Castlereagh of Great Britain

He was the British Foreign Minister. He had a typically practical British mind as opposed to
Alexander Is idealism. What worried him most was how to keep the European continent open to
British trade. Napoleon had tried to close Europe to British goods. He had also attempted to
invade England. In fact, the Napoleonic war had greatly upset the British trade pattern. For
these reason, he wanted to achieve peace in Europe. Only by this could it be possible for
English trade and commence to proper and develop. As such, it was necessary to create a
balance of power in Europe. The wealth, population and territory of the states needed to be
carefully redistributed. This would ensure that no one power would be too strong to endanger to
others. His idea of a balance was, first to contain France. He was adamant on keeping the
French out of the lowland countries. The next problem was to strengthen central Europe as a
buffer between France and Russia. He also believed that the joint meetings of persons in
authority were a better method of removing international misunderstanding.

1. Balance of power to prevent the status quo by preventing any of the Great powers from
gaining too much and dominating Europe. For example, France was not dismembered but
treated leniently instead for the peace makers of the Vienna Settlement felt that achieving in
Europe as a whole was more important than punishing France

2. To restrain the power of France although France should not be punished too severely, she
had to be restrained so that she would not be able to threaten the strong buffer states was put
around France.

3. Legitimacy It meant that the dynasties of Europe that had reigned in pre-revolutionary days
should be restored to their thrones. This principle of legitimacy was supported by Talleyrand as
a device for protecting France against drastic punishment and adopted by Metternich as a
convenient expression of the general policy of resisting changes. The principle of legitimacy was
looked upon as an insurance against future revolutions. Restored rulers were usually despotic
and reactionary; die-hard supporter of conservatism and enemy of liberalism. They were thus
expected to uproot any revolutionary movements to the detriment of peace and stability.

4. To reward the victors and punish the defeated Austria, Prussia, Russia and England all gained
new territories whereas France, Denmark and Saxony were reduced in size for supporting
Napoleon.

5. Compensation This was connected with the preservation of the balance of power. The map of
Europe was rearranged so that the land lost to Napoleon and under Napoleon were restore, but
where the powers could not be restored or where restoration was not wise, there was
compensation.

What is the name of the person representing your country at the Congress of
Vienna?
Viscount Castlereagh and the duke of Wellington represented Great Britain

What is the personality of your representative?

 Calm, peaceful and analytical.

What do they hope to achieve from the Congress of Vienna specifically for
their country?
They were interested in acquiring strategic colonial territories

How will you deal with France (harsh or lenient) and what might the
implications be on the system of cooperation in Europe?
The Congress of Vienna was about creating peace in Europe. France was
invaded and having wars with others at that time. I would deal harshly with
France to decrease their dominance and power because they were misusing
it. Europe was getting unbalanced because of France. The majority of Europe
was against France. So, I would harshly with France to prevent them from
getting more powerful and exploiting their powers.

If France is dealt harshly then they might react negatively or violently. So, to
prevent Frances wrath; I would deal leniently with them. Peace wouldnt have
been made in Europe if France would be dealt harshly. That is because of
their dominance.