The Concert of Europe, European Conservatism, Reactions and Revolutions.

Painting of the Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814-1815 was a meeting to determine the plan for Europe following the reign of Napoleon and the Napoleonic Wars. In this Congress, Conservatives, who were the majority of the leaders at the time, wanted to support traditional political and religious authority. They were looking for stability. Their goal was also to organize the states of Europe in order to preserve the balance of power. They really wanted to maintain the conservative order and suppress nationalism and liberalism. The countries agreed that human nature was not perfect, nor could it ever be but that traditional political and religious authority were critical. This meant having monarchs and popes. By accepting this conservative ideology, order would be maintained in Europe. The Concert of Europe, or the Congress System, was the agreement that came from the Congress of Vienna and was designed by Metternich to suppress nationalist and liberal revolutions.

Conservatism – Conservatives advocated keeping and/or restoring the "old regimes" of Europe. The catchphrase 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 that 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 for 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 that 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 (an 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 the coast of India), Trinidad, Tobago, as well as territories in the North and the Mediterranean Seas.

Beyond the Congress of Vienna.

Although the French Revolution in itself was not, in itself, wholly successful in achieving the aims of the Enlightened thinkers, it was instrumental in changing the political, social, and economic systems throughout Europe. As the great conservative powers sought to "turn the clock back", the ideals which had promoted the revolution continued to inspire the people. The more the Concert of Europe attempted to repress the liberal and nationalistic movements, the stronger the determination of the people grew to have a voice and to better their lives.

Great Britain

Great Britain evolved quite differently from the countries in continental Europe as it was already a constitutional monarchy controlled by a conservative leadership that was struggling to contain an increasingly unhappy middle and lower class. Because of the British government's willingness to gradually reform from within, it was spared any major revolutions during the 19th century. An on-point example of the indifference of the conservative government to the needs of the majority middle and lower class was the Corn Laws. The Corn Laws were tariffs that had been established to protect the sale of domestic grains (grains raised and sold by the upper class landed gentry). While these tariffs benefited the landed class, they in turn, caused hardship for all others as they were forced to pay artificially raised prices for grain products. In 1819, the Peterloo Massacre occurred when the government's soldiers fired upon demonstrators in Manchester who were protesting the Corn Laws. While short term the "massacre" (with not many causalities) resulted in the conservative government further repressing the people by passing acts such as the Six Acts restricting assembly and speech (as they feared more violence), but long term the Peterloo Massacre demonstrated the determination of the people to have a government which would look after their needs and interests.

As Britain continued to move in a more liberal direction, it drifted away from the continental powers who were committed to the Metternich System. In fact, Britain withdrew from the Concert in protest of the Congresses of Troppau, Liabach, and Verona while at the same time supporting the Americans in the Monroe Doctrine (keeping European influence out of the Western Hemisphere). Internally, movements such as Chartism, while unsuccessful themselves, forced the government to recognize the voting rights of the working man and the minority. The Chartists believed that the only way to improve their lives and protect their families was through the vote. It was this focus which ultimately resulted in the lifting of the Catholic Emancipation Act, an act which lifted the restriction of Catholics holding office while the Reform Bill of 1832 was passed increasing the electorate base by eliminating Rotten Boroughs.

As electoral reforms were instituted, the British government responded to worker movements, such as the Luddites, by passing legislation that protected the rights of the workers. A third party emerged in Britain by the second half of the 19th century, the Labor Party, founded by James Keir Hardy. The reins of power throughout the latter part of the empire flip-flopped between the Tory Party (conservative) with Benjamin Disraeli serving as Prime Minister (Queen Victoria's favorite) and the Whig Party (liberal), William Gladstone serving as Prime Minister. Disraeli supported aggressive foreign policy and expansion of the British Empire while he opposed democratic reforms and the extension of suffrage. Bills passed under his leadership included laws that lessened the regulations of Labor Unions, the Food and Drug Act which regulated the sales of those items, and the Public Health Act which set requirements for public sanitation. Gladstone, who had at one time been a conservative, supported issues such as the repeal of the Corn Laws, Irish Home Rule, free trade, and extension of democratic principles while he opposed imperialistic expansion, British involvement in continental European affairs, and further centralization of the British government. Bills passed under Gladstone included the Reform Bill of 1867 (redistribution of the seats in Parliament and expansion of the franchise), the Ballot Act of 1872 (secret ballot), Civil Service Reform of 1870 (competitive exams for government jobs), the Education Act of 1870 (establish school districts), and the Land Act of 1870 (attempt to resolve economic and social inequities in Ireland). Britain's energies went toward the expansion and protection of its great overseas empire. In fact, the needs of the empire guided Britain's reaction to and interaction with the continental powers. A number of wars were fought and rebellions were put down in an effort to keep the empire secure.

