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<v Speaker 1>Hello, and Welcome to Western CIV. Episode five hundred and twelve,

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<v Speaker 1>The Congress of Vienna. The year was now eighteen fourteen,

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<v Speaker 1>and Europe, bruised, exhausted, and coming out of a generation,

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<v Speaker 1>literally a generation of war, all turned its eyes now

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<v Speaker 1>to the glittering city of Vienna. The guns had finally

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<v Speaker 1>fallen silent Napoleon Bonapartes, the insatiable conqueror who had upset

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<v Speaker 1>the apple cart of Europe, who had redrawn maps like

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<v Speaker 1>he was reshuffling cards and playing just a large game

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<v Speaker 1>of risk, and finally abdicated in April and been sent

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<v Speaker 1>to the island of Elba. But no treaty yet stitched

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<v Speaker 1>the continent back together, and as a result, peace remained fragile.

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<v Speaker 1>No principle explained how monarchies toppled and shaken by the

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<v Speaker 1>French Revolution and decades of war could or would recover.

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<v Speaker 1>There was honestly only one simple and yet impossible question

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<v Speaker 1>for Europe to answer, what was the world going to

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<v Speaker 1>look like after Napoleon? And into this uncertainty stepped the

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<v Speaker 1>greatest diplomatic gathering that Europe had ever seen to date,

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<v Speaker 1>the Congress of Vienna, the Congress that will dictate basically

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<v Speaker 1>the terms of play through the rise of Germany, and

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<v Speaker 1>that is a mass of achievement. Now. When the delegates

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<v Speaker 1>began to arrive in September eighteen fourteen, Vienna became something

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<v Speaker 1>like the capital of an empire of hope, and of

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<v Speaker 1>course intrigue aristocrats, diplomats and military men flooded into the city.

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<v Speaker 1>Contemporary observers joked quote, the Congress does not work, it dances,

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<v Speaker 1>But behind the music deals were forged that would determine

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<v Speaker 1>the structure of Europe for the next century. And at

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<v Speaker 1>the center of the proceedings stood the glittering host, Prince

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<v Speaker 1>Clements von Metterniche, Austria's foreign minister. Cunning, elegant, and tirelessly

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<v Speaker 1>calculating meta Niche envisioned a Europe held together by conservatism,

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<v Speaker 1>by tradition, and by careful balance of the great powers.

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<v Speaker 1>He once quipped, when France sneezes, Europe catches a cold,

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<v Speaker 1>and he didn't want any more epidemics of revolution. That's

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<v Speaker 1>worth spending a couple of minutes and talking about Metterniche

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit more. By the time Napoleon seized power

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<v Speaker 1>in France, Metterniche had already begun to make his reputation

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<v Speaker 1>as one of Austria's most promising young diplomats. His postings

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<v Speaker 1>in Dresden and Berlin taught him the subtle balance of

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<v Speaker 1>German politics, but it was his ambassadorship into Paris, beginning

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<v Speaker 1>in eighteen o six that transformed him into a statesman

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<v Speaker 1>of European stature. In Paris, he observed Napoleon at the

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<v Speaker 1>height of his power, commandeering and utterly totally unbounded by

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<v Speaker 1>traditional constraints. Metterniche studied him closely, almost clinically, understanding that

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<v Speaker 1>France's new emperor could both destroy Europe and unknowingly maybe

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<v Speaker 1>create the conditions for its renewal. As Napoleon reshaped the

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<v Speaker 1>continent through the camp Pains of eighteen oh five, eighteen

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<v Speaker 1>oh six and eighteen oh nine, Metterniche reported at home

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<v Speaker 1>with a mixture of admiration and dread. He grasped earlier

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<v Speaker 1>than most that Austria would need to survive this storm,

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<v Speaker 1>not by bravado and military means, but by prudence and diplomacy.

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<v Speaker 1>The turning point, of course, came in eighteen oh nine,

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<v Speaker 1>when Austria suffered another shattering defeat at Wagram that Autumn,

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<v Speaker 1>meta Niche became Austrian's Foreign minister, inheriting a state that

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<v Speaker 1>was exhausted, humiliating, and honestly unsure of its future. His

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<v Speaker 1>first task was to buy time, time for Austria to recover,

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<v Speaker 1>to rebuild, and to choose its moment. It was Metterniche

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<v Speaker 1>who engineered a marriage between Napoleon and the Archduchess Marie Luis,

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<v Speaker 1>a gesture of conciliation that massed a much deeper calculation. Napoleon,

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<v Speaker 1>he realized, was burning through his strength, and Austria would

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<v Speaker 1>reap advantage by appearing coure operative until France's inevitable overreach.

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<v Speaker 1>As Moscow went up in flames in eighteen twelve and

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<v Speaker 1>Napoleon's army dissolved into the Russian Snow. Metterniche now saw

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<v Speaker 1>his long awaited opportunity, and so by eighteen thirteen it

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<v Speaker 1>was meta Niche who had maneuvered Austria into a position

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<v Speaker 1>to join the Sixth Coalition, helping to bring down the

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<v Speaker 1>empire that had dominated Europe for two decades. And when

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<v Speaker 1>Napoleon finally fell from power in eighteen fourteen, it was Metterniche,

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<v Speaker 1>elegant certain of his purpose, who stepped forward to guide

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<v Speaker 1>the shattered continent toward the Congress of Vienna, determined to

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<v Speaker 1>restore not only borders, but the very principle of order itself.

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<v Speaker 1>Now meta niche wasn't the only powerful man present in Vienna.

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<v Speaker 1>Other giants arrived in turn. Czar Alexander the First swept

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<v Speaker 1>into Vienna with almost mystical ambitions. Part warrior saint, part

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<v Speaker 1>idealistic reformer, Alexander the First saw himself honestly as the

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<v Speaker 1>man who had liberated Europe from Napoleon's tyranny, and believed

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<v Speaker 1>his destiny had placed him at the center of new

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<v Speaker 1>world order. He was also a man who was highly

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<v Speaker 1>cognizant of the price that the Russian people had paid

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<v Speaker 1>to bring Napoleon down. Now, Britain sent its brilliant statesmen

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<v Speaker 1>via Count castorlith steady and precise, representing an island nation

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<v Speaker 1>that had funded the struggle against Napoleon for twenty years

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<v Speaker 1>and now wanted a stable continent that wooden't threat in

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<v Speaker 1>trade or peace. Prussia arrived with dreams of territorial expansion,

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<v Speaker 1>hungry to strengthen its position after suffering under French occupation

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<v Speaker 1>for over a decade, and then of course, there was France,

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<v Speaker 1>the conquered, humiliated nation that had caused all the upheaval

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<v Speaker 1>in the first place. Yet France, astonished, sent the one

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<v Speaker 1>man who had become perhaps the most skillful voice at

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<v Speaker 1>the Congress, tally Rand, the wily diplomat who had survived

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<v Speaker 1>Revolution Empire in exile. He now came representing the restored

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<v Speaker 1>Bourbon monarch of Louis the eighteenth, Claiming that France, though defeated,

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<v Speaker 1>could not be treated as a pariah. Tally Brand would

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<v Speaker 1>quickly turn his tables on his rivals in ways that

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<v Speaker 1>few could be predicted. Now, the central work of the

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<v Speaker 1>Congress of Vienna was to restore an equilibrium what Metterniche

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<v Speaker 1>calls the balance of power. And this is going to

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<v Speaker 1>be the deciding principle that is going to guide Europe

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<v Speaker 1>really all the way up until the First World War,

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<v Speaker 1>certainly until the Franco Prussian War. It's really the rise

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<v Speaker 1>of Germany that's going to upset the apple cart with

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<v Speaker 1>all of this. But the idea was that no single

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<v Speaker 1>state should ever again become powerful enough to dominate Europe

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<v Speaker 1>as France had under Napoleon. So the question was how

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<v Speaker 1>to do this and really they only had a couple

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<v Speaker 1>of tools at their disposal. They had land, they had

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<v Speaker 1>economic power, and then they had population. You know, if

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<v Speaker 1>you're thinking about it from a nineteenth century perspective, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>those are the pieces that are on your board. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>if the country's going to become more powerful and put

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<v Speaker 1>in a position to dominate the rest of Europe, then

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<v Speaker 1>it has to have those three things, and enough of

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<v Speaker 1>those three things that they can actually overwhelm the combined

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<v Speaker 1>weight of other territorial powers. So the first thing that

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<v Speaker 1>had to happen were certain territories had to be shifted around,

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<v Speaker 1>because the reality was that land was tied to economic productivity. Still.

