Key Players of Congress of Vienna
- The “Host” Prince Klemens von Metternich (Aus.)
- Foreign Minister, Charles Maurice de Tallyrand (Fr.)
- Tsar Alexander I (Rus.)
- King Frederick William III (Prus.)
- Foreign Minister, Viscount Castlereagh (Br.)
Main Objectives
- Its job was to undo everything that Napoléon had done:
- Reduce France to its old boundaries -> frontiers were pushed back to the 1790 level.
- Restore as many of the old monarchies as possible that had lost their thrones during the Napoléonic era.
- Supported the resolution: There is always an alternative to conflict.
Key Principles Established at Vienna
- Balance of Power
- Legitimacy
- Compensation
- Coalition forces would occupy France for 3-5 years.
- France would have to pay an indemnity of 700,000,000 francs.
Changes Made at Vienna
- France was deprived of all territory conquered by Napoléon.
- Russia was given most of the Duchy
of Warsaw (Poland). - Prussia was given half of Saxony, parts of Poland, and other German territories.
- A Germanic Confederation of 30+ states (including Prussia) was created from the previous 300, under Austrian rule.
- Austria was given back territory it had lost recently, plus more in Germany and Italy.
- The House of Orange was given the Dutch Republic and the Austrian Netherlands to rule.
- Norway and Sweden were joined.
- The neutrality of Switzerland was guaranteed.
- Hanover was enlarged and made a kingdom.
- Britain was given Cape Colony, South Africa, and various other colonies in Africa and Asia.
- Sardinia was given Piedmont, Nice, Savoy, and Genoa.
- The Bourbon Ferdinand I was restored in the Two Sicilies.
- The Duchy of Parma was given to Marie Louise.
- The slave trade was condemned (at British urging).
- Freedom of navigation was guaranteed for many rivers.
