The Congress of Vienna was the last world performance, apparently ending a big, long and extraordinarily noisy season.
Mark Aldanov,Saint Helena, small island
A few words about the results of the Congress of Vienna, which completed its work in early June 1815. The rapid return of Napoleon from the island of Elba and the restoration of the French empire hastened the resolution of controversial issues that had been troubling the minds of the participants in the meeting for several months. On May 3, treatises were signed between Russia, Austria and Prussia, which determined the fate of the Duchy of Warsaw, as well as between Prussia and Saxony.
Congress of Vienna
book illustration
The Russian Sovereign left the congress two weeks before its end, having previously signed a manifesto About the raising of arms against the thief of the French throne by all powers that keep the law of piety and truth. He went to the location of his army, which, under the leadership of Field Marshal Barclay de Tolly, was advancing towards the Rhine.
On June 8, an act of the German Union was adopted, and the next day, June 9, the Final General Act of the Congress of Vienna, consisting of 121 articles, fixed the new borders of states established as a result of the redivision of Europe. In addition to the articles, the Final Act included 17 annexes, including the treaty on the partition of Poland, the declaration on the abolition of the trade in blacks, the rules for navigation on border and international rivers, the regulation on diplomatic agents, the act on the constitution of the German Union and others.
So, according to the decision of the Vienna Congress, Poland was divided. Most of the Duchy of Warsaw under the name of the Kingdom of Poland became part of Russian Empire. Alexander I received the title of Tsar of Poland. From now on, thanks to the fact that in 1809, according to the Friedrichsham Peace, Finland went under the scepter of the Russian emperor, moving Swedish possessions from the Russian borders to the Arctic Circle and the Gulf of Bothnia, and in 1812 - Bessarabia, with powerful water barriers in the form of the Prut and Dniester rivers, in the west an empire was created of sorts safety belt, excluding the direct invasion of the enemy into the territory of Russia.
Duchy of Warsaw 1807-1814.
The borders of Poland according to the decisions of the Congress of Vienna in 1815: salad color - the Kingdom of Poland as part of Russia, blue - part that went to Prussia, red - the free city of Krakow
The western lands of Greater Poland with Poznan and the Polish Pomerania returned to Prussia. And Austria received the southern part of Lesser Poland and most of Chervonnaya Rus. Krakow became a free city. The Congress of Vienna declared the granting of autonomy to the Polish lands in all its parts, but in fact this was carried out only in Russia, where, by the will of Emperor Alexander I, known for his liberal aspirations, the Kingdom of Poland was granted a constitution.
In addition to part of the Duchy of Warsaw Prussia, North Saxony, a significant territory of Westphalia and the Rhineland, Swedish Pomerania and the island of Rügen got. The north of Italy returned under the control of Austria: Lombardy and the Venetian region (Lombardo-Venetian kingdom), the duchies of Tuscany and Parma, as well as Tyrol with Salzburg.
Map of the German Confederation, 1815
In addition to the Polish, the German question was a stumbling block in the negotiations in Vienna. The victorious powers were afraid of the formation of a monolithic German state in the very heart of Europe, but were not against the creation of a kind of confederation that served as an outpost at the borders of unpredictable France. After long disputes within the boundaries of the former Holy Roman Empire of the German nation, the German Confederation was created - a confederation of different-sized German states: kingdoms, duchies, electors and principalities, as well as four city-republics (Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Bremen and Lübeck). Four countries - Austria, Prussia, Denmark and the Netherlands - belonged to the union only part of their possessions. There were no strong economic ties, no common legislation, no common finances, no diplomatic services between these sovereign states. The only central authority was the Federal Diet, which met in Frankfurt am Main and consisted of representatives of the governments of the states that were part of the German Union. The Austrian Emperor presided over the Diet. The goal of the Union was also quite modest: Preservation of external and internal security of Germany, independence and inviolability of individual German states.
England in Europe received Gibraltar, Malta, the Ionian Islands, and with them a dominant position in the Mediterranean; in the North Sea - the Helgoland archipelago. In addition, she secured part of the conquered French and Dutch colonies: the Lucayan Islands and Tobago in the West Indies, Mauritius east of Madagascar, the cotton districts of the Netherlands Guinea, which further strengthened the maritime power of the British crown.
Belgium was incorporated into the Kingdom of the Netherlands under the auspices of William I of Orange-Nassau. An ally of France, Denmark, lost Norway, which was transferred to Sweden, but received German Schleswig and Holstein. Switzerland, which included Vallis, Geneva and Neuchâtel, expanded its lands and acquired strategically important Alpine passes. It constituted a confederation of free, independent and neutral cantons. Spain and Portugal remained within their former borders and returned their ruling royal dynasties (Spanish Bourbons and Braganzas respectively).
Map of Italy in 1815
And, finally, Italy, which, according to Prince Metternich’s aptly caustic expression, after the decisions of the Vienna Congress is nothing more than a geographical concept. Its territory was divided into eight small states: in the north, two kingdoms - Sardinia (Piedmont) and Lombardo-Venetian, as well as four duchies - Parma, Modena, Tuscany and Lucca; in the center is the Papal States with Rome as its capital, and in the south is the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (Naples-Sicilian). Thus, the power of the Pope over the Vatican and the Papal States was restored in Italy, the Kingdom of Naples (Kingdom of the Two Sicilies), after bloody battles and the flight of King Joachim Murat, was returned to the Bourbons, and Savoy, Nice and Genoa were returned to the restored Kingdom of Sardinia.
Map of Europe after the Congress of Vienna
As the Russian historian Lieutenant General Nikolai Karlovich Schilder summarized: Russia has increased its territory by a space of about 2100 sq. miles with a population of more than three million people; Austria purchased 2300 sq. miles with ten million people, and Prussia 2217 sq. miles with 5,362,000 people. Thus, Russia, which bore the brunt of the three-year war with Napoleon on its shoulders and made the greatest sacrifices for the triumph of European interests, received the least reward. Regarding the most significant territorial acquisitions of the Austrian Empire, Schilder is echoed in the Petersburg Letters by the French politician and diplomat Joseph-Marie de Maistre: she (Austria) managed to get a huge prize in the lottery, for which she did not buy tickets ...