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<v Speaker 1>Although the industrial Revolution had now begun in England, and

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<v Speaker 1>we'll come back to that actually really short over here,

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<v Speaker 1>but it had not really taken over to the extent

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<v Speaker 1>that now we were going to be dealing with this

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<v Speaker 1>totally industrialized society. The vast majority of Europe was still

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<v Speaker 1>by and large agrarian, and so the income that came

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<v Speaker 1>from the land was really important establishing economic dominance. Likewise,

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<v Speaker 1>you needed food to support a large population, and so

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<v Speaker 1>land and population retied together. So as a consequence, territories

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<v Speaker 1>got swapped around, just kind of traded back and forth

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<v Speaker 1>like chess pieces in order to try to achieve this

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<v Speaker 1>magical balance of power that Meturnetian everybody else thought was

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<v Speaker 1>so important. First was the idea is that Austria would

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<v Speaker 1>lose influence in the Holy Roman Empire, but in exchange,

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<v Speaker 1>it was going to get control over a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>northern Italy, including Lombardy and Venice, and Prussia would be

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<v Speaker 1>the one who'd be compensated because they were now going

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<v Speaker 1>to get large swaths of Saxony and the Rhineland territories

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<v Speaker 1>that are actually going to sow the seeds of the

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<v Speaker 1>destruction of the balance of power principle in general, because

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<v Speaker 1>those are the territories that are going to allow Prussia

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<v Speaker 1>to industrialize, and those are the territories that are going

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<v Speaker 1>to allow Bismarck eventually to knit Germany together with iron

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<v Speaker 1>Ore and Tracks. Now, Russia kept pressing for control of Poland,

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<v Speaker 1>seeking a large Polish kingdom under Russian influence. This proposal, however,

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<v Speaker 1>terrified both Austria and Britain and didn't want to change

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<v Speaker 1>a French domination of Europe for a Russian domination of Europe.

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<v Speaker 1>And so that was going to be checked. For the moment,

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<v Speaker 1>Britain was least concerned with land. Britain didn't want land

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<v Speaker 1>holdings on the continent. Britain, and a lot of his

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<v Speaker 1>experience in the Americas as well, tended to see these

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<v Speaker 1>pieces of land not as benefit but as ulcers, as

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<v Speaker 1>territories that we're going to be requiring defending without not

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<v Speaker 1>a ton of upside. Britain's gaze was now shifting to

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<v Speaker 1>worldwide commerce, and their domination in that area is going

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<v Speaker 1>to become principal to understanding our story as it goes forward.

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<v Speaker 1>It wanted naval bases and it wanted colonial outposts that

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<v Speaker 1>would protect its global trade routes, so that was its goal.

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<v Speaker 1>Now the bargaining table was rather relentless. Tsar Alexander was

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<v Speaker 1>determined to have Poland, insisting that he alone had the

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<v Speaker 1>moral authority to restore Polish nationhood. Metter Niche resisted fiercely.

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<v Speaker 1>He saw how close Russia would be to Austria if

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<v Speaker 1>it got control over Poland, which was the only buffer

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<v Speaker 1>state at the time, and if that happened, he realized

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<v Speaker 1>that a poor little Austria simply wouldn't have the capacity

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<v Speaker 1>to stand up to the Tsar. Now, meanwhile, Prussia continued

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<v Speaker 1>to make demands for more and more of Saxony, whose

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<v Speaker 1>king had actually sided with Napoleon. In the last little

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<v Speaker 1>one hundred days, Europe seemed like it was on the

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<v Speaker 1>brink of another war, this time actually amongst the victors

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<v Speaker 1>of the last war. And that is when tally Rand

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<v Speaker 1>stepped in. France had no right to leave these negotiations,

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<v Speaker 1>and everybody kind of recognized this. Tallyrand saw, however, that

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<v Speaker 1>there was a huge weakness in the Allied coalition. He

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<v Speaker 1>argued with elegance that quote unquote, the great powers must

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<v Speaker 1>act according to legitimacy. That it wasn't just a balance

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<v Speaker 1>of power that was going to restore order to Europe.

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<v Speaker 1>It was that overarching idea of legitimacy that kings or

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<v Speaker 1>ruling powers had to be vested with that right to rule.

