The Napoleonic Era and the Congress of Vienna

The Rise and Fall of Napoleon Bonaparte

The French Revolution had a profound impact on France and many countries around the world. It also created a power vacuum after the excesses of the Reign of Terror and Robespierre's execution. Enter Napoleon Bonaparte, a brilliant military tactician and ambitious military officer who had a grandiose vision of ruling over all of Europe. Watch this presentation to see how he rose to power and tried to conquer the continent. Click the player to begin.

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The French Revolution and Napoleon brought 20 years of war to Europe. Ultimately, Napoleon was unable to achieve his dream of unifying Europe under French domination. On a positive note, he did leave France with his Napoleonic Code which gave citizens more rights. He also awakened feelings of nationalism in those areas of Europe which opposed his domination.

By 1814, the people of Europe were tired of war. Leaders from many European nations met in Vienna, Austria to try and work out boundaries that would achieve some level of peace. This meeting was called the Congress of Vienna and lasted from 1814 to 1815. Most of these leaders thought that the best way to achieve peace would come by returning to the forms of government and social orders that existed before the French Revolution.

One such leader was Klemens von Metternich, an Austrian who was against the ideas of the French Revolution. He thought the French ideas of liberty, equality, and fraternity would bring more wars to Europe. Instead, he believed that only strong kings could keep peace and that they should be responsible for creating all of the laws. People, on the other hand, should not be equal before the Law, and they should have fewer freedoms. Metternich represented the new conservatives who resisted change and wanted power to remain with kings and nobility. Other people called liberals embraced the social changes and freedoms of the French Revolution.

In the interactivity below, click on each of the tabs to explore the political philosophies that came about after the Napoleonic Era and the Congress of Vienna.

Many of the leaders at the Congress of Vienna agreed with Metternich's ideas and began to remove the freedoms that common people won after the French Revolution. Most European nations were ruled by kings before the French Revolution. As Napoleon conquered much of Europe, he put new rulers in the conquered nations. The Congress restored many of the monarchs that had been removed by Napoleon to their former thrones.

In addition, the leaders of the Congress of Vienna changed the size of some nations in order to achieve a balance of power among the European countries. Some nations grew larger, and others smaller. France lost all of the land that Napoleon had conquered.

The Congress wanted to be sure that there would be no more revolutions. Four countries agreed to work together in this effort and were called the Quadruple Alliance: England, Austria, Russia and Prussia. Later, England left and France took its place. Many secret police worked for the Alliance. They searched out people who opposed kings and might start revolutions. After the Congress of Vienna, thousands were sent to prison.

The Congress of Vienna had one positive impact: no large-scale wars were fought in Europe for almost forty years. However, the Congress of Vienna could not make people forget the ideas of the French Revolution. Europe now had an educated and wealthy commercial class who still wanted greater freedoms and representation in government.

By 1820, some groups started new revolutions. National pride, economic competition, and democratic ideals stimulated the growth of nationalism. In Spain and Italy, the first revolutions were stopped by the Quadruple Alliance. People in Latin America also started revolutions against Spain. By 1826, most of the Latin American colonies had gained their freedom. The Quadruple Alliance wanted to crush the Latin American Revolutions and restore colonial rule, but England and the United States would not allow these nations to recolonize Latin America. In 1830, Belgian people living in southern provinces of the Netherlands successfully revolted and established their own kingdom.

In 1848, the French people started another revolution. They forced their king to leave, and started the Second French Republic, voting in Napoleon Bonaparte’s nephew Louis Napoleon as its leader. In 1848, there were more revolutions in many parts of Europe, including Italy and the German states. In Austria, where Metternich lived, some people who wanted the king to have less power began to fight for freedom. Metternich fled Austria to England, losing any political power he had gained through the Alliance. Shortly thereafter, the Quadruple Alliance fell apart. Although many of these revolutions were unsuccessful, they increased nationalistic tensions. In contrast to continental Europe, the United Kingdom expanded political rights through legislative means and made slavery illegal in the British Empire. As a result, no major revolts happened in the country.

The Congress of Vienna had tried to turn back the clock to the days of kings and limited rights, but it could not stop revolution in Europe. The growth of democracy in England and America inspired people in the years to come, as more people fought for freedom and equality.

Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna Review

Now that you have learned how Napoleon's actions transformed Europe, see how well you can answer the questions in this non-graded activity. Click the player to get started.