By the end of the 19th century, Britain was committed to the preservation of the Ottoman Empire as it served as a buffer to protect Britain's overseas empire against any European aggression. As the 19th century came to a close, the Ottoman Empire was "the sick man of Europe", an empire which has had its day and was slowly disintegrating with Russia to the east very interested in picking up control of the Slavic peoples in the Balkan Peninsula and Eastern Europe. It was this Russian ambition and the general instability of Eastern Europe that prompted the British to intercede in European affairs. In the mid-19th century, Queen Victoria came to the throne of England. As the second longest reigning monarch in European history, Victoria had such an impact on British society that the period of her reign is known as "the Victorian Age". While the Victorian Age was a period of great scientific and technological achievement it was also a time of conservative and strait-laced values.

France

The Congress of Vienna had no desire to punish France. In fact, the opinion of the great powers was that it was important to secure terms of peace that would contain France (buffer states created and a Bourbon monarchy established). Louis XVIII, brother of Louis XVI, was a moderate monarch who was determined not to share his brother's fate. He ruled with very little controversy sharing his power with a two-house parliament established by the Charter of 1814. The Charter called for a Chamber of Peers (appointed by the king) and a Chamber of Deputies (elected). Per the charter, liberties such as freedom of religion, implementation of the Napoleonic Code, and redistribution of land were guaranteed. Louis XVIII remained moderate and managed to remain king with little controversy until his death. He was succeeded by his brother, Charles X.

Charles X, unlike his brother, was conservative and determined to see France returned to the "good old days" of absolutism. His repressive reign was controversial and met with middle and lower class resistance. Among the actions he took to alienate the bourgeoisie class included: reduced interest on government bonds, compensated aristocracy for lands lost during the revolution, disbanded the National Guard, issued the Four Ordinances (without parliamentary approval), limited freedom of the press, and restricted the electorate. In July 1830, artisans and tradespeople in Paris rose up against Charles (July Revolution), an action that forced the king to abdicate (sought refuge in Britain). Liberals (Talleyrand, Francois Guizot, and Adolphe Thiers), within the Chamber of Deputies, called for a constitutional monarchy with Louis Philippe to serve as king. As Louis was considered to be a friend to the people, he was known as the "Citizen King". Reforms of King Louis included the elimination of Roman Catholicism as the state religion of France, revision of the Charter of 1814 that increased the electorate (property qualifications remained high), and protection of the industrialists and farmers by seeing that tariffs remained high (showed little concern for needs of the urban poor).

In the mid-19th century, poor grain harvests and industrial depression led to the outbreak of protests culminating in the Revolution of 1848. This revolution resulted in the overthrow of Louis Philippe (July Monarchy) and the establishment of the 2nd Republic. A provisional government was established which split into two revolutionary factions: the moderate republicans (Alphonse de Lamartine) and the socialists (Louis Blanc). Blanc was placed over a series of National Workshops that were established to assist unemployed workers. Due to an increasingly moderate government, the workshops were eventually shut down. As a result, the workers rose in a revolt that was crushed by conservative General Louis Cavaignac. The Constitution of the 2nd Republic was adopted which provided for a president and a one-house parliament, both of whom were elected by universal manhood suffrage. As a result of the presidential elections, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (won by over 5 million votes) became President of the 2nd Republic of France. Louis Napoleon was the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte. In his early career, he served as a captain in the Swiss army and later developed a political philosophy of a mixture of liberalism and Bonapartism. After the Revolution of 1848, Napoleon returned to France and was elected to the National Assembly and later to the presidency (defeated Eugene Cavaignac). In the early years of his presidency, Napoleon courted the conservatives by such actions as sending French troops into Rome to restore Pius IX to the papacy (destroying Mazzini's Roman Republic) and supporting an education bill that favored the church. Due to a coup in 1851, universal suffrage was established and a plebiscite authorizing the revision of the constitution was approved. The Constitution of 1852 gave the president dictatorial powers, created a Council of State, a senate, and a legislative assembly subservient to the President, barred the Republicans from the ballot, and throttled the press.

