The Vienna Congress led to the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte I. Napoleon escaped from Elba after the first defeat while the delegates were at Vienna discussing what to do with the defeated France. The peace makers at Vienna decided to mobilize a large force that defeated Napoleon at Waterloo on 8th June 1815. He was subsequently exiled to the Island of St. Helena which marked the end of the Napoleonic era and chaos or wars in Europe.
The Congress checked further French aggression through the creation of buffer or defensive states around France. These states reduced France’s ability to conduct acts of aggression in Europe. For example, in the North of France, the United Kingdom of Netherlands that combined Belgium and Netherlands was created.
In the East of France, a Confederation or Union consisting of thirty nine (39) German states was created known as the German Confederation. This union was created to guard against further French aggression in the East of France. The union was put under Austria. Austria also took over the states of Lombardy and Venetia in Northern Italy.
Prussia was given more territories in the Rhine lands to create a bigger and stronger state which would guard against further French aggression in the Rhine lands.
Similarly, in the South East of France, the Italian territories of Genoa and Savoy were added to the Italian kingdom of Sardinia. The purpose was to check against further French aggression in Italy because Napoleon I had invaded and conquered Italy before his defeat.
In the Baltic Sea region, Finland which was part of Sweden was transferred to Russia. The purpose was to create a strong Russia that extended into Europe so as to check against the French aggression in the Baltic lands – (Baltic Sea) like Norway, Sweden and Finland. All in all, the above buffer states were so strong that French aggression was brought to an end which created peace in Europe.
The congress of Vienna restored balance of power in Europe. For example, Russia had wanted to annex the whole of Poland during the congress. However, the delegates gave Russia just half of Poland because they feared that Russia was to become a very powerful state to upset or change the balance of power in Europe.
In addition, Prussia had also wanted to take over the whole of Saxony. However, the delegates who feared that Prussia would emerge bigger and more powerful than before gave it only half of Saxony. This helped to create balance of power in Europe.
Similarly, the creation of the United Kingdom of Netherlands in the North of France and the merging of Genoa and Savoy in the South East of France as well as the giving of Lombardy and Venetia in Northern Italy to Austria were also intended to create states that were more powerful than before. Therefore, there was balance of power in Europe.
The Vienna Congress restored relative peace in Europe. France had been at war with European countries during the French revolution of 1789 and the regime of Napoleon. However, after the Battle of Waterloo of 1815, there was no major war that involved all the major powers Europe. This was because the Vienna Congress had restored the balance of power as well as stopping further French aggression in Europe. This therefore created relative peace in Europe for about 40 (fourty) years until the outbreak of the Crimean War of 1854 – 1856 in which Russia fought Turkey, Britain and France.
The Vienna congress (settlement) restored the old or legitimate rulers in Europe. These had been overthrown by the French revolution of 1789 and Napoleon. In France for example, Louis XVIII was restored while in Portugal John IV was restored as king. In addition, the Pope who had been overthrown by Napoleon was restored in the Popal states. In the kingdom of Naples in Southern Italy, King Ferdinand I who had been overthrown by Napoleon was restored. In Central Italy, the Austrian Princes were restored in the provinces of Modena, Parma and Tuscany while in Spain, Ferdinand VII was restored. Because these rulers were very conservative, they suppressed revolutionary ideas and revolutions which created peace in Europe.
In the case of France, the delegates restored Louis XVIII as a constitutional king who was supposed to govern according to the 1814 constitutional Charter. This was important because the delegates at Vienna did not want the people of France to get back to the old times when the Bourbons exercised dictatorial rule over the French men which had led to the outbreak of the French revolution of 1789. The French revolution had caused turmoil in Europe.
The Vienna congress re-drew the political map of Europe. Before 1841, Napoleon Bonaparte I had distorted the political map of Europe through annexing territories to create a large French Empire. At Vienna, the Napoleonic Empire was disintegrated or broken up and consequently the French boarders were reduced to those that she had in 1792. Therefore, France lost a number of territories like Belgium, the Italian states and German states of the Rhine lands among others.
The Vienna Congress revived international economic co-operation in Europe. Before 1814, international economic co-operation had collapsed particularly when Napoleon declared the Continental System. At Vienna, the delegates allowed free navigation on the international water ways like the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, River Rhine and River Danube among others. This therefore avoided conflicts and wars that were bound to emerge in Europe due to the restriction over the use of such waters.
The Vienna congress succeeded in dividing the disputed territories in a way acceptable to all countries. During the congress there were territories that generated conflicts among some delegates but these were peacefully settled. For example, on the issue of Poland and Saxony, Russia wanted to take over the whole of Poland while Prussia wanted to take over the whole of Saxony. This was resisted by other powers like Britain and Austria who did not want Russia and Prussia to change the balance of power in Europe. Consequently, Russia was given only part of Poland while Prussia also took half of Saxony.
The Vienna Congress led to the reconciliation of France with other European powers. Much as France had been defeated by the allied powers in 1814 and therefore was a continental enemy, she was invited to attend this congress. Consequently, Bishop Talleyrand represented France at the meeting which promoted reconciliation in Europe.
It granted independence to Switzerland. Napoleon Bonaparte had gone ahead to extend the French control in Switzerland in the South East of France. However, the congress men at Vienna decided to change the political map of France and Europe by declaring the independence and neutrality of Switzerland. It must be noted that this declaration made Switzerland the most peaceful and stable nation in Europe.
It also compensated and rewarded some countries that had contributed to the down fall of Napoleon Bonaparte I. Britain for example, was recognized as the controller of India, West Indies and the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa because of her contribution to the defeat of Napoleon I. These territories were not in Europe.
In addition, besides guarding against further French aggression, Austria got Lombardy and Venetia which were found in Italy because Austria had lost Belgium and Netherlands. These states were not restored to Austrian control and therefore Austria which had contributed to the defeat of Napoleon was compensated with Lombardy and Venetia.
Similarly, Sweden which had fought on the side of the allies was also rewarded. She was given Denmark because Sweden defected and joined the struggle against Napoleon. On the other hand, Denmark was punished. This was because Denmark had supported Napoleon Bonaparte and therefore she was annexed to Sweden. Sweden was also being rewarded because she had lost Finland to Russia.
It gave birth to the Congress System also referred to as the “Concert of Europe”. In November 1815, following the Vienna Congress Britain, Russia, Austria and Prussia signed a treaty known as the Quadruple Alliance. In this treaty, they agreed to meet in periodic meetings or congresses and see how to maintain the resolutions reached at in June 1815. This resulted into the Congress System in Europe which stretched from 1818 up to 1825.
The example of the Vienna Congress (settlement) also led to the formation of future international organizations like the League of Nations in 1920 after World War I and the United Nations Organization (UNO) in 1945 after World War II. These organizations were founded to see what to do with Europe and the rest of the world after a period of serious fighting the same way the Vienna Congress did after the revolutionary and Napoleonic wars.
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