So, hitherto unprecedented neither in the number of crowned participants, nor in the duration of diplomatic disputes, nor in the abundance of intrigues, nor in the number of celebrations and holidays, nor in the size and brilliance of diamonds at balls, the pan-European summit drew the final line under the twenty-year era of the Napoleonic wars.
pro100-mica.livejournal.com
Organizational issues of the Congress of Vienna
The arrangement and holding of the Congress of Vienna was a significant event both for the European states and for the entire world practice as a whole. Let's consider some of its implementation issues in more detail.
Objectives: It was originally proclaimed that the Congress of Vienna was convened to determine the fate of the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, as well as to develop and take measures to prevent similar situations in the future. However, the adviser to the Austrian Chancellor Metternich, Friedrich Gentz, who was the General Secretary of the Congress of Vienna, wrote in February 1815: “Big phrases about “the reorganization of the social order, the renewal of the political system of Europe”, “Permanent peace based on a fair distribution of forces”, etc. d. etc. were uttered for the purpose of appeasing the crowd and giving this solemn assembly a certain air of dignity and grandeur, but the real purpose of the Congress was to divide the inheritance of the vanquished among the conquerors." And, indeed, all participants in the Congress sought to snatch as much as possible for themselves at any cost, regardless of their contribution to the defeat of Napoleon.
Time of the Congress of Vienna: from September 1814 to June 1815.
Composition and number of participants: there were 216 delegates of the European countries-winners at the Congress. The delegation of Russia was headed by Emperor Alexander I, of Great Britain by Keslrie, and a little later by Wellington, of Austria by Franz I, of Prussia by Hardenberg, of France by Charles-Maurice Talleyrand. Alexander I and the Austrian Chancellor Metternich played a leading role in solving the most important issues at the Congress. In addition, despite the fact that Talleyrand represented the defeated France, he managed to successfully defend her interests on a number of issues.
Plans of the participants of the Vienna Congress: All delegations came to the Congress in Vienna with certain plans.
1.Alexander I, whose troops were in the center of Europe, was not going to cede the conquered. He wanted to create the Duchy of Warsaw under his own auspices, granting it its own constitution. In exchange for this, in order not to offend his ally Frederick William III, Alexander expected to transfer Saxony to Prussia.
2. Austria planned to regain the lands conquered from her by Napoleon, and prevent a significant strengthening of Russia and Prussia.
3. Prussia really wanted to annex Saxony and keep the Polish lands.
5. France, not counting on any territorial acquisitions, did not want the predominance of some European countries over others.
During the negotiations during the work of the Congress of Vienna, a number of important scandalous events occurred:
· Firstly, on January 3, 1815, England, France and Prussia concluded a secret agreement containing the obligation of the three powers to jointly prevent the accession of Saxony to Prussia under any conditions. In addition, they agreed not to allow any redistribution of existing borders, that is, the accession of territories to one or another country or separation from them.
· Secondly, almost immediately after the conclusion of the above-mentioned secret agreement received scandalous publicity, which, of course, influenced the work of the Congress of Vienna. It happened in Paris during the historical period known as "100 days". Having landed in France with a small group of soldiers and officers loyal to him, Napoleon entered Paris on March 19, 1815. One of three copies of the secret treaty was found in the office of the escaped Louis XVIII. At the direction of Napoleon, he was urgently forwarded to Alexander I, who handed him over to Metternich. Thus, the "secret" conspiracy of some participants in the Congress of Vienna became known to all other delegations.
Thirdly, the very fact of the short-term restoration of Napoleon's empire was unexpected and unforeseen.
Fourth, important event was the final defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo and the return to Paris of the royal Bourbon dynasty.
Results of the Congress of Vienna: In its significance, the Congress of Vienna was a unique historical event. His results can be summarized as follows:
1. A few days before Waterloo, namely on June 09, 1815, the representatives of Russia, Austria, Spain, France, Great Britain, Portugal, Prussia and Sweden signed the Final General Act of the Congress of Vienna. According to its provisions, the inclusion of the territory of the Austrian Netherlands (modern Belgium) into the new kingdom of the Netherlands was authorized, but all other possessions of Austria returned to the control of the Habsburgs, including Lombardy, the Venetian region, Tuscany, Parma and Tyrol. Prussia got part of Saxony, a significant territory of Westphalia and the Rhineland. Denmark, a former ally of France, lost Norway, transferred to Sweden. In Italy, the power of the Pope over the Vatican and the Papal States was restored, and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was returned to the Bourbons. The German Confederation was also formed. Part of the Duchy of Warsaw created by Napoleon became part of the Russian Empire under the name of the Kingdom of Poland, and the Russian emperor became the Polish king.
In addition, the General Act contained special articles that dealt with relations between European countries. For example, rules were established for the collection of duties and navigation along the border and international rivers Mozyl, Meuse, Rhine and Scheldt; the principles of free navigation were determined; the appendix to the General Act spoke of the prohibition of the trade in Negroes; censorship was tightened in all countries, police regimes were strengthened.
2. After the Congress of Vienna, the so-called "Vienna system of international relations" took shape.
It was at the Congress of Vienna that three classes of diplomatic agents were established, which are still used today1; a unified procedure for the reception of diplomats was determined, four types of consular institutions were formulated. Within the framework of this system, the concept of great powers was first formulated (then primarily Russia, Austria, Great Britain), and multichannel diplomacy finally took shape.
3. A decision was made to create a Holy Union.
The formation of the Holy Union is the main result of the Congress of Vienna in 1815
The founding document of the Holy Union was the Act of the Holy Alliance, developed by Alexander I himself and signed in Paris on September 26, 1815 by the Russian and Austrian emperors and the Prussian king.
