Final Act of the Congress of Vienna
This the act, or collection of treaties, signed by European ambassadors at the Congress of Vienna on 9 June 1815, less than two weeks before the Battle of Waterloo. This diplomatic conference in Vienna, arranged by the countries that had defeated the French Emperor Napoleon in 1814, was interrupted by news of Napoleon’s return from exile in March 1815.
The Congress of Vienna began in September 1814, with the intent of redrawing the borders of Europe after the chaos caused by the Napoleonic and French Revolutionary Wars. The Congress was initially dominated by the four great powers who had deposed Napoleon: Austria, Russia, Prussia and Great Britain.
The British emissary from February 1815 was the Duke of Wellington, until March, when he had to depart hurriedly to assemble the Anglo-Allied army that would face Napoleon. France, represented by the arch-negotiator Talleyrand, was able to include France and Spain in the negotiations as representatives of the many smaller European states attending the Congress. The wax seals represent the many countries that agreed to the Acts, next to the signature of that state’s ambassador.
This final act amalgamates all the various treaties agreed by the states attending the Congress. You can read the complete text of the Final Act of the Congress of Vienna here.
The Act gave extra land to Russia and Prussia, while France lost all of the extra territories it had conquered or annexed in the wars since 1795. In general, the conservative coalition of states that had defeated Napoleonic France attempted to roll back history, to undo the changes that the French Revolution and subsequent wars had caused to Europe. This included suppressing the reforming and nationalist sentiments stirred up by the revolutionary armies. Liberals across Europe condemned the Congress as a reactionary alliance.
The Congress of Vienna began a series of international conferences known as the Concert of Europe, which attempted to produce a peaceful balance of power between European states. This period of negotiation by the great powers lasted almost a hundred years, decisively being broken by the First World War in 1914.
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Curatorial info
- Production Date: 9 June 1815
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- Rights Holder: Federal Archive of Austria
- License Type: All Rights Reserved
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