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Home , Congress of Vienna, Holy Alliance, Quintuple Alliance

Congress of of 1815 and other Alliances

Sept. 1814 - June 1815, one of the most important international conferences in European history, called to remake after the downfall of I Quadruple Alliance Read pg. 662-663 in your text Any of several European alliances… 1. The Quadruple Alliance of 1718 was formed by Great Britain, , the Holy Roman emperor, and the . 2. The Quadruple Alliance of March 1814 was concluded among Great Britain, , , and at Chaumont, France, in order to strengthen their coalition against Napoleon I. After Napoleon's first abdication the four powers made peace with France (Treaty of May 30, 1814); after Napoleon's return from , they defeated him in the and imposed on France the more severe of 1815. On the same day that treaty was signed (Nov. 20), the Quadruple Alliance was renewed in order to insure the treaty's execution. France joined the Quadruple Alliance making it the (1818) 3. The Quadruple Alliance of 1834 was formed by Great Britain, France, Spain, and for the purpose of strengthening the constitutional government of Spain and the throne of Isabella II.

Holy Alliance An agreement among the emperors of Russia and Austria and the king of Prussia, signed on Sept. 26, 1815. The Quadruple/Quintuple and the Holy Alliances were a part of the resettlement of European political boundaries after the fall of the Napoleonic empire. This alliance was essentially an attempt by the conservative rulers to preserve the social order. It accomplished nothing, since it was merely a vague agreement that the sovereigns would conduct themselves in unison with Christian principles. (Rulers pledge themselves to rule as Christian rulers)

Concert of Europe Term used in the to designate a loose agreement by the major European powers to act together on European questions of common interest. The concert emerged after the (1814-15) and included the Quadruple Alliance powers of Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia, and, as of 1818, France as well. It aimed to preserve peace by concerted diplomatic action reinforced by periodic conferences dealing with problems of mutual concern. (Form of international government by agreement)

Talleyrand- France, Metternich- Chief Minister of Austria and Chairman of the Congress, Czar Alexander I- Russia, King Frederick William III- Prussia, Castlereagh- Great Britain and many other countries Guided by the principle of legitimacy, restoration of the pre-Revolutionary dynastic & territorial states, it was the determination to achieve a balance of power for the preservation of peace that directed congress decisions. The Quadruple Alliance & designed to uphold the decisions of Vienna & to settle disputes & problems thru conferences → important step toward European cooperation. The , which functioned through the 19th century, may be credited to the Congress of Vienna.

An auxiliary accomplishment of the Congress was the adoption of standard rules of . Serious defects, however, included the disregard of the growing national aspirations and the social changes that brought about the of 1848. (Establish stability throughout Europe – Suppress Any Danger of Political Upheaval – Settle Territorial Questions)

… Delegates to the Congress of Vienna of 1815… At the Congress of Vienna, the monarchs and princes of Europe redrew their boundaries, to the advantage of Prussia (in and the Ruhr), Austria (in Illyria and Venetia), and Russia (in and Finland). British conquest of Dutch and French colonies (S. Africa, Ceylon, Mauritius) was recognized, and France, under the restored Bourbons, retained its expanded 1792 borders. The settlement brought 50 years of international peace to Europe. Prussia Hardenberg, Prince Karl August von (1750-1822), chancellor of Prussia (1810-17), who reformed the Prussian state and played a leading role in the coalition that defeated Napoleon.

Frederick William III (1770-1840), king of Prussia (1797-1840). He kept Prussia neutral in the until 1805. Persuaded by Russia and his people, he joined the allies against France. Prussia was defeated in 1806 and various Prussian territories were ceded to France. The Prussian army was reconstituted between 1807 and 1812 and participated in the victorious campaigns against Napoleon from 1813 until 1815. At the close of the war in 1815, he joined the Holy Alliance and participated in the alliance's repression of liberal movements in Europe. Within Prussia, he accomplished the reorganization of parts of the administrative system and consented to formation of the , or customs union. Russia Alexander I (of Russia) (1777-1825), emperor of Russia (1801-25). He abolished many barbarous and cruel punishments then practiced and in 1802 introduced a more orderly administration of government by the creation of eight ministries. He improved the condition of the serfs and promoted education, doubling the number of Russian universities. Alexander was for a time the ally of Prussia against Napoleon of France. In 1807, Alexander allied himself with the French. He broke the alliance in 1812, and later that year Napoleon invaded Russia, only to lose in a disastrous retreat from Moscow. Alexander was prominent thereafter in the European coalition that led to Napoleon's fall. In 1815 Alexander instituted the Holy Alliance of Austria, Russia, and Prussia. The purpose of the alliance was to achieve the realization of high Christian ideals among the nations of Europe, but it soon ceased to have any real importance. The last years of Alexander's life and reign were and despotic. France Talleyrand-Périgord, Charles Maurice de (1754-1838), French diplomat, who flourished through the French and the Napoleonic Wars and played a major part in the outcome of the Congress of Vienna. He also had a remarkable ability to survive in the turbulent period of the , the Napoleonic wars, and the restoration of the monarchy. On the darker side, Talleyrand was not above playing both sides of the political street to be assured of coming out on top. Through bribes and speculation he amassed a huge fortune. Talleyrand served as the French ambassador to Great Britain from 1832 to 1834 and helped bring about an era of good relations between the two nations. He also took part in the negotiations that in 1839 led to the general recognition of the independent kingdom of . Austria Metternich, Prince Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, von (1773-1859), Austrian statesman and diplomat, who was the dominant figure in European politics between 1814 and 1848. He served the Habsburgs first as an envoy to the Congress of Rastadt (1797) and then as ambassador to Saxony (1801), Prussia (1803), and Napoleonic France (1806). After Napoleon's disastrous Russian campaign in 1812, Metternich played a leading role in the formation of a new European coalition that two years later defeated the French emperor. At the Congress of Vienna (1814-15), which redrew the map of Europe after Napoleon's downfall, he blocked Russian plans for the annexation of the whole of Poland and Prussia's attempt to absorb Saxony. He succeeded in creating a under Austrian leadership but failed to achieve a similar arrangement for . His attempt to make the postwar Quadruple Alliance (Great Britain, Russia, Prussia, and Austria) into an instrument for preventing revolution in Europe also failed. As chancellor of the Habsburg Empire (1821-48) he was, however, able to maintain the status quo in and Italy, and he remained Europe's leading statesman until driven from power by the Revolution of 1848. Metternich equally resented liberalism, nationalism, and revolution. His ideal was a monarchy that shared power with the traditional privileged classes of society. Conceited, he often assumed responsibility for policies he had not formulated. Some have judged him a reactionary who tried to stop progress. Great Britain Castlereagh, Stewart, Viscount (1769-1822), British statesman, In 1790 he entered the Irish parliament as a Whig, but he joined the Tory party when he entered the British House of Commons in 1795. A year later he was created Viscount Castlereagh, a courtesy title. As chief secretary for Ireland from 1799, he energetically supported the attempt of the British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger to bring about the political union of Ireland with Great Britain. Pitt's proposed legislation, known as the Act of Union, was carried in the Irish parliament in 1800, largely through Castlereagh's skill in bribing parliamentary members. Castlereagh was a member of the House of Commons from 1801 until his death, serving as leader from 1812. As secretary of state for the war and colonial department during most of the period from 1805 to 1809, he helped plan British campaigns in the Napoleonic Wars. From 1812, as foreign secretary, Castlereagh played a leading part in the coalition of nations against Napoleon, keeping it united during the critical campaigns of 1813-14. He represented Great Britain at the Congress of Vienna (1814-15), which redrew the map of Europe after the Napoleonic Wars. At the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle (1818), he resisted Russian attempts to draw Britain into a European league to oppose revolution.