The purpose of creating the Holy Union was: on the one hand, to play the role of a deterrent against national liberation and revolutionary movements, and on the other hand, to unite, if necessary, all its participants in defense of the inviolability of borders and existing orders. This was reflected in the Act of the Holy Alliance, which proclaimed that due to the great changes in European countries for three recent years the members of the Holy Union decided that “in any case and in every place they will give each other benefits, reinforcements and help for the preservation of faith, peace and truth”1.
However, according to many historians, the content of this act was the highest degree vaguely and loosely, and practical conclusions could be drawn from it the most diverse, but its general spirit did not contradict, but rather favored the reactionary mood of the then governments. Not to mention the confusion of ideas belonging to completely different categories, in it religion and morality completely displace law and politics from the areas that undeniably belong to these latter. Built on the legitimate principle of the divine origin of monarchical power, it establishes the patriarchal nature of relations between sovereigns and peoples, and the former are obliged to rule in the spirit of “love, truth and peace”, while the latter should only obey: the document does not at all address the rights of the people in relation to power. mentions.
The purpose of the Union was mutual assistance in suppressing revolutionary anti-monarchist uprisings in Europe - echoes of the anti-Christian French Revolution- and strengthening the foundations of Christian statehood. Alexander I intended, through such an alliance, to also eliminate the possibility of military clashes between monarchical Christian states. The monarchs who entered into an alliance vowed to observe the inviolability of borders in Europe and to subordinate the entire order of mutual relations “to the lofty truths inspired by the eternal law of God the Savior”, “to be guided by no other rules than the commandments of the holy faith” and “to honor everyone as if they were members of a single people Christian."
The Act of the Holy Union was symbolically signed on the Orthodox feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The high spiritual meaning of the Holy Union is also reflected in the unusual wording of the union treaty, which is neither in form nor in content similar to international treatises: “In the name of the Most Holy and Indivisible Trinity! Their Majesties, the Emperor of Austria, the King of Prussia and the Emperor of All Russia, as a result of the great events that marked the last three years in Europe, and especially as a result of the blessings that God's Providence was pleased to pour out on the states, whose government placed its hope and respect on the One God, feeling inner conviction that it is necessary for the present powers to subordinate the image of mutual relations to the highest truths inspired by the eternal law of God the Savior, they solemnly declare that the subject of this act is to reveal in the face of the universe their unshakable determination, both in governing the states entrusted to them, and in political relations to all other governments, to be guided by no other rules than the commandments of this holy faith, the commandments of love, truth and peace, which were not limited to their application solely to private life, should, on the contrary, directly control the will of kings and guide all of them deeds, as a single means of affirming human decrees and rewarding their imperfection. On this basis, Their Majesties agreed in the following articles ... ".
In the first years after the creation of the Holy Alliance, despite the existing differences in the views of its participants, the European states on many issues foreign policy acted in concert, especially in the struggle against free thought and the democratization of the masses. At the same time, they closely watched each other and hatched their own plans.
In general, during the existence Holy Union several congresses have taken place:
1. Aachen Congress (September 20 - November 20, 1818).
2.Congresses in Troppau and Laibach (1820-1821).
3. Congress in Verona (October 20 - November 14, 1822).
Chapter 1. Beginning of the Congress of Vienna (1814)
1814 opened in the history of European diplomacy one extremely revealing trend, which was repeatedly repeated with mirror accuracy later on.
As soon as the battles of the Napoleonic Wars died down ...
Power Struggle at the Congress of Vienna
Chapter 2
In the spring of 1815
the congress had already begun to sum up the results, when suddenly its participants were shocked by unexpected news: Napoleon Bonaparte secretly fled from the island of Elba and landed in France on March 1.
As E. Saunders notes…
CHAPTER 1. Historical background for the Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna and the Creation of the "Holy Alliance"
§2. The formation of the sacred Union is the main result of the Congress of Vienna in 1815
Alexander I came up with the idea of creating a Holy Union of European states, as he understood that the decisions of the Congress should be institutionalized.
The founding document of the Holy Alliance was the Act of the Holy Alliance...
Indian National Congress at the head of a mass civil disobedience movement
2.2 Ideology and activities of the Indian National Congress
Questions about what led the Congress when it began, developed and stopped the massive campaign of civil disobedience, what currents and what struggle of opinions took place within it before, during and after the campaign ...
National issues of Siberia
National issues of Siberia
The 20th century met the indigenous peoples of Siberia not too friendly.
At first, however, everything went on as before: people “lived and procreated and ruled tax” (yasak). At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries ...
The main questions of the topic:
Western Turkic Khaganate, Turgesh Khaganate, Karluk Khaganate. The states of the Oguzes, Kimaks.
The states of the Karakhanids, Khitans (Karakitas). The states of the Kipchaks, Naimans, Kereites. The first mention of the name "Turk" refers to 542 ...
The main stages of the history of Kazakhstan
Questions for self-examination:
What are the main reasons for the weakening and fall of powerful khaganates? 2. What are the common features in the political history of the states of the Türgesh, Karluks, Oguzes, Kimaks, Karakhanids, Kypchaks? 3…
Causes, beginning, stages of the civil war in Soviet Russia
2. Participants of the Civil War: composition, goals, ideology, organizational forms
Events of 1917-1918 led to the fact that there were 2 camps in the country. The first is the camp of the Bolsheviks, otherwise they were called the "Reds", and the second anti-Bolshevik camp is the "Whites".
However, being the main opposing force…
Problems of studying stone drilled axes-hammers of the Crimea (In the context of questions of systematization of stone drilled axes-hammers of the Black Sea and South Russian steppes)
1.2 Terminology issues
It is worth paying attention to the rather urgent issue of terminology in the classification and naming of parts of the CCTM. This topic, of course, requires a separate study outside the scope of this work.