Later the same year, a new plebiscite created the 2nd French Empire with Napoleon III as its emperor. Among the domestic accomplishments of the period were: the encouragement of railway construction, the rebuilding of Paris, French investment banks being authorized, and the Crimean War and the Congress of Paris restoring French leadership on the continent. Napoleon's diplomatic actions were less successful than his domestic record. They included a joint French-Sardinian action against the Austrians in northern Italy (Treaty of Plombieres) that ended with France deserting her ally after a particularly bloody and costly Battle of Solferino. Napoleon III signed a separate peace with the Austrians at Villafranca di Verona which left his ally Piedmont-Sardinia in a lurch. Napoleon III liberalized his policies as he began to lose popularity. During the Liberal Empire, Napoleon III signed a commercial treaty with Britain that opened trade and improved the two nation's relationship. In addition, France began to expand its overseas interests in China, began the Suez Canal (later lost control of the canal to Britain), and created a short-lived Mexican Empire (1861-67). Napoleon III sent French troops into Mexico (justification was Mexico's debt to France) setting up Austrian Archduke Maximilien (younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria) as the Emperor. When the Mexicans rebelled and the US government demanded the French withdraw, Napoleon III deserted the Archduke resulting in his execution. During the Seven Weeks War (Prussia vs. Austria), France remained neutral (this war will be discussed in a later module). Due to Napoleon's underestimation of Prussian strength, the French were badly defeated in the Franco-Prussian War. Napoleon III was captured by the Prussians in 1870 and forced to sign an extremely unfavorable treaty. He was declared deposed via a bloodless revolution in Paris and spent the remainder of his life in exile in England. As a result of the abdication of Napoleon III, the 3rd French Republic was born (1870). The Paris Commune was formed in protest of the humiliating treaty that ended the Franco-Prussian War. The Commune barricaded themselves within Paris against the new government. Ultimately, the Commune was forced to surrender (starving and without supplies) rejoining the remainder of France. The 3rd Republic was a weak government which despite being plagued with numerous scandals managed to remain intact until the German occupation of the 1940s.

Austria

Portrait of Klemons von Metternich Austria was a "patchwork" empire that experienced significant internal weakness and division throughout the 19th century. By the mid-1800s, Klemens von Metternich was forced to resign ending the Metternich System. Louis Kossuth, a Hungarian nationalist, argued for Hungarian domination over the other minorities within the empire while maintaining freedom from Austrian domination. Not satisfied with the Austrian response, Kossuth set up a "Hungarian Republic" in the eastern part of the empire. Nicholas I of Russia stepped in to crush the Hungarian resistance wanting to restrain the spread of radicalism. The Slavs within the empire were also demanding some degree of self-determination through the Pan Slav Congresses. In response to the continued agitation, Emperor Franz-Joseph agreed to the "Ausgleich" Settlement that established the Dual Monarchy. This agreement neutralized the Hungarian internal threat but, at the same time, angered the other minorities who wanted the same considerations. From the mid to late 19th century, Austria was drawn into territorial and diplomatic issues over the Balkan movement supporting independence from the weakening Ottoman Empire. The Austrians were concerned with the interests the Russians displayed in the Balkan activities. By the end of the 19th century, the Austrian Empire was facing crisis level internal problems. The Hungarians were keeping their portion of the empire under control while the German portion was experiencing uprisings by the Poles and the Czechs. While the government offered concessions, such as universal male suffrage to the protester, it was not considered enough. This attitude of the Czechs and Poles in turn angered the Germans. The Zionist movement gathered strength in Austria under the leadership of Theodor Herzl. Zionism was a movement to establish a Jewish homeland as an effort to stop centuries of persecution. A Zionist Congress was held in Switzerland in 1897 with 200 delegates attending.