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<v Speaker 1>The people who were under them had to see that

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<v Speaker 1>they had that right to rule, because if they didn't

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<v Speaker 1>have that, then you were just going to deal with

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<v Speaker 1>space after space of French revolution cropping up in Prussia,

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<v Speaker 1>then maybe Austria and then Spain again, and maybe even

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<v Speaker 1>background to France. You know, there was never going to

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<v Speaker 1>be any end to this carousel. So there had to

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<v Speaker 1>be the restoration of rightful monarchs. And therefore he decided

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<v Speaker 1>and argued that Saxony's king had to keep his throne

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<v Speaker 1>because he was the proper king of Saxony. By siding

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<v Speaker 1>with Austria and Britain against Prussia and Russia, France astonishingly

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<v Speaker 1>found itself back in the circle of great powers only

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<v Speaker 1>a year after Napoleon had been finally defeated. Talleyrand's maneuverings

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<v Speaker 1>they saved Saxony, but more importantly, they checked Russian ambition

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<v Speaker 1>and they re elevated France among its European peers. His

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<v Speaker 1>success today remains one of diplomacy's greatest achievements. Now, by

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<v Speaker 1>early eighteen fifteen, the diplomats had now pretty much finished

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<v Speaker 1>up what they were going to be doing. But then

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<v Speaker 1>came the shock, of course that we know that rippled

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<v Speaker 1>like a thunder across Europe. And that was on March

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<v Speaker 1>the first Napoleon escaped from Elba. As news spread through

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<v Speaker 1>the ballrooms of Vienna, there was suddenly an eerie silence. Metterniche,

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<v Speaker 1>who had built his entire worldview on containing the revolution's chaos,

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<v Speaker 1>saw his fears materialized literally overnight. The great Powers reacted

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<v Speaker 1>in unison, saying, quote, the outlaw is no longer an empire,

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<v Speaker 1>he is a criminal. They vowed not to negotiate with him,

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<v Speaker 1>each signing declarations that made war not against France but

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<v Speaker 1>against Napoleon personally. And while the Congress continued its technical work,

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<v Speaker 1>the armies, as we know, marched again, and one hundred

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<v Speaker 1>days later at Waterloo, Napoleon was again and finally defeated again,

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<v Speaker 1>as we know. The Congress then reconvened with grim determination

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<v Speaker 1>to finish its work and to secure the peace terms forever.

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<v Speaker 1>The final Act of the Congress of Vienna, which was

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<v Speaker 1>signed on the ninth of June eighteen fifteen, became one

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<v Speaker 1>of the most important diplomatic documents, really and honestly in

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<v Speaker 1>the history of the w world. It's goals were conservative,

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<v Speaker 1>but they were very visionary. A listen, the Congress of

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<v Speaker 1>Vienna was a conservative body, like there's no doubt about it.

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<v Speaker 1>Like the goal behind the Congress of Vienna was to

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<v Speaker 1>turn back the clock to before the French Revolution. They

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<v Speaker 1>didn't realize that there was no way to do that,

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<v Speaker 1>but the reality was is what they were trying to

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<v Speaker 1>do from a pragmatic standpoint, which is secure a world

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<v Speaker 1>without war is something that we're still trying to do

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<v Speaker 1>well today. And so should we fault them necessarily because

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<v Speaker 1>it didn't work out? I can't say that. I think so.

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<v Speaker 1>The idea was to create a Europe where no single

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<v Speaker 1>power could ignite another continent wide war, and so I

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<v Speaker 1>think there's a couple of key takeaways I want to

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<v Speaker 1>go over. First is that, at least for the next oh, gosh,

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<v Speaker 1>I'll say roughly century, one hundred years, the balance of

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<v Speaker 1>power was restored. There was no state that emerged overwhelmingly dominant.

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<v Speaker 1>Territory was distributed in such a way that equilibrium was kept.

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<v Speaker 1>Traditional monarchies were also restored in France, Spain, Portugal and

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<v Speaker 1>in parts of Italy. So there was that sort of

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<v Speaker 1>legitimacy restoration that both Meta Niche and to an extent

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<v Speaker 1>Tallyrand were looking for. And then there was the success

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<v Speaker 1>of the German Confederation, because remember Napoleon ended the Holy

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<v Speaker 1>Roman Empire kind of it really ended. However, during the

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<v Speaker 1>Congress of Vienna. Now there was going to be a

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<v Speaker 1>modern German Confederation, not some old holdover from the days

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<v Speaker 1>arguably of Charlemagne going back to the ninth century. Now

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<v Speaker 1>there's going to be a German Federation, a loose association

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<v Speaker 1>of thirty nine German states, which replaced the Holy Roman

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<v Speaker 1>Empire and came under at least temporarily Austrian leadership. Of course,

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<v Speaker 1>there was the success of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

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<v Speaker 1>The Netherlands have been fighting for freedom forever, against Spain,

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<v Speaker 1>Britain for a little bit, and then of course against France.