The question is…
Issues for discussion:
1. English nobility as sociocultural phenomenon. Transformation of the composition of the elite. 2. Formation of a common system of values: corporate noble ideology and its change; gender stereotypes, family and marriage relations and sexual morality…
Software and methodological support of the special course
Issues for discussion:
Registration of English entrepreneurs as a separate social stratum: Socio-political situation of entrepreneurs ...
Software and methodological support of the special course
Issues for discussion:
1. Structure transformation rural population England, his way of life and value system. 2.
CONGRESS OF VIENNA 1814 ‒ 1815
Classification of employees: Types of activity, status, basic values…
The assertion of the power of the Kuomintang and the struggle for the unification of the country
4. Weak ideological and organizational aspects of the Kuomintang power
At the same time, the established structure of the Kuomintang regime, even by the middle of the 30s.
politically was extremely weak and vulnerable. The central state apparatus was just beginning to take shape, while the local one still remained old ...
Stages and forms of the struggle of the Indians for their rights
1.3. Under the tutelage of Congress
The law of 1871, which eliminated the independent position of the Indians, was the beginning of the most difficult period for them, which lasted until the 30s of our century.
The status of wards was a clear violation of not only civil ...
Main article: Napoleonic Wars
In the autumn of 1814, representatives of all European powers gathered in Vienna for an international congress to resolve the most complex set of issues left over from the era of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars.
At the same time, each of the great powers sought to ensure only its own interests, and all together they imposed their will on weaker states. The main issues were resolved by agreement between representatives of the great powers - Great Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia. They quickly agreed on the new borders of France, but for a long time could not overcome differences over Poland and Saxony.
Napoleon's Hundred Days
The endless discussions at the Congress of Vienna were interrupted by the return of Napoleon to power.
Having escaped from Elba in the spring of 1815 and landed in France with a small detachment, he soon entered Paris victoriously at the head of an army dissatisfied with the return of the Bourbons. These were the famous "Hundred Days" of Napoleon. The emperor waited for some time, hoping to conclude an agreement favorable to him with the powers, and then launched an offensive in Belgium.
The short-term war ended on June 18, 1815, near the Belgian village of Waterloo, where Prussian and English troops, with the participation of the local militia, defeated Napoleon's army.
Decisions of the Congress of Vienna
Meanwhile, the Congress of Vienna had practically completed its work.
Congress of Vienna 1814 - 1815
The powers managed to reach a compromise on the most difficult issue, which meant in fact another partition of Poland. On June 8, 1815, the constitution of the German Confederation, which replaced the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation, was proclaimed, and the next day the General Act of the Congress of Vienna was solemnly signed.
- Article 1 decreed that the Kingdom of Poland "joins the Russian Empire forever."
Austria and Prussia also received their share of the Polish inheritance.
- Prussian possessions in the west of Germany were united into a vast province called Rhenish Prussia. Material from the site http://wikiwhat.ru
- Holland and Belgium formed a single kingdom of the Netherlands.
- Most of the territories of Northern Italy were united in the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom, which was transferred under the control of the Austrian emperor.
- Austria established its control over other Italian states and acquired a predominant influence in Italy.
- The British secured Malta and many of the colonies captured during the years of wars.
- France returned to the borders of 1790, and its territory was subject to occupation by the allied forces.
Pictures (photos, drawings)
On this page, material on the topics:
"territorial changes by decision of the Congress of Vienna"
What was the Congress of Vienna
The main results of the Vienna Congress
Causes and consequences of the Vienna Congress
March Revolution
Questions for this article:
Follow the territorial changes as decided by the Congress of Vienna.
What is the historical significance of the decisions of the Vienna Congress?
Material from the site http://WikiWhat.ru
VIENNA CONGRESS of 1814-15, an international congress that ended the wars of the coalitions of European powers with Napoleonic France. He met in Vienna in September 1814 - June 1815. 216 representatives of all European states (except Turkey) took part in its work, headed by the winners of Napoleon I Bonaparte - Russia (Alexander I, K.
W. Nesselrode, A. K. Razumovsky, G. O. Stackelberg), Great Britain (R. S. Castlereagh, later A. Wellington, C. Stuart and W. Cathcart), Prussia (Friedrich Wilhelm III, K. A. von Hardenberg, K.
W. von Humboldt) and Austria [Franz I (Franz II), K. Metternich, F. Genz, K. F. Schwarzenberg]. The highest European nobility gathered in Vienna - 2 emperors, 4 kings, 2 crown princes, 3 grand duchesses and 250 sovereign princes. One of the last to arrive in Vienna was a French delegation headed by Ch. M. Talleyrand.
The congress participants set themselves the following main tasks: 1) the restoration of pre-revolutionary orders in Europe, primarily the restoration of overthrown dynasties; 2) territorial redistribution in the interests of the victorious powers; 3) the creation of guarantees against the return to power of Napoleon and the resumption of French wars of conquest; 4) the creation of a system to combat the revolutionary danger, guaranteeing the European monarchy from shocks in the future.
Advertising
The Congress of Vienna was held in the form of bilateral consultations and negotiations between representatives of individual states, who concluded treaties and agreements among themselves.
The delegates met together only once - to sign the final document. Numerous balls and other secular entertainments were organized for the participants in the Congress of Vienna, which gave grounds to the Austrian diplomat Prince de Ligne to call it a "dancing congress."
The four victorious powers that signed the Chaumont Treaty of 1814 attempted to reach an agreement in advance on all the most important issues in order to impose their will on France and the rest of the congress participants.
However, the disagreements that emerged between them regarding the fate of Poland and Saxony allowed Ch. M. Talleyrand not only to join the leading “four”, turning it into the “five”, and then into the “eight” (due to the inclusion of Spain, Portugal and Sweden in the commission ), but also successfully influence the decisions made.
The congress revealed three different approaches to the solution of the question of the post-war structure of Europe.
