The Congress of Vienna
A settlement with two aims
- After the defeat of Napoleon by a coalition of European powers, the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) attempted to restore the balance of power in Europe and contain the danger of revolutionary or nationalistic upheavals in the future.
- Two aims in one sentence: restore the balance of power, and contain revolution and nationalism.
- The CED's verb is attempted, twice-qualified — it does not say the Congress succeeded.
Select both aims the CED gives the Congress.
Two aims in one sentence.
Balance of power, again
- 3.6 established the balance of power as the eighteenth century's organising principle of diplomacy.
- Vienna restores it, which means the settlement is conservative in method as well as in aim.
- So Napoleonic Europe is treated as a deviation to be undone rather than a new state of affairs to be accepted.
The CED's verb for what the Congress did is...
It does not concede success.
Containment names its two dangers
- Revolutionary upheaval is the danger from 5.4's principles; nationalistic upheaval is the danger from 5.6's response.
- Naming both is an admission that the previous twenty-five years produced two lasting forces, not one.
- The rest of the course is largely the story of whether containment held.
An aim, a named danger, or a later consequence?
Sort each element of the Vienna settlement.
Match each danger to where it came from.
Naming both admits twenty-five years produced two lasting forces.
The CED says the Congress attempted. It attempted to restore the balance of power and to contain the danger of revolutionary or nationalistic upheavals — the verb does not concede success, and the rest of the course is largely the story of whether containment held.
Restoring the balance of power makes the settlement conservative in method as well as aim.
Napoleonic Europe is treated as a deviation to be undone.
Why the settlement matters for unit 6
- A settlement designed to contain nationalism sets the terms on which nationalism must later operate.
- So the revolutions and unifications of the next century are arguments with Vienna, not developments unrelated to it.
- Writing the connection forward is what turns a date into a cause.
A settlement designed to contain nationalism sets the ____ on which nationalism must later operate.
The next century's revolutions are arguments with Vienna.
Response and consequence
- The objective is how states responded to Napoleonic rule and the consequences of the response.
- Response: a coalition that defeated Napoleon, then a congress that restored and contained.
- Consequence: a European order defined against revolution and nationalism, which both would test.
A settlement that names the thing it fears has told you what it expects to fight. Listing revolution and nationalism as separate dangers is an admission that twenty-five years produced two forces, and that neither can be undone by redrawing a map.
After the defeat of Napoleon by a coalition of European powers, the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) attempted to restore the balance of power and contain the danger of revolutionary or nationalistic upheavals in the future. Two aims, one verb — attempted — and two named dangers, one from 5.4's principles and one from 5.6's response.