Congress of Vienna: What you should do if your power is threatened?

In 1814 Napoleon had been defeated, his empire destroyed, and Europe left in disarray. The boundaries of countries all across Europe had been skewed and cut up, and it had to be put back together. Kings, queens, princes, and diplomats from over 200 states and houses came together to form the Congress of Vienna. The goal of the Congress was to redraw the map of Europe, pick governmental leaders, and prevent further revolutions that would lead Europe to further destruction.

In class our essential question was: what should people in power do when their power is threatened? With Napoleon being exiled the new powers that came to be would be threatened. People might revolt if they disagree with the way the representatives decide to rule their new state or country. During the Congress of Vienna not only did the congress have to complete their goals, but they had to do so in a way that they thought would ensure their power. Our class was assigned to put ourselves into the shoes of Prince Clemens von Metternich, Austrian representative at the  Congress of Vienna, and decide how to redraw borders, pick a government, and prevent revolutions in a way in which he would be able to maintain his power. After our class discussed what we would do if we were Metternich, we found out what really happened.

First, When redrawing Europe, the congress agreed that the boundaries Napoleon made would be diminished and be replaced by boundaries in which their would be a balance of power between Russia, Austria, Prussia, Britain, and France. Secondly, the Congress of Vienna decided on governmental leaders. They decided to follow the principle of legitimacy. Finally, in regards to preventing future revolutions most countries and states besides England agreed to follow the Holy Alliance and Principle of Intervention.

Metternich and other powerful people at the congress knew that even if they did everything they could to diminish the threats of their power, people would still revolt. Because of this the Principle of Intervention was deemed extremely important. The Principle of Intervention was the ideology that gave the great powers from different countries the right to send troops into a country to stop revolutions and restore the monarchs of the country under attack. With all of the monarchs and countries looking out for each other, revolutions would be easily repressed. The Principle of Intervention was the key for what people in power should do when their power is threatened.

The Congress of Vienna had put Europe back together and figured out how to protect their own power. I think they did the right thing by making a balance of power when redividing Europe and preventing revolts through the holy alliance and Principle of Intervention. The congress went wrong when deciding on governmental leaders. Since the representatives of the Congress of Vienna were mainly royalty and people of high status, they did what was in their best interest to maintain their power and go back to monarchies like before, even though they may not have been the most efficient. They should have sacrificed some of their own power in order to serve the needs of more people. The representative’s governments would have benefited the most if a system of democracy was put into place. This way the people would be happy because they would have a say in their leader, and it would be hard for another absolute ruler like Napoleon to come to power. This would have stopped revolts and been the most effective to further progress Europe, but because the representatives monarchs’ greed the Congress of Vienna created a new Europe that would be prone to many changes and results in the near future.

                                           Map of Europe after the Congress of Vienna