On the initial stage the idea of legitimism dominated, any political changes that had taken place on the continent since 1789 were rejected, and a demand was put forward to fully restore the "legal order" in Europe, guaranteeing against a new revolutionary explosion. The most active supporter of this approach was Sh. M. Talleyrand. Without rejecting the idea of restoration in principle, Alexander I considered it necessary to take into account the irreversibility of many changes in Europe.
Ultimately, the policy of petty intrigues and combinations of various interests, imposed by K. Metternich, prevailed at the congress. Ideologically, this policy proceeded from the principles of legitimism, but in its practical implementation it expressed the selfish interests of the main participants in the congress. Metternich sought to ensure Austrian hegemony in a divided Germany, strengthen Austria's position in Italy and the Balkans, and also prevent the inclusion of all of Poland into Russia.
Alexander I, who had a great influence on the course of the congress, advocated the establishment of a political balance, which was supposed to contribute to the strengthening of Russia's influence on the continent.
He was interested in continuing the rivalry between Austria and Prussia and in creating a counterbalance to them in the person of France, whose excessive weakening seemed to him unacceptable. Prussia, insisting on taking the most severe measures against defeated France, sought to annex Saxony and part of the Rhine principalities.
Great Britain, interested in maintaining European balance and in consolidating its dominant position on the seas and in the colonies, acted in concert with Prussia against France, Austria and Russia, not wanting to allow any of them to strengthen to the detriment of British interests. France, striving to ensure that the Congress of Vienna took the most acceptable decisions for itself, saw the greatest danger from Prussia and resisted with all its might the satisfaction of Prussian claims to Saxony and the Rhine regions.
VIENNA CONGRESS 1814-1815
M. Talleyrand was in solidarity with K. Metternich on the issue of the absorption of Poland by Russia. On January 3, 1815, France signed a secret treaty with Great Britain and Austria on joint actions at the Congress and mutual assistance in case of danger from other powers.
The treaty was directed against Prussia and Russia and forced Friedrich Wilhelm III and Alexander I to make concessions on the Saxon and Polish issues.
The aggravated contradictions between the participants in the Congress of Vienna threatened to disrupt it, when in the first days of March 1815 it became known about the flight of Napoleon I from the island of Elba and his campaign against Paris (see "The Hundred Days").
All disputes were immediately abandoned. The states participating in the Congress of Vienna formed the 7th anti-French coalition against Napoleon and renewed the Treaty of Chaumont. On June 9, 1815, a few days before the battle of Waterloo, representatives of Russia, France, Prussia, Austria, Great Britain and Switzerland signed the final general act of the Congress of Vienna, which consisted of 121 articles and 17 annexes (until 1820, 35 states joined it).
This document introduced significant changes in the territorial and political structure of Europe and formulated the results of the redistribution of Europe and the colonies between the winners of Napoleon.
It provided for the deprivation of France of conquests, the creation of “barriers” along its borders, which were to be the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Switzerland, strengthened by expanding its borders and including strategically important mountain passes, as well as Prussia, which expanded its territory by annexing the Rhine provinces. .
At the same time, France managed to keep itself within the borders of 1792, determined by the Peace of Paris in 1814, losing the Saarland and several border fortresses in the east. It was charged an indemnity of 700 million francs, and its territory was subject to foreign occupation for a period of 3 to 5 years.
Russia received a significant part of Poland with Warsaw (the Kingdom of Poland), but was forced to abandon its claims to the Tarnopol district, ceding it to Austria. She also secured for herself Finland and Bessarabia, conquered by her in 1809 and 1812. Krakow was declared a free city under the auspices of Russia, Austria and Prussia (see Republic of Krakow).
Austria was restored to the borders of 1792, but without the Austrian Netherlands and the lands in the southwestern part of Germany. In addition to Tarnopol, Venice, Lombardy, Tyrol and Dalmatia were transferred under her rule. Representatives of the House of Habsburg were seated on the thrones of Parma and Tuscany.
She managed to gain a predominant influence in Germany - K. Metternich achieved the hegemony of Austria in the German Confederation of 1815-66, created by an act of 8/6/1815, most of the articles of which were included in the final act of the Congress of Vienna.
Prussia received the northern part of Saxony (South Saxony retained its independence). In compensation, Poznan, most of Westphalia, the Rhine Province, the island of Rügen and Swedish Pomerania went to Prussia.
Sweden received Norway, which was separated from Denmark, a former ally of Napoleon I. In Italy, the Sardinian kingdom was restored, to which Savoy and Nice were returned. Great Britain secured most of the conquered territories, including the island of Malta, the Cape Colony in South Africa and the island of Ceylon. The Ionian Islands were also under the British protectorate, which provided Great Britain with a dominant position in the Mediterranean.
In Spain and Portugal, the power of the dynasties overthrown by Napoleon I was restored.
The Vienna Declaration, concluded on March 20, 1815, concerning the fate of Switzerland, was included in the General Act of the Congress of Vienna in the form of Appendix XI and repeated in Articles 74-84 of the Act. She proclaimed the "eternal neutrality" of Switzerland, recognized the integrity and inviolability of the 19 cantons of the Helvetic Union, attached 3 more cantons to them and created the Swiss Confederation on the basis of this association.
At the Congress of Vienna, regulations were adopted for international navigation and the collection of tolls on rivers serving as the border of states or passing through the territory of several states (Rhine, Moselle, Meuse, Scheldt, etc.).
One of the appendices to the final act of the Congress of Vienna contained a formal ban on the slave trade. The Congress of Vienna for the first time established a unified division into "classes" of diplomatic agents and determined the order of their seniority when taking places at negotiations and when signing treaties (in alphabetical order of the French spelling of a particular state).
The system of international relations created at the Congress of Vienna was supplemented by the conclusion of the Holy Alliance (September 1815), the terms of the Peace of Paris in 1815, and the renewal of the alliance between Russia, Great Britain, Austria and Prussia (November 1815).
