What was concert of europe

It had characteristics that distinguished it from the order that arose from the Peace of Westphalia in the seventeenth century, and the Treaty of Utrecht in the eighteenth century, even if fundamentally the principles behind it pertained to the balance of power. These new multilateral practices, which found expression in congresses, conferences and meetings, did not rely—as was to be the case for the LN or the UN—on written rules or permanent structures, but on arrangements that combined flexibility and pragmatism.

Two distinct periods can broadly be discerned in the history of the Concert of Europe. In the first, lasting until the early s, the system worked fairly well. On the Greek question, or the events involving Belgium or Egypt, the principles on which the Concert was based enabled negotiated solutions, and when there was conflict, it was prevented from spreading to the entire continent. This was also the period when Great Britain, whose continental policy aimed for balance, sometimes engaged against France and sometimes against Russia, thus acting as the arbiter of Europe.

The second period is more complex. The assertiveness of Prussia in the s—successively victorious over Denmark, Austria and France—and then the birth of the German Empire in , were disruptive elements. A host of factors can explain the final failure of the Concert of Europe in Firstly beginning in the s, there was the implementation at the request of the German Chancellor Bismarck of alliances in times of peace, and then the gradual construction of rival systems—the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente—even if only the German-Austrian and French-Russian alliances were truly binding on the military level.

It was the full flexibility and effectiveness of the Concert, which was based on the constitution of ad hoc alliances to respond to specific situations, that was thus being challenged. The crisis of the summer of would undoubtedly not have led to broad conflict if the spiral of alliances, mobilizations, and declarations of war had not been set in motion. More profoundly, it was the entire cultural basis in which members of the Concert recognized one another that was contested in the late nineteenth century, with the assertion of nationalism and new solidarities with racial dimensions—such as Pan-Germanism or Pan-Slavism—that were used to pit Europeans against one another.

The system, distorted and circumvented, no longer had the constructive and dynamic power in that would have enabled it to channel the political, economic and colonial rivalries of the powers. During the second half of the nineteenth century, European expansion, the creation of colonial empires, and globalization accompanied the exportation of the logic, principles, and practices of the Concert beyond the continent.

The tsar had three main goals: to gain control of Poland, to form a league that could intervene and stop revolutions against monarchies and traditionalism, and to promote the peaceful coexistence of European nations. He succeeded in forming the Holy Alliance , based on monarchism and anti-secularism, and formed to combat any threat of revolution or republicanism. Hardenberg was more liberal than the other main participants, and earlier in his career implemented a variety of liberal reforms.

To him and Baron von Stein, Prussia was indebted for improvements in its army system, the abolition of serfdom and feudal burdens, the opening of civil service to all classes, and the complete reform of the educational system.

However, by the time of the Congress of Vienna, the zenith of his influence, if not of his fame, was passed. In diplomacy he was no match for Metternich, whose influence soon overshadowed his own. During his late career he acquiesced to reactionary policies along the lines of the rest of the Congress. He sought a negotiated secure peace so as to perpetuate the gains of the French revolution.

He allied himself to a Committee of Eight lesser powers including Spain, Sweden, and Portugal to control the negotiations. Once Talleyrand was able to use this committee to make himself a part of the inner negotiations, he then left it, once again abandoning his allies. Talleyrand protested against the procedure we have adopted and soundly [be]rated us for two hours.

It was a scene I shall never forget. Virtually every state in Europe had a delegation in Vienna — more than states and princely houses were represented at the Congress. In addition, there were representatives of cities, corporations, religious organizations for instance, abbeys , and special interest groups e. The Congress was noted for its lavish entertainment: according to a famous joke it did not move, but danced.

Participants of the Congress of Vienna: 1. Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington 2. Joaquim Lobo Silveira, 7th Count of Oriola 3. Klemens Wenzel, Prince von Metternich 7. Count Karl Robert Nesselrode 9.

Pedro de Sousa Holstein, 1st Count of Palmela Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh Emmerich Joseph, Duke of Dalberg Baron Johann von Wessenberg Prince Andrey Kirillovich Razumovsky Charles Stewart, 1st Baron Stewart Wacken Recorder Friedrich von Gentz Congress Secretary Baron Wilhelm von Humboldt William Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart Prince Karl August von Hardenberg Count Gustav Ernst von Stackelberg.

The goal of the Congress of Vienna was not simply to restore old boundaries but to resize the main powers so they could balance each other and remain at peace. The Congress of Vienna — dissolved the Napoleonic world and attempted to restore the monarchies Napoleon had overthrown, ushering in an era of conservatism.

The goal was not simply to restore old boundaries but to resize the main powers so they could balance each other. France lost all its recent conquests, while Prussia, Austria, and Russia made major territorial gains. Russia gained parts of Poland. The new Kingdom of the Netherlands had been created just months before and included formerly Austrian territory that in became Belgium. The Final Act, embodying all the separate treaties, was signed on June 9, , a few days before the Battle of Waterloo.

The consolidation of Germany from the nearly states of the Holy Roman Empire dissolved in into a much less complex system of 39 states four of which were free cities was confirmed. These states formed a loose German Confederation under the leadership of Austria and Prussia.

Representatives at the Congress agreed to numerous other territorial changes. This sparked the nationalist movement which led to the establishment of the Kingdom of Norway on May 17, , and the subsequent personal union with Sweden. The Papal States were restored to the Pope.

The Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia was restored to its mainland possessions and gained control of the Republic of Genoa. A large United Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed for the Prince of Orange, including both the old United Provinces and the formerly Austrian-ruled territories in the Southern Netherlands. Other, less important territorial adjustments included significant gains for the German Kingdoms of Hanover which gained East Frisia from Prussia and various other territories in Northwest Germany and Bavaria which gained the Rhenish Palatinate and territories in Franconia.

Switzerland was enlarged and Swiss neutrality was established. Swiss mercenaries had played a significant role in European wars for several hundred years; the Congress intended to put a stop to these activities permanently. Despite the efforts of the Great Powers of Europe to prevent conflict and war with the Congress of Vienna, in many ways the Congress system failed by The rest of the 19th century was marked by more revolutionary fervor, more war, and the rise of nationalism.

With the Concert of Europe, the territorial boundaries laid down at the Congress of Vienna were maintained, and even more importantly there was an acceptance of the theme of balance with no major aggression. Otherwise, the Congress system failed by In the British decided not to become involved in continental issues that did not directly affect them.

They rejected the plan of Tsar Alexander I to suppress future revolutions. The Concert system fell apart as the common goals of the Great Powers were replaced by growing political and economic rivalries. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in European history.

These diverse revolutionary movements were in opposition to the conservative agenda of the Congress of Vienna and marked a major challenge to its vision for a stable Europe. The revolutions were essentially democratic in nature, with the aim of removing the old feudal structures and creating independent national states. The revolutionary wave began in France in February and immediately spread to most of Europe and parts of Latin America. Over 50 countries were affected, but with no coordination or cooperation between their respective revolutionaries.

According to Evans and von Strandmann , some of the major contributing factors were widespread dissatisfaction with political leadership, demands for more participation in government and democracy, demands for freedom of press, demands made by the working class, the upsurge of nationalism, and the regrouping of established governmental forces.

The uprisings were led by shaky ad hoc coalitions of reformers, the middle classes, and workers, which did not hold together for long. Tens of thousands of people were killed and many more forced into exile. Significant lasting reforms included the abolition of serfdom in Austria and Hungary, the end of absolute monarchy in Denmark, and the introduction of parliamentary democracy in the Netherlands. The revolutions were most important in France, the Netherlands, the states that would make up the German Empire in the late 19th and early 20th century, Italy, and the Austrian Empire.

Before Britain and France dominated Europe, but by the s they had become deeply concerned by the growing power of Russia and Prussia. Victory over Napoleonic France left the British without any serious international rival, other than perhaps Russia in central Asia.

Russia was defeated. Russia denounced this claim, since it claimed to be the protector of all Eastern Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire. France sent its fleet to the Black Sea; Russia responded with its own show of force.

In , Russia sent troops into the Ottoman provinces of Moldavia and Wallachia. Britain, now fearing for the security of the Ottoman Empire, sent a fleet to join with the French, expecting the Russians would back down. Diplomatic efforts failed. The Sultan declared war against Russia in October Most of the battles took place in the Crimean peninsula, which the Allies finally seized.

London, shocked to discover that France was secretly negotiating with Russia to form a postwar alliance to dominate Europe, dropped its plans to attack St. Petersburg and instead signed a one-sided armistice with Russia that achieved almost none of its war aims.

The Treaty of Paris, signed March 30, , ended the war. It admitted the Ottoman Empire to the Concert of Europe, and the Powers promised to respect its independence and territorial integrity.

Russia gave up a little land and relinquished its claim to a protectorate over the Christians in the Ottoman domains. The Black Sea was demilitarized and an international commission was set up to guarantee freedom of commerce and navigation on the Danube River. After the creation and rise of the German Empire as a dominant nation restructured the European balance of power.

For the next twenty years, Otto von Bismarck managed to maintain this balance by proposing treaties and creating many complex alliances between the European nations, such as the Triple Alliance. As an extension of the vision of the Congress of Vienna, the Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian and Russian Empires formed the Holy Alliance September 26, to preserve Christian social values and traditional monarchism.

The intention of the alliance was to restrain republicanism and secularism in Europe in the wake of the devastating French Revolutionary Wars, and the alliance nominally succeeded in this until the Crimean War — Every member of the coalition promptly joined the Alliance, except for the United Kingdom, a constitutional monarchy with a more liberal political philosophy. Britain did however ratify the Quadruple Alliance, signed on the same day as the Second Peace Treaty of Paris November 20, by the same three powers that signed the Holy Alliance on September 26, It renewed the use of the Congress System, which advanced European international relations.

The alliance first formed in to counter France and promised aid to each other. It became the Quintuple Alliance when France joined in Much debate has occurred among historians as to which treaty was more influential in the development of international relations in Europe in the two decades following the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

In the opinion of historian Tim Chapman, the differences are somewhat academic as the powers were not bound by the terms of the treaties and many of them intentionally broke the terms if it suited them. It gained support because most European monarchs did not wish to offend the Tsar by refusing to sign it, and as it bound monarchs personally rather than their governments, it was easy to ignore once signed.

Although it did not fit comfortably within the complex, sophisticated, and cynical web of power politics that epitomized diplomacy of the post Napoleonic era, its influence was more lasting than contemporary critics expected and was revived in the s as a tool of repression when the terms of the Quintuple Alliance were not seen to fit the purposes of some of the Great Powers of Europe.