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After the fall of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna established a balance of power in Europe between Great Britain, France, Russia and Austria in 1815.
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After the fall of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna established a balance of power in Europe between Great Britain, France, Russia and Austria in 1815.
The Congress of Vienna wanted to go back to the status quo ante of 1789. It put the old “legitimate” ruling families back in charge of France, Spain, Naples and Sicily. The conservative Prince Metternich of Austria wanted to stop the spread of Revolution and Nationalism in Europe. Remember: “When France sneezes, Europe catches a cold!”
The Congress of Vienna put the “legitimate” Bourbon King, Louis XVIII, in charge of France. Given the recent history of the French Revolution, he tried to please the French people by quickly issuing a constitution with separation of powers and an elected Parliament. What do you think Metternich thought of Louis XVIII?
But the nationalism and revolutionary ideas of France were impossible to contain…
In 1830, the French nation revolted, demanding a “Citizen King” named Louis Philippe. By 1848, as the radicals grew stronger, the people overthrew even him and declared the Second French Republic. All adult men, rich or poor, were granted suffrage – the right to vote.
The people elected him with over 90% of the vote! The French people used their universal male suffrage to elect Napoleon’s nephew president of the Second French Republic. Just like his uncle, Napoleon III greatly expanded his power, turning the Republic into the Second French Empire. Why?
France was sneezing again… What do you think Metternich thought about this? What do you think happened next?
A wave of Nationalist Revolutions spread over Europe… What did the people want? What do you think the Congress of Vienna did about it?
Prince Metternich had to flee the Austrian Empire in disguise, as the Hungarians, Czechs and Venetians all cried out for independence and universal suffrage.
But in almost every case, the countries of the Congress of Vienna worked together to maintain the balance of power and defeat the Revolutions of 1848.
But twenty years later, German and Italian nationalism would completely upset the balance of power established at the Congress of Vienna.
The Congress of Vienna left the German parts of Europe divided into many tiny countries, surrounded by France, the Austrian Empire and the Russian Empire.
The Prussian King was Wilhem I, an ultraconservative who believed in the Divine Right of Kings. King Wilhelm I’s prime minister was a good friend of his, a conservative noble named Otto Von Bismarck. Bismarck Wilhelm I What do you think Prince Metternich would have thought about Wilhelm I and Bismarck?
Prussia was famous for its powerful military. Voltaire once said: “Prussia is not a country with an army, but an army with a country!” Bismarck wanted to use this army to unite the German people under Prussian leadership.
What do you think Prince Metternich of Austria thought about all of this nationalism? What about Russia, France, or Great Britain?
In 1866, Bismarck defeated Austria in the Austro-Prussian War. This united the countries of northern Germany under Prussian rule. In 1871, Bismarck crushed France in the Franco-Prussian War, marching all the way to Paris. He gained some French territory, and united the countries of southern Germany.
From Louis XIV’s old Palace of Versailles, King Wilhelm I was crowned Emperor of Germany.
While Otto Von Bismarck was uniting the Germans, Giuseppe Garibaldi of Sardinia was working to unite the Italians. Garibaldi Bismarck
The Congress of Vienna had also left the Italian peninsula divided into many countries. Austria ruled in the north, Hapsburg Monarchs ruled in the center, and Bourbon Kings ruled in Naples and Sicily. The Pope even had his own country in the area around Rome.
Garibaldi was born in Nice, an Italian-speaking city conquered by Napoleon and later returned to Sardinia at the Congress of Vienna. In the 1830s he met Giuseppi Mazzini, who led an Italian nationalist group called Young Italy.
Garibaldi joined a secret revolutionary organization called the Carbonari and was exiled from Sardinia and banished to South American, where he participated in several Latin American revolutions. His men became known as the Red Shirts, because they wore shirts from the slaughterhouses of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
He returned to Italy to participate in the 1848 revolutions against the French Empire, but was again expelled to New York and later, Peru.
Garibaldi now realized he would need the support of the Sardinian monarchy, teaming up with king Victor Emmannuel II and Prime Minister Camilo Cavour to fight the Austrians who controlled northern Italy. Cavour gave Garibaldi’s home city, Nice, to France in return for an alliance. Garibaldi was enraged, but continued to support Sardinia.
With the Sardinian army, Garibaldi swept through the Italian peninsula all the way to south to Naples and Sicily. This unification was called the Risorgimiento - Resurgence