The Congress of Vienna consolidated the new balance of power in Europe after the collapse of the Napoleonic empire. This system lasted until the middle of the 19th century and finally collapsed with the completion of the unification of Italy and Germany.
Publication: Martens F. F. Collection of treatises and conventions concluded by Russia with foreign powers. SPb., 1876. T. 3. S.207-533.
Lit .: Zak L. A. Monarchs against the peoples. M., 1966; Foreign policy Russia XIX and the beginning of the twentieth century. M., 1972. Ser. 1. T. 8; Alsop S.M.
The Congress dances. N.Y., 1984; Kuznetsova G. A. Congress of Vienna // History of Russia's foreign policy. 1st half of the XIX century M., 1995.
P. P. Cherkasov.
VIENNA CONGRESS 1814-1815
History of Russia / Alexander I / Congress of Vienna (briefly)
Congress of Vienna (briefly)
Congress of Vienna (briefly)
It is customary for historians to call the Vienna Congress the international congress of 1814-1815, which ended the so-called coalition wars of European states against the military-minded Napoleonic France.
This event was convened at the initiative of the victorious states, which included Russia, Prussia and Austria, as well as England, which exercised the practical leadership of this congress.
As the name suggests, the congress was held in Vienna from early autumn (September) 1814 to early summer (June) 1815.
It was attended by representatives of all European countries, except Turkey.
The main objectives of the Congress of Vienna were:
- the restoration of the former feudal order, which was eliminated as a result of the French Revolution, as well as the Napoleonic wars;
- the implementation of the struggle against the national liberation and revolutionary movement;
- restoration of a number of overthrown dynasties;
- the formation of stable guarantees that would prevent the resumption of the Napoleonic movement in France, as well as further attempts to conquer Europe;
- full satisfaction of the territorial rights of the winners through the cutting of colonies and the redivision of Europe.
At the same time, the goals of the participants on some issues did not coincide.
The British side wanted trade and economic dominance in Europe and the strengthening of Prussia, as opposed to Russia and France, as well as the formation of a barrier from neighboring states near the borders of France.
Austria tried to do everything possible to prevent the strengthening of Prussia and Russia, thus ensuring its superiority in Germany.
Prussia wanted to get Saxony, as well as certain strategic territories on the Rhine, which did not at all meet the interests of France and Austria, who saw Saxony independent as a kind of buffer at the Prussian borders.
Russia planned to form the Kingdom of Poland under its auspices, which naturally did not please France, Austria and England, bringing together the listed states on the basis of opposition to Russia.
On January 3, France, Austria and England concluded a secret treaty, which was actually directed against Russia and Prussia, and these countries could only make concessions on the issue of Saxony and Poland.
On March 1, 1815, the participants in the congress signed a coalition against Napoleon, which later became the reason for redrawing the map of Europe.
Organizational issues of the Congress of Vienna
The arrangement and holding of the Congress of Vienna was a significant event both for the European states and for the entire world practice as a whole. Let's consider some of its implementation issues in more detail.
Objectives: It was originally proclaimed that the Congress of Vienna was convened to determine the fate of the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, as well as to develop and take measures to prevent similar situations in the future. However, the adviser to the Austrian Chancellor Metternich, Friedrich Gentz, who was the General Secretary of the Congress of Vienna, wrote in February 1815: “Big phrases about “the reorganization of the social order, the renewal of the political system of Europe”, “Permanent peace based on a fair distribution of forces”, etc. d. etc. were uttered for the purpose of appeasing the crowd and giving this solemn assembly a certain air of dignity and grandeur, but the real purpose of the Congress was to divide the inheritance of the vanquished among the conquerors." And, indeed, all participants in the Congress sought to snatch as much as possible for themselves at any cost, regardless of their contribution to the defeat of Napoleon.
Time of the Congress of Vienna: from September 1814 to June 1815.
Composition and number of participants: there were 216 delegates of the European countries-winners at the Congress. The delegation of Russia was headed by Emperor Alexander I, of Great Britain by Keslrie, and a little later by Wellington, of Austria by Franz I, of Prussia by Hardenberg, of France by Charles-Maurice Talleyrand. Alexander I and the Austrian Chancellor Metternich played a leading role in solving the most important issues at the Congress. In addition, despite the fact that Talleyrand represented the defeated France, he managed to successfully defend her interests on a number of issues.
Plans of the participants of the Vienna Congress: All delegations came to the Congress in Vienna with certain plans.
1. Alexander I, whose troops were in the center of Europe, was not going to cede the conquered. He wanted to create the Duchy of Warsaw under his own auspices, granting it its own constitution. In exchange for this, in order not to offend his ally Frederick William III, Alexander expected to transfer Saxony to Prussia.
2. Austria planned to regain the lands conquered from her by Napoleon, and prevent a significant strengthening of Russia and Prussia.
3. Prussia really wanted to annex Saxony and keep the Polish lands.
5. France, not counting on any territorial acquisitions, did not want the predominance of some European countries over others.
During the negotiations during the work of the Congress of Vienna, a number of important scandalous events occurred:
· Firstly, on January 3, 1815, England, France and Prussia concluded a secret agreement containing the obligation of the three powers to jointly prevent the accession of Saxony to Prussia under any conditions. In addition, they agreed not to allow any redistribution of existing borders, that is, the accession of territories to one or another country or separation from them.
· Secondly, almost immediately after the conclusion of the above-mentioned secret agreement received scandalous publicity, which, of course, influenced the work of the Congress of Vienna. It happened in Paris during the historical period known as "100 days". Having landed in France with a small group of soldiers and officers loyal to him, Napoleon entered Paris on March 19, 1815. One of three copies of the secret treaty was found in the office of the escaped Louis XVIII. At the direction of Napoleon, he was urgently forwarded to Alexander I, who handed him over to Metternich. Thus, the "secret" conspiracy of some participants in the Congress of Vienna became known to all other delegations.
Thirdly, the very fact of the short-term restoration of Napoleon's empire was unexpected and unforeseen.
