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The Congress of Vienna, convened in late 1814, was one of the first instances of international cooperation, and an extraordinarily — and surprisingly — successful one at that. The gathering, agreed to as a result of the Treaty of Paris drawn up earlier in the year, drew more than 200 diplomats from all of Europe’s nations except Turkey. Now that Napoleon Bonaparte, the unpopular Emperor of France, was in Elba contemplating his future — albeit involuntarily — the Allies wanted to redraw Europe’s map in a way that would ensure a lasting peace. Such an enormous goal required carefully considered decisions about which newly liberated French holdings rightfully belonged to whom. Presiding over the meeting was Prince Klemens von Metternich, its Austrian host. There were three other dominant nations: the oafish Emperor Alexander I represented Russia, Prince Karl August von Hardenberg was Prussia’s delegate, and Lord Castlereagh (Robert Stewart) represented Britain. They decided that France, Spain, and the lesser powers would have no vote in critical decisions. However, France’s personally ambitious and shrewd diplomat, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, persuaded the meeting’s four leaders to allow France to have equal footing with them in the negotiations. It would turn out that his vote was frequently the tie-breaker. Let the Fighting Begin Because they were allied in their mission and in their contempt for Napoleon should not suggest they were not adversarial. Spain and Portugal were at odds over the province of Olivenza; the Austrians, French, and British ganged up against Russia and Prussia over the disposition of Poland and Saxony; Spain and France sparred; Russia’s Alexander I bullied and repulsed most of the other participants; Saxony’s King Frederick Augustus was bitter about the decision that forced him to cede a third of his territories; Prussia was greedy; and Prussia’s delegation distrusted the Brits, French, and Austrians over their secret military pact against possible Russian aggression. Because of the contentious infighting, what was originally planned to be a four- to six-week summit lasted about nine months. Even at that the participants never came together as a whole; rather, the Congress comprised a lengthy series of committee sessions. It’s no wonder fatigue distracted the assorted envoys. Let the Revelry Begin Because many of the representatives brought friends and family, their need for distraction from their tense negotiations quickly turned Vienna into the scene of a festival with roughly the same rules as Woodstock. The city needed more clothing stores, pubs, liquor suppliers, wigmakers, tailors and seamstresses, entertainers, hotel rooms, and accommodating women. Author David King (Vienna 1814) called the Congress of Vienna “the most audacious and extravagant peace conference in modern European history.” How did the seamy side of the Congress of Vienna go down in recorded history? Because von Metternich employed the world’s largest secret police force, which had no qualms about spying on the city’s special guests. This is what makes the widely acclaimed success of the meeting all the more extraordinary — so extraordinary, in fact, that while at Harvard Henry Kissinger based his doctoral dissertation on the Congress of Vienna, titling it “Peace, Legitimacy, and the Equilibrium (A Study of the Statesmanship of Castlereagh and Metternich).” Let the Conclusion Begin Had Napoleon not escaped from Elba and kicked off his 100 Days’ Campaign in France, who knows how long the Congress of Vienna would have continued. As it was, though, the nations hurriedly completed their negotiations and turned their attention to more urgent matters. Among the Congress of Vienna’s accomplishments: • France lost the territory conquered by Napoleon • The Dutch Republic was united with the Austrian Netherlands to form a single kingdom of the Netherlands • Norway and Sweden were joined under a single ruler • Switzerland maintained its independence and neutrality • Russia received the major part of the former duchy of Warsaw as the kingdom of Poland, with Alexander I as king • Prussia received West Prussia, the Polish province of Poznań, the northern part of Saxony, and the greater part of the Rhine and Westphalia provinces • The remainder of Saxony was returned to King Frederick Augustus I • Austria’s holdings were returned and it was given Lombardia in Germany and Venice in Italy to compensate for its loss of the Austrian Netherlands • Holland was created and incorporated Belgium Despite their debauchery and disorderly conduct, members of the Congress of Vienna somehow managed to reestablish the balance of power in Europe and forge agreements that were virtually unchallenged for 40 years, the longest peacetime the continent would ever see. The task facing the participants in the Congress of Vienna -- the redistricting of Europe now that Napoleon Bonaparte was out of the way -- is considered a model of statesmanship. How this could be true in view of the fact that it was also a model of debauchery and hedonism is a topic for speculation. Congress of Vienna, Prince Klemens von Metternich, Lord Castlereagh, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, Robert Stewart, Russia, Prussia, Emperor Alexander I, Elba, King Frederick Augustus, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Saxony, Britain, France, 100 Days' Campaign,
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