INTRODUCTION

The Battle of Waterloo, which took place in Belgium on June 18, 1815,
marked the final defeat of French military leader and emperor Napoleon
Bonaparte (1769-1821), who conquered much of continental Europe in the
early 19th century.
Napoleon rose through the ranks of the French army during the French
Revolution (1789-1799), seized control of the French government in 1799
and became emperor in 1804.
Through a series of wars, he expanded his empire across western and
central Europe. However, a disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812, coupled
with other defeats, led to his abdication and exile in 1814. He returned to
France in 1815 and briefly resumed power.
The Battle of Waterloo, in which Napoleons forces were defeated by the
British and Prussians, signaled the end of his reign and the end of Frances
domination in Europe. After Waterloo, Napoleon abdicated and later died in
exile.

 It established peace between France and theUnited Kindom of Great Britain and
Ireland, Russia, Austria and Prussia who in March had defined their common war
aim in Chaumont.
The Treaty was also signed byPortugalandSwedenwhileSpainsigned signed
shortly after in July.
The treaty provided a rough draft of a final settlement, which according to
article 32 was to be concluded within the next two months at a congress
involving all belligerents of the Napoleonic Wars. This provision resulted in
theCongress of Vienna, held between September 1814 and June 1815.
The Congress of Vienna (German: Wiener Kongress) was a conference of
ambassadors of European states chaired by Metternich, and held in Vienna. The
Congress of Vienna was the first of a series of international meetings that came
to be known as the Concert of Europe, which was an attempt to forge a peaceful
balance of power in Europe, and served as a model for later organizations such
as the League of Nations and United Nations.

(1) What were the decisions made at the

Peace of Paris 1814 and at the Congress of
Vienna 1815?

The First Treaty of Paris (May 1814)

The terms imposed on France were lenient:

1. France was not forced to disarm;

2. She did not pay any indemnity;
3. She did not restore the works of arts which she had removed
from Italy or Germany;
4. Her boundaries were to be those of 1792;
5. France ceded Mauritius, Malta and other territories to
England and Spain.

Congress of Vienna
The decisions at the Congress of Vienna showed that the
victorious powers chose to destroy the principles of the Napoleon
had instituted. This was a reaction against the principles of the
French Revolution. On the whole, the aims of the Congress of
Vienna were the following:
1. the Congress of Vienna was said to be a congress to divide the
spoils among the four victorious states Britain, Austria, Prussia
and Russia ;
2. to sweep away the ideas popularized by the French revolution
and Napoleon ;
3. to prevent future aggression from France ;
4. and to work out an effective means among the four great
powers to tackle future problems were also important aims of the
Congress of Vienna.

 Although representatives from all the states which had participated in the wars
were invited, the principal negotiations were conducted by the Britain, Russia,
Prussia, Austria and later on France.
Austriawas represented byPrince Metternich, the Foreign Minister, and by his
deputy, Baron Johann von Wessenberg.
Great Britain was represented first by itsForeign Secretary,Viscount
Castlereagh; then by theDuke of Wellington, after Castlereagh's return to
England in February 1815.
TsarAlexander Icontrolled the Russian delegation which was formally led by the
foreign minister, CountKarl Robert Nesselrode.
Prussia was represented by PrinceKarl August von Hardenberg, the Chancellor,
and the diplomat and scholarWilhelm von Humboldt. KingFrederick William III of
Prussiawas also in Vienna, playing his role behind the scenes.
France, the "fifth" power, was represented by its foreign minister,Talleyrandas
well as the Minister Plenipotentiary the Duke of Dalberg.

The Treaty of Vienna, June 1815

The important decisions made in the Congress were passed by the
powers by the Treaty of Vienna.

1.Legitimacy
a.The Bourbons, Louis XVIII, Ferdinand VII and Ferdinand I, were
restored to France, Spain and Two Sicilies respectively.
b. The House of Orange in Holland and the House of Savoy in
Pietmont-Sardinia were restored.
c. The Pope again ruled the Papal States.
d. Various German princes were restored to the throne.
e. Members of the Hapsburg family were restored to the thrones of
Tuscany, Parma and Modena in Italy.

2. Balance of power, Reward and punishment, Compensation:

a. Russia got Finland and parts of Prussian Poland; Bessarabia had been gained
from Turkey during the Napoleonic Wars. In the opinion of Castlereagh and
Metternich, Russian gains were too great and upset the balance of power. It was
because Russia had negotiated with the sword in her hand and so secured more
than the other allies liked.
b. Prussia recovered the German territories which Napoleon had taken from her.
She also acquired Swedish Pomerania about 2/5 of Saxony, the whole of Westphalia
and most of the Rhineland.
c. Austria recovered Lombardy and acquired Venetia in exchange of Austrian
Netherlands.
d. Holland was given the Austrian Netherlands (Belgium) to form with
Luxembourg the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.
e. Britain kept the balance by securing gains mainly in colonial field. She took
final possession of Cape Colony in S.Africa, Ceylon and some islands in West Indies.
e.The Swiss Confederation was declared neutral.

3. To restrain the power of France

Barrier states were created around France do that all states on French frontiers
would be strong enough to hold up any recurrence of French aggression long
enough for the powers to mobilize their forces.

a. The Rhineland on the east were given to Prussia.

b. The neutrality of Switzerland was guaranteed.
c. Austria had acquisitions in Northern Italy.
d. Piedmont had Savoy and Genoa added to her.
e. Spain and Portugal were guaranteed against French attack.
f. In between France and Spain, there was the Pyrenees to ensure inconvenient
French attack on Spain.
g. Belgium was given to Holland to form with Luxumbourg to form the United
Kingdoms of Netherlands under the Dutch king.