· Fourth, an important event was the final defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo and the return to Paris of the royal Bourbon dynasty.
Results of the Congress of Vienna: In its significance, the Congress of Vienna was a unique historical event. His results can be summarized as follows:
1. A few days before Waterloo, namely on June 09, 1815, the representatives of Russia, Austria, Spain, France, Great Britain, Portugal, Prussia and Sweden signed the Final General Act of the Congress of Vienna. According to its provisions, the inclusion of the territory of the Austrian Netherlands (modern Belgium) into the new kingdom of the Netherlands was authorized, but all other possessions of Austria returned to the control of the Habsburgs, including Lombardy, the Venetian region, Tuscany, Parma and Tyrol. Prussia got part of Saxony, a significant territory of Westphalia and the Rhineland. Denmark, a former ally of France, lost Norway, transferred to Sweden. In Italy, the power of the Pope over the Vatican and the Papal States was restored, and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was returned to the Bourbons. The German Confederation was also formed. Part of the Duchy of Warsaw created by Napoleon became part of the Russian Empire under the name of the Kingdom of Poland, and the Russian emperor became the Polish king.
In addition, the General Act contained special articles that dealt with relations between European countries. For example, rules were established for the collection of duties and navigation along the border and international rivers Mozyl, Meuse, Rhine and Scheldt; the principles of free navigation were determined; the appendix to the General Act spoke of the prohibition of the trade in Negroes; censorship was tightened in all countries, police regimes were strengthened.
2. After the Congress of Vienna, the so-called "Vienna system of international relations" took shape.
It was at the Congress of Vienna that three classes of diplomatic agents were established, which are still used today1; a unified procedure for the reception of diplomats was determined, four types of consular institutions were formulated. Within the framework of this system, the concept of great powers was first formulated (then primarily Russia, Austria, Great Britain), and multichannel diplomacy finally took shape.
3. A decision was made to create a Holy Union.
The formation of the Holy Union is the main result of the Congress of Vienna in 1815
Alexander I came up with the idea of creating a Holy Union of European states, as he understood that the decisions of the Congress should be institutionalized.
The founding document of the Holy Union was the Act of the Holy Alliance, developed by Alexander I himself and signed in Paris on September 26, 1815 by the Russian and Austrian emperors and the Prussian king.
The purpose of creating the Holy Union was: on the one hand, to play the role of a deterrent against national liberation and revolutionary movements, and on the other hand, to unite, if necessary, all its participants in defense of the inviolability of borders and existing orders. This was reflected in the Act of the Holy Alliance, which proclaimed that, due to the great changes in European countries over the past three years, the members of the Holy Alliance decided that “in any case and in every place they will give each other benefits, reinforcements and help for the preservation of faith, peace and truth" 1.
However, according to many historians, the content of this act was extremely vague and loose, and practical conclusions could be drawn from it in a variety of ways, while its general spirit did not contradict, but rather favored the reactionary mood of the then governments. Not to mention the confusion of ideas belonging to completely different categories, in it religion and morality completely displace law and politics from the areas that undeniably belong to these latter. Built on the legitimate principle of the divine origin of monarchical power, it establishes the patriarchal nature of relations between sovereigns and peoples, and the former are obliged to rule in the spirit of “love, truth and peace”, while the latter should only obey: the document does not at all address the rights of the people in relation to power. mentions.
The goal of the Union was mutual assistance in suppressing revolutionary anti-monarchist uprisings in Europe - echoes of the anti-Christian French Revolution - and strengthening the foundations of Christian statehood. Alexander I intended, through such an alliance, to also eliminate the possibility of military clashes between monarchical Christian states. The monarchs who entered into an alliance vowed to observe the inviolability of borders in Europe and to subordinate the entire order of mutual relations “to the lofty truths inspired by the eternal law of God the Savior”, “to be guided by no other rules than the commandments of the holy faith” and “to honor everyone as if they were members of a single people Christian."
The Act of the Holy Union was symbolically signed on the Orthodox feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The high spiritual meaning of the Holy Union is also reflected in the unusual wording of the union treaty, which is neither in form nor in content similar to international treatises: “In the name of the Most Holy and Indivisible Trinity! Their Majesties, the Emperor of Austria, the King of Prussia and the Emperor of All Russia, as a result of the great events that marked the last three years in Europe, and especially as a result of the blessings that God's Providence was pleased to pour out on the states, whose government placed its hope and respect on the One God, feeling inner conviction that it is necessary for the present powers to subordinate the image of mutual relations to the highest truths inspired by the eternal law of God the Savior, they solemnly declare that the subject of this act is to reveal in the face of the universe their unshakable determination, both in governing the states entrusted to them, and in political relations to all other governments, to be guided by no other rules than the commandments of this holy faith, the commandments of love, truth and peace, which were not limited to their application solely to private life, should, on the contrary, directly control the will of kings and guide all of them deeds, as a single means of affirming human decrees and rewarding their imperfection. On this basis, Their Majesties agreed in the following articles ... ".
In the first years after the creation of the Holy Alliance, despite the existing differences in the views of its participants, the European states acted in concert on many foreign policy issues, especially in the fight against free thinking and the democratization of the masses. At the same time, they closely watched each other and hatched their own plans.
In general, during the existence of the Holy Alliance, several of its congresses took place:
1. Aachen Congress (September 20 - November 20, 1818).
2. Congresses in Troppau and Laibach (1820-1821).
3. Congress in Verona (October 20 - November 14, 1822).
Further, the work of the Holy Union began to gradually “fade away” and, in the end, it ceased to exist.A few words about the results of the Congress of Vienna, which completed its work in early June 1815. As we remember, the rapid return of Napoleon from the island of Elba and the restoration of the French empire hastened the denouement between the victorious countries of the controversial issues that had been troubling the minds of the meeting participants for several months. On May 3, 1815, treatises were signed between Russia, Austria and Prussia, which determined the fate of the Duchy of Warsaw, as well as between Prussia and Saxony.
