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The Congress of Vienna was an international conference that was called in order to remake Europe after the downfall of Napoleon I. Many territorial decisions had to be made in the conference that was held in Vienna, Austria, from September 1814 to June 1815. The main goal of the conference was to create a balance of power that would preserve the peace. Though the conference opened with a series of glittery balls and conferences, the delegates soon got down to work. Mainly, the four major powers of Europe (Austria, Russia, Prussia, and Great Britain) were left to make most of the big decisions.
Austria was represented by Prince Klemens von Metternich, the Austrian minister of state who was also acting president of the Congress. The Russians sent Alexander I, the emperor of Russia. The main delegate from Prussia was Prince Karl August von Hardenberg, and Great Britain was represented by Lord Castlereagh, and later Arthur Wellesley, the first duke of Wellington. This group of major powers decided that France, Spain, and the smaller powers would have no say in important decisions. However, the French diplomat, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, was successful in allowing France to have an equal voice in the negotiations. Talleyrand became the deciding vote in many of the decisions.
Britain got several strategic colonial territories, and they also gained control of the seas. The goal of the congress was to reestablish a balance of power amongst the countries of Europe and have peace between the nations. The Congress was highly successful in achieving its goal, for the peace in Europe was left undisturbed for almost 40 years. In the 18 th century, the power of Britain increased as it industrialized, and Britain's great rival was France. Sweden, the Netherlands, and the Ottoman Empire all declined in power, but Russia and later Prussia (the forerunner of modern-day Germany) emerged as major players. In the Napoleonic Wars, which followed the French Revolution, France was defeated by a coalition of Britain, the Netherlands, Austria-Hungary, Spain, Russia, and Prussia.
The Congress of Vienna ending this war reasserted the principles of state sovereignty in reaction to the challenges of the French Revolution and Napoleon's empire. Bibliography:
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Research essay sample on Congress Of Vienna Balance Of Power
