Question

Write a note on Vienna Congress.

Answer 1

Hint: Vienna Congress is one of the most important events in world history. Napoleon, who was a great leader and conqueror, captured the entire Europe and destroyed the powers which existed before. To restore those powers which Napoleon shooed away the Vienna Congress was formed and aimed to restore peace in Europe after Napoleon lost.

Complete step by step answer: The Congress of Vienna was held in 1814-1815, in Vienna. It was one of the most important international conferences in European history. The event remade Europe after the downfall of French Emperor Napoleon I. It was a meeting of ambassadors of Europe. It was headed by the Austrian chairman Klemens von Metternich.
The main objective of Vienna Congress was to settle the lost peace in Europe. The French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars disturbed the administration of Europe because there were many critical issues that arose. Napoleon ruled France for many years and his defeat brought an end to the 23 year long continuous war. The Vienna Congress wanted to resize the main powers so that they could balance each other leading to peace.
The 3 main goals of the Congress of Vienna were-
1. To prevent future aggression by surrounding France with main countries.
2. To restore balance of powers in order to reduce the threat of other countries.
3. To restore Europe’s royal families to the throne they had before the Napoleonic wars.
The congress was criticized by liberals for causing subsequent suppression of the emerging national and liberal movement. Whereas, some people praise it by arguing that the ideas had long term stability and led to restoration of peace in most of the European countries.
Austria, Britain, Russia, Prussia and France were some of the important countries meeting in the ‘Vienna Congress’. However, almost every state in Europe had delegation in the congress.
Additional information: Congress of Vienna was not a congress properly because it never met in a plenary session. In addition to that most of the discussion happened in informal settings.
Emperor Napoleon was defeated in May 1814 and immediately after his defeat the congress was formed.

Note: The congress of Vienna was an attempt to prevent future wars because they caused a lot of misery and loss of lives, wealth, political stability etc.