Congress of Vienna
book illustration
The Russian Sovereign left the congress two weeks before its end, having previously signed a manifesto About the raising of arms against the thief of the French throne by all powers that keep the law of piety and truth. He went to the location of his army, which, under the leadership of Field Marshal Barclay de Tolly, was advancing towards the Rhine.
On June 8, an act of the German Union was adopted, and the next day, June 9, the Final General Act of the Congress of Vienna, consisting of 121 articles, fixed the new borders of states established as a result of the redivision of Europe. In addition to the articles, the Final Act included 17 annexes, including the treaty on the partition of Poland, the declaration on the abolition of the trade in blacks, the rules for navigation on border and international rivers, the regulation on diplomatic agents, the act on the constitution of the German Union and others.
So, according to the decision of the Vienna Congress, Poland was divided. Most of the Duchy of Warsaw under the name of the Kingdom of Poland became part of the Russian Empire. Alexander I received the title of Tsar of Poland. From now on, thanks to the fact that in 1809, according to the Peace of Friedrichsgam, Finland went under the scepter of the Russian emperor, pushing Swedish possessions from the Russian borders to the Arctic Circle and the Gulf of Bothnia, and in 1812 - Bessarabia, with powerful water barriers in the form of the Prut and Dniester rivers, in the west an empire was created of sorts safety belt, excluding the direct invasion of the enemy into the territory of Russia.
Duchy of Warsaw 1807-1814.
The borders of Poland according to the decisions of the Vienna Congress of 1815: salad color - the Kingdom of Poland as part of Russia,
blue - the part that went to Prussia, red - the free city of Krakow
The western lands of Greater Poland with Poznan and the Polish Pomerania returned to Prussia. And Austria received the southern part of Lesser Poland and most of Chervonnaya Rus. Krakow became a free city. The Congress of Vienna declared the granting of autonomy to the Polish lands in all its parts, but in fact this was carried out only in Russia, where, by the will of Emperor Alexander I, known for his liberal aspirations, the Kingdom of Poland was granted a constitution.
In addition to part of the Duchy of Warsaw Prussia, North Saxony, a significant territory of Westphalia and the Rhineland, Swedish Pomerania and the island of Rügen got. The north of Italy returned under the control of Austria: Lombardy and the Venetian region (Lombardo-Venetian kingdom), the duchies of Tuscany and Parma, as well as Tyrol with Salzburg.
Map of the German Confederation, 1815
In addition to the Polish, the German question was a stumbling block in the negotiations in Vienna. The victorious powers were afraid of the formation of a monolithic German state in the very heart of Europe, but were not against the creation of a kind of confederation that served as an outpost at the borders of unpredictable France. After long disputes within the boundaries of the former Holy Roman Empire of the German nation, the German Confederation was created - a confederation of different-sized German states: kingdoms, duchies, electors and principalities, as well as four city-republics (Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Bremen and Lübeck). Four countries - Austria, Prussia, Denmark and the Netherlands - belonged to the union only part of their possessions. There were no strong economic ties, no common legislation, no common finances, no diplomatic services between these sovereign states. The only central authority was the Federal Diet, which met in Frankfurt am Main and consisted of representatives of the governments of the states that were part of the German Union. The Austrian Emperor presided over the Diet. The goal of the Union was also quite modest: Preservation of external and internal security of Germany, independence and inviolability of individual German states.
England in Europe received Gibraltar, Malta, the Ionian Islands, and with them a dominant position in the Mediterranean; in the North Sea - the Heligoland archipelago. In addition, she secured part of the conquered French and Dutch colonies: the Lucayan Islands and Tobago in the West Indies, Mauritius east of Madagascar, the cotton districts of the Netherlands Guinea, which further strengthened the maritime power of the British crown.
Belgium was incorporated into the Kingdom of the Netherlands under the auspices of William I of Orange-Nassau. An ally of France, Denmark, lost Norway, which was transferred to Sweden, but received German Schleswig and Holstein. Switzerland, which included Vallis, Geneva and Neuchâtel, expanded its lands and acquired strategically important Alpine passes. It constituted a confederation of free, independent and neutral cantons. Spain and Portugal remained within their former borders and returned their ruling royal dynasties (Spanish Bourbons and Braganzas respectively)
Map of Italy in 1815
And, finally, Italy, which, according to Prince Metternich’s aptly caustic expression, after the decisions of the Vienna Congress is nothing more than a geographical concept. Its territory was divided into eight small states: in the north, two kingdoms - Sardinia (Piedmont) and Lombardo-Venetian, as well as four duchies - Parma, Modena, Tuscany and Lucca; in the center is the Papal States with Rome as its capital, and in the south is the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (Naples-Sicilian). Thus, the power of the Pope over the Vatican and the Papal States was restored in Italy, the Kingdom of Naples (Kingdom of the Two Sicilies), after bloody battles and the flight of King Joachim Murat, was returned to the Bourbons, and Savoy, Nice and Genoa were returned to the restored Kingdom of Sardinia.
Map of Europe after the Congress of Vienna
As the Russian historian Lieutenant General Nikolai Karlovich Schilder summarized: Russia has increased its territory by a space of about 2100 sq. miles with a population of more than three million people; Austria purchased 2300 sq. miles with ten million people, and Prussia 2217 sq. miles with 5,362,000 people. Thus, Russia, which bore the brunt of the three-year war with Napoleon on its shoulders and made the greatest sacrifices for the triumph of European interests, received the least reward. Regarding the most significant territorial gains of the Austrian Empire, Schilder is echoed in Petersburg letters French politician and diplomat Joseph-Marie de Maistre: she (Austria) succeeded get a huge lottery win that she didn't buy tickets for...
But the main result of the Vienna Congress was the creation of a new system of international relations in Europe (called Vienna), based on the dominance of four great powers- Russia, England, Austria, Prussia, to which in 1818 after the withdrawal allied forces France joined.