Congress of Vienna is an assembly that came into being in 1814 to 1815 and known to restructure Europe after the Napoleonic wars. At the start of September 1814 saw its birth, which was five months after the Napoleon I made it a final act and establishing the system of that time. The main aim of the Congress was to ensure that Europe nations and its environs come up with a plan that would maintain peace throughout the continent. Furthermore, peace would come as a result of settling and discussing past controversial issues. This paper will carry out an in-depth analysis into the Congress of Vienna response against the impacts of French Revolution, and the strategies of the leaders at the forefront of the critical event within the confines of history.

The decisions of the Congress of Vienna buffered against the effects of the French revolution. Decisions reflect the intention of the maker of a decision and the decision makers of the congress exposed their utmost strategies through their choices. The Congress made crucial decisions that revolved around guarding the interest of their countries. For instance, the states that constituