to address every point in order to reach a consensus. The goal of this meeting is to establish a balance of power, so that no one nation can rise over the others. Our objective is to fix the current upheaval in Europe, but more importantly to prevent it from happening again.

Key Issues for Debate:

The reasons you have been summoned to attend this meeting are to address the following conflicts brought up in the past decades:

Ensuring European stability The Polish-Saxon question The German question Nationalism The The Slave Trade

End Note: We would like to remind delegates that this is a historic committee, meaning that studying is essential. You must have your goals and allies clear; it is highly recommended that become completely familiar with all the terms and events listed in this briefing. We look forward to a very dynamic committee, seeing as the Congress of Vienna is known as “one of the most outstanding international congresses in history”. It is up to you, fellow delegates, to stay true to this statement, as this would not be possible without the exceptional political figures represented. Although this briefing was written in English, the delegates at the congress have the choice of competing in the language of their choice be it English or Spanish. As for the position papers, they will be due Thursday, October 6th, and we do ask that you send them to both chairs. We will have them graded and handed back to you by the second day of committee, Saturday. Please do not hesitate to contact either chair, we don’t bite and we are more than willing to clarify any doubts you may have. Good luck delegates, we will see you on Friday!

Sincerely,

Katina Garcia Luis Manuel Rico [email protected] [email protected]