NCR - Reactionary Politics in the 19th Century. (Lesson)

Reactionary Politics in the 19th Century.

The Congress of Vienna

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The negotiations of the Congress were centered around the concepts of:

Legitimacy – In keeping with the concept of "turning the clock back", the Congress restored all the "rightful" and traditional rulers to the thrones of Europe. Napoleon had, in many cases such as in Spain and throughout the Italian peninsula, replaced the ruling powers with rulers of his choice (generally family members). The principle of legitimacy resulted in the following political actions:

 

Country	Dynasty	Ruler
France	Bourbon	Louis XVIII
Kingdom of Two Sicilies	Bourbon	Ferdinand I
Papal States		Papacy
Tuscany	Hapsburg
Modena	Hapsburg
Parma	Hapsburg
Spain	Bourbon	Ferdinand VII

An exception to the rule of legitimacy was the old Holy Roman Empire which under Napoleon had been restructured and renamed the Confederation of the Rhine. The Congress revamped as the German Confederation (300+ to 39) states.

Balance of Power – Napoleonic France had taught the European powers a significant lesson in the consequences of one nation becoming dominant within the continent. The Congress attempted to restructure Europe in a way that no nation would ever be in the position to dominate and threaten the others. Therefore, it was decided that no nation should get territory without giving up territory and vice versa. The most controversial of the concepts of the Congress was the issue of balance of power and land redistribution. Russia and Prussia, both being the "new kids on the block", wanted to take advantage of land redistribution in order to increase the territorial boundaries of their states. Prussia wanted control of Saxony while the Russians demanded all of the Polish territory. Britain and Austria objected to the claims while France took full advantage of the discord among the victorious powers hoping to gain a better deal for herself.

Conservatism – In keeping with the two above concepts, the political, economic, and social ideals of conservatism were the order of the day. Conservatives advocated keeping and/or restoring the "old regimes" of Europe. The catch phrase for 19th century conservatism was "no change." It is this philosophy, above all others, which guides the actions of the Congress ultimately resulting in political and social unrest throughout Europe by the mid 1800s. To assure the conservative nature of Europe, the great powers formed the Concert of Europe, an agreed upon assembly of the powers at times when the status quo was threatened. Czar Alexander I proposed the Holy Alliance, an alliance among Russia, Prussia, and Austria which was centered around the observance of Christian principles in establishing domestic and international policies. The Quadruple Alliance consisting of Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia was the basis for the Concert of Europe. The powers which had defeated France agreed to remain intact to deal with any future threats to the security of Europe.

The Concert of Europe was called upon almost immediately to deal with potential threats to the status of conservatism as nationalistic outbursts occurred throughout Europe. A by-product of Napoleon's occupation of territories such as the Italian peninsula was that the peoples who lived in these areas were not satisfied to return to the old repressive system in which they had no power or voice. Almost immediately, there were many revolts against the reestablishment of the old order. The Congresses of Troppau and Laibach occurred as a result of liberal revolutions in Spain and the Kingdom of Two Sicilies which ultimately resulted in King Ferdinand VII and Ferdinand I, respectively, being forced to act within the limits of constitutional monarchies (government favored by the middle class liberals). The Congresses in both cases authorized France and Austria to intervene and reinstate absolute rule. Of all the powers, only Britain disagreed. This disagreement ultimately resulted in the British withdrawing from the Concert.

Once the British withdrew from the Concert, they joined in support of the American Monroe Doctrine demanding that the European powers stay out of the western hemisphere. The Concert of Europe had a particularly challenging job as a wave of nationalism swept through Europe. Although the revolutions in Spain and the Kingdom of Two Sicilies were liberal revolutions, they were indicative of the upheaval that post Napoleonic Europe was experiencing. In addition to liberal revolutions, there were also revolutions based on the desire of self determination (self-rule) of ethnic groups located within the expansive European empires. In 1821, the Greeks rebelled against the weakening Ottoman Empire. Normally, the Concert would have quashed the revolt but as the Christian Greeks were considered the founders of western civilization, the western powers decided to support the revolution. The Treaty of London signed in 1827 by Britain, France, and Russia supported the Greeks against the Turks. Change continued when, in 1828, Russia declared war on the Ottomans, gaining control of what is now Romania. Serbia and the Danubian territories gained their independence as a result of the Treaty of Adrianople. In 1830, the Belgians gained their independence from the Dutch signaling the establishment of Belgium, a country which would be guaranteed neutral by the major powers.

The ultimate territorial settlements were decided with the joint objectives of containing France (protection against the future aggression of France) and certain territorial disbursements to victorious powers. Russia gained Polish territory and Finland (gained from Sweden in 1809) while Sweden kept Norway which had taken from Denmark (ally of France). Prussia gained portions of Saxony, Swedish Pomerania, and territory along the French Rhineland border (as a check against future French aggression). The Kingdom of the Netherlands, which bordered France's northern border (another check against future French aggression), was created by combining The Netherlands (Belgium) and the Austrian Netherlands. As Austria had to give up the Austrian Netherlands, it was given the northern Italian territories of Lombardy and Venetia. The Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia was strengthened to secure the southern French border. The British had no interest in European territory but did gain territory which strengthened the eastern portion of her empire such as the southern tip of Africa (Cape of Good Hope), the island of Ceylon (off coast India), Trinidad, Tobago, as well as territories in the North and the Mediterranean Seas.

 

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