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<v Speaker 1>And now the Kingdom of the Netherlands joined with Belgium

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<v Speaker 1>to create a strong buffer state against France and anyone

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<v Speaker 1>else around. In fact, Switzerland was now declared permanently neutral,

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<v Speaker 1>a status that actually continues to this day. So if

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<v Speaker 1>you look at things that have been accomplished several hundred

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<v Speaker 1>years ago, it's pretty rare to find something, but we did.

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<v Speaker 1>The slave trade was also officially condemned. The Congress issued

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<v Speaker 1>one of the earliest multi national statements against the African

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<v Speaker 1>slave trade, largely led by Britain. More on slavery next week.

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<v Speaker 1>Perhaps the most enduring creation wasn't a map, but it

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<v Speaker 1>was a system. It was a commitment among the great

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<v Speaker 1>powers to consult with one another and resolve disputes through

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<v Speaker 1>diplomacy rather than war. This Concert of Europe became kind

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<v Speaker 1>of an early United Nations. It was informal, but it

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<v Speaker 1>was effective at maintaining the peace, and so over almost

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<v Speaker 1>a century, from eighteen fifteen to nineteen fourteen, there would

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<v Speaker 1>be no general European war. The Congress of Vienna by

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<v Speaker 1>and large achieved what few had expected, a real and

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<v Speaker 1>lasting peace. Now, finally the delegates departed Vienna, and the

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<v Speaker 1>city was able to breathe the sigh of I suppose

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<v Speaker 1>a little relief. The waltzes forever faded, the carriages rolled away,

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<v Speaker 1>but the imprint of the work that they did endured.

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<v Speaker 1>Metterniche conservative order would dominate Europe's for decades, battling back

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<v Speaker 1>revolutions in eighteen thirty and again in eighteen forty eight.

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<v Speaker 1>The equilibrium that he built allowed states to industrialize, to modernize,

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<v Speaker 1>and to compete without plunging immediately into chaos. Critics later

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<v Speaker 1>condemned the Congress or resisting liberalism, for upholding the idea

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<v Speaker 1>of absolute monarchies, for ignoring national self determination, in short,

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<v Speaker 1>for resisting change, but they weren't entirely wrong. Yet. Even

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<v Speaker 1>those critics acknowledged something remarkable. The Congress of Vienna created

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<v Speaker 1>the most stable international system Europe had ever known, and

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<v Speaker 1>in a century that had been defined by rapid change, nationalism, ideology,

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<v Speaker 1>the railroads, we haven't even begin to talk about that yet.

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<v Speaker 1>It kept the peace long enough for the modern world

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<v Speaker 1>to take shape. So next week, and we've really kind

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<v Speaker 1>of finally put a pin on the French Revolution episodes.

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<v Speaker 1>Next week we've got to fly back across the Pond,

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<v Speaker 1>and I'm going to kind of go back and also

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<v Speaker 1>go forward. We're going to talk about a couple of

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<v Speaker 1>presidential administrations and why they matter in the scope of

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<v Speaker 1>Western civilization. But then we're also going to start to

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<v Speaker 1>look at what is going to become by far and

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<v Speaker 1>away the most pressing issue for the young American Republic,

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<v Speaker 1>and that is, of course, shadow slavery. Shadow slavery is

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<v Speaker 1>going to dictate everything that America does up and through

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<v Speaker 1>the American Civil War, which is now sixty some years

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<v Speaker 1>away from when we at least last left off in

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<v Speaker 1>the War of eighteen twelve. So we're going to pick

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<v Speaker 1>it back up. We're going to talk about that a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit, and then we're going to continue in the

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<v Speaker 1>Americas to visit a number of revolutions that are rocking

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<v Speaker 1>Central and South America in ways that will continue to

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<v Speaker 1>reshape the globe in ways that we continue to see

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<v Speaker 1>them today as we continue this rapid roller coaster descent

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<v Speaker 1>in our final year of Western civ Love