Russia

Alexander I, the Czar whose strategies were instrumental in the ultimate defeat of Napoleon, died in 1825. He had been instrumental in bringing the Russian Empire full force back into Western European politics. Upon his death, a group of liberal army officers staged a revolt for the purpose of establishing a constitutional monarchy. This revolt was known as the Decembrist Revolt and, although not successful, did foretell the internal instability that was to plague the Romanovs until the Revolution of 1914. Alexander I was succeeded by Nicholas I who ruled as an extremely conservative and repressive Czar as he reacted to the internal discontent within his empire. Nicholas I's foreign policy was dominated by his desire to control the Slavic peoples of Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Throughout the 19th century, many of the groups within the Balkan Peninsula were still under the control of the Ottoman Empire, an empire which was quickly losing its ability to remain intact. Nicholas I believed that it was Russia's right and obligation to act as the "big brother" to these Slavic groups as Russia was a Slavic state. In pursuing this aim, Russia became quite aggressive and open in foreign policy that was established to gain said influence. While the Ottoman Empire was in no real position to stop Russia, other European powers, such as Britain and France, were determined to contain Russian influence and protect the existing status quo. In fact, the Crimean War was fought over the terms of a treaty between Russia and the Ottoman Empire (due to a Russian victory over the Ottomans) which Britain and France believed gave the Russians too much influence over the area. The Crimean War was largely an inconclusive war with extremely high casualties (the majority due to disease, not injury) on both sides. Florence Nightingale set up the first field hospital during this war. Nicholas I, who died (1855) during the Crimean War, was succeeded by Alexander II.

Photograph of AlexanderII Alexander II, known as the "Czar Reformer", pulled Russia out of the war as he recognized that Russia, despite its tremendous size, was still ill prepared to compete with the other powers. His post-Crimean War actions were motivated by this recognition. The cornerstone of his reforms was the Emancipation Act of 1861 which abolished serfdom. The liberation of the serfs was extremely important to a modern Russia as there simply were no bodies free to field a new industrial system or provide a standing army. The act called for nobles to give up land (government reimbursed) for distribution to the peasant villages or Mirs. The Mirs, in turn, distributed the land to peasants who paid the state for the land. Ironically, this system was more repressive to the serfs than the system of serfdom as the land allocation was insufficient to support the peasant's basic lifestyle and their new financial obligations. In 1864, Alexander II reformed the legal and judicial systems of Russia by introducing the principle of equality before the law. In addition, he set up a new system of courts including the concept of public trials and trial by jury. He was the first czar to share his power (although in a very insignificant way) by allowing Zemstovs (rural assemblies) and municipal dumas (urban assemblies). These ruling bodies had the authority over local issues such as education and road construction. Alexander II also established a new principle of universal liability for military service by reducing the term of service a draftee must serve (from 25 to 6 years). Further reductions were made based on the draftee's level of education. Alexander II also made some concessions to the Pole's demands for some self control which turned out to be just enough to "wet the appetite" of the radicals who wanted more. He was assassinated by a radical group via a bomb that was thrown in his carriage. Alexander II was succeeded by his son Alexander III who ruled with an iron hand determined to crush the terrorist movement which was so powerful in Russia. Alexander III interpreted the assassination of his father as proof that concessions equal weakness in the eyes of the radical groups agitating within the empire. Among his policies were:

restoration of absolute rule by church and state.
censorship.
controls over education.
economic and social restrictions on Russian Jews with periodical government sponsored attacks on Jewish villages (pogroms) and the implementation of a Russification program. Russification was the government's policy demanding the destruction of all non-Russian cultural traits within the non-Russian territories of the empire.

Photograph of Nicolas II Alexander the III was followed by his son, Tsar Nicholas II. Nicolas, another authoritarian Russian leader oversaw the rapid industrialization of Russia but faced criticism when Russia lost the Russo-Japanese War. It was inconceivable for a major country like Russia to lose a war to what they considered to be an upstart country. Because of this, Russian citizens called for a drastic change in the leadership of the country. In 1905, people gathered outside of the palace in St. Petersburg to protest and deliver a petition to the Tsar asking for political reforms. These unarmed protestors were fired upon by the Imperial Guard at when the shooting stopped, people were dead. It is unclear exactly how many died but most accounts state around 100. This caused riots and even more dissatisfaction with the government. Sergei Witte, the first prime minister of Russia, called upon Tsar Nicolas to make concessions and as a result, the October Manifesto, which was a precursor to the Russian Constitution, was issued. This document granted some civil liberties to the Russian people and established the Duma, the legislative body, but Tsar Nicolas II remained an autocratic leader.

Question Mark Icon

In your notes, respond to the following.

At the end of the Napoleonic era in 1815, a conservative reaction asserted its dominance over domestic and international politics within Europe. Define what “conservative” and “reaction” mean in this context.
Explain the rationale that underpinned the so-called Concert of Europe. What made this post-Napoleonic option at once conservative but also new in its approach to social structure, economics, and politics? Identify the forces of “tradition” that aligned themselves with this early 19th-century development.
Liberalism, nationalism, and the working-class movement all constituted a direct threat to the Concert. Discuss why each of these new forces challenged basic conservative presuppositions.

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