1. Why was the Congress of Vienna necessary?
a. Wars: Napoleonic war
b. New territories and regimes: Collapse of the French Empire
c. The impact of the French Revolution: French soldiers had carried around their ideas of liberalism to the places they had occupied.
d. New alliances and treaties:
i. Treaty of Kalisch = Russia and Prussia (Russia gets all of Poland and Prussia taking the rest of Europe
ii. Treaty of Chaumont = Russia, Austria, Britain and Prussia (Continue the war until Napoleon accepted the terms of peace. It would also take on the futures of Holland, Spain, Italy and Germany.
2. What were the attitudes and interests of the main statesmen at the Congress of Vienna?
a. Russia: Tsar Alexander I torn between liberalism and conservatism
i. Polish state under Russian control (security)
ii. Divide Germany so it wouldn’t pose as a threat to Russia
iii. Prussia would have control of Saxony
b. Prussia: Friedrich Wilhelm III (considered as a ‘junior partner’)
i. Harsh settlement for the French
ii. Expand Prussian territory (Germany and Saxony)
c. Austria: Prince Klemens von Metternich
i. Felt threatened by Russia and France
ii. Spread liberal and nationalistic ideas
iii. Strong central Europe to balance the power of Russia and France
iv. Keep Russia and Prussia’s ambitions in check
v. Continue monarchial government and aristocratic leadership
d. Britain: Viscount Robert Stewart Castlereagh
i. Peace and stability
ii. Move towards liberalism where possible
iii. Retain Britain’s wartime acquisitions
iv. Humanitarian liberalism (abolish slave trade)
e. France: Charles Talleyrand-Perigord
i. Legitimacy to the established ruler (Louis XVIII)
ii. Restrict Prussian expansion
iii. Restore France to the title as a major power
3. What were the stipulations of the First Treaty of Paris and the Second Treaty of Paris? Why did a Second Treaty of Paris need to be constructed?
a. First Treaty of Paris
i. France returned to 1792 borders
ii. Keep art from looted territories during the war
b. Second Treaty of Paris
i. France returned to 1790 borders
ii. Pay an indemnity of 700 million francs
iii. Return art from looted territories
c. Cause for the Second Treaty of Paris: Napoleon tried to return to power and was able to raise an army of 300,000
4. Was the Vienna Settlement a success or failure?
a. Made of three sets of negotiations:
i. First Treaty of Paris
ii. Congress of Vienna itself
iii. Second Treaty of Paris
b. Failure: Unfair?
i. Diplomats were ‘out of touch’: Didn’t realize the changes that had gone on in France
ii. Legitimacy questioned: Restoration of the old Bourbon monarchy
iii. Provocation of the revolutions in 1830 and 1848: Revolutions in Greece, Poland, Spain and Portugal
c. Failure: Incomplete?
i. Relied too heavily on the Great Powers to work together
ii. The decline of the Turkish Empire was ignored: Turkey was beginning to lose power, expanded too far and had to deal with cultural differences
iii. Continuous revisions: Several upheavals
d. Success: Relative Stability
i. Balancing of power (acknowledgement of the smaller powers): Had to work together in order to deal with France and the other upheavals
ii. Peace restored to France: Able to stabilize France and return it to the Bourbon monarchy
iii. Willingness to work with other countries: Mention the different congresses
e. Success: Gestures of liberalism and nationalism: Supportive of the colonies in Latin America and showed sympathy towards Greece and other European nations
5. How did the affairs of Spain, Portugal and their former colonies affect international relations between 1822-1830?
a. France and Spain: France helped restore Ferdinand VII of Spain after an uprising of Spanish citizens. This was a demonstration of the French army regaining power
b. Russia and Spain: Russia had been the main supporter of French intervention
c. Britain, Spain and Portugal: Britain wanted to support those revolutions that carried liberal ideals. When Spain was too busy with the civil war, Britain opened up trade markets with Latin America. They recognized the independence of countries like Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and Mexico.
d. Monroe Doctrine: Britain looked to the US for some support. Instead President Monroe created the Monroe Doctrine which claimed that Europe and other continents needed to stay out of the American hemisphere.
6. How and why did the Greek struggle for independence affect the powers of Europe?
a. Turkish empire (description of land mass and demographics): From Austria to Prussia, northern part of Africa. Had to deal with many differences in religion, language and culture
b. French Revolution influence: Established liberal ideas throughout Europe.
c. Russia:
i. Wanted to protect trade agreements with Turkey throughout the Black Sea
ii. Wanted to protect Orthodox Christians.
iii. Russia also wanted to expand into Asia Minor and the Balkans
d. Britain
i. Upper class British citizens had sympathy towards the Greeks, hoping they would reestablish the Greek civilization
ii. Wanted to protect their trading interests in that region of the world
iii. Wanted to be cautious of increasing Russian power
e. Austria
i. Most concerned with Italy and Central Europe
ii. Wanted to prevent the strengthening of Russia
f. France
i. Had well established political and commercial ties with Turkey
ii. Established immunity from Turkish law for European nations
iii. France’s upper class sympathized with the Greeks
g. Prussia
i. Not really concerned with the affairs of distant countries like Turkey
ii. Part of the Holy Alliance though so had to look for Russia and Austria for leadership
h. Greek Revolt in 1821-1824: not successful at fir
i. Changes in 1824-1827
j. Russian Intervention
k. Treaty of London (11/30/1829)
l. Impact of Greek revolt
7. What was the effect of the 1830 revolutions throughout Europe?
a. 1830 French Revolution
b. Belgian Revolt
c. Polish Revolution
8. How successfully did (a) Russia, (b) France and (c) Britain uphold their interests in the Near East between 1831 and 1841?
a. Russia
b. France
c. Britain
9. How and why did Britain’s relationships with France and Russia change in the period from 1831 to 1841?
a. Britain and France
b. Britain and Russia
10. Using information from the whole of this chapter, explain why the Great Powers were successful in maintaining peace in Europe from 1815 to 1848?
a. Establishment of the Congresses and the ‘Concert of Europe’
b. Maintain checks and balances throughout Europe
c. Maintain peace throughout Europe (Give examples of peace keeping efforts)
