The Congress of Vienna

on the 4th of may 1814 a conference was held with representatives from all of Europe’s major powers to discuss what would be done now that Napoleon’s attempts at domination had finally been thwarted. The topic that we’re discussing today “what should people do when their power is threatened” was one of the most important dilemmas that the representatives at the the congress of Vienna had to face. The kings and queens of the European nations often asked themselves this question when under the constant threat of Napoleon, should they surrender and let Napoleon take one more piece of Europe for himself, or should they stay and fight for the continuation of their rule? The dilemmas we had to deal with in class where similar to this, we were broken into groups, given three solutions to a problem that was addressed at the congress of Vienna, and asked to choose which one we thought would fit best for Metternich and the people of Austria. The experiment helped us understand the mindset of a representative at the congress of Vienna trying to make the best decisions for his patron country, and also helped us to better understand the essential question, what would our country do to maintain their power in Europe?    

another major issue that was addressed was how to properly maintain a balance of power in Europe (or how to make sure that no particular nation rised above the rest). To accomplish this, Metternich wanted to Bring French territory back to the way it was prior to the revolutions and hence reduce their threat. To help further maintain France’s balance of power, the representatives increased the territory of surrounding nations such as Prussia and the Netherlands so they could serve as barrier against France forces. This plan was particularly enticing to Metternich because it ensured more territory to Austria as condolences for Frances attacks on their soil. The Congress of Vienna also attempted to maintain this balance by appointing King Louis the XVI’s brother Louis the XVIII as Napoleon’s replacement for the ruler of France. The representatives at the congress thought that by appointing another monarch from the Bourbon line the threat to their power would be significantly diminished for rulers from the Bourbon family have consistently refrained from revolting against foreign powers. These decisions led to Europe more or less reverting back to square one, a Bourbon was once again in power, the French territory was significantly diminished, and it seemed that practically none of the causes that kick-started the revolution in the first place had been achieved. However a balance of power was restored to Europe, which meant that no drastic changes were going to be made from the traditions they had become accustomed too, but instead the people could sleep safer knowing that no tyrants like Napoleon could rise from the woodwork.

  The people at the congress of Vienna made short sighted decisions because Napoleon had worn the patience of the European officials so much, and they were so afraid of another revolution, that they were willing to do anything to get France back to the way it was before. I suppose that’s why the congress of Vienna made the positively inept decision of appointing the brother of the man whose sheer incompetence started the revolution in the first place as the new ruler of France. The primary objective of the revolution, the purpose that all those countless fallen soldiers and executed civilians thought they were fighting for, was to end the reign of king Louis the XVI and the Bourbons and usher in a new line of rulers who had the common folk's best interests at heart. and to honor this objective the congress of Vienna decided to appoint not just another member of the bourbon line, but King Louis the XVI’s brother. You can imagine the outcry in the streets of France the day that a Bourbon once again sat on the royal throne after the people fought so hard to keep him out of it. I think the best course of action would’ve been to instigate a new democracy in France, but if that proved to substantial of a change for the Monarchs of Europe then perhaps a new more benevolent leader that would listen to the people’s demands, anything other than the sibling of arguably the most hated man in French history. But the European monarchs would never agree to sharing their power through a democracy, because they would no longer have absolute control over their countries and their subjects. Power is like a rapid current, you dip your pinky in for a second and then suddenly you’re in over your head, but what the representatives at the congress of Vienna needed to learn was that sacrificing absolute power is a small price to pay for the continued welfare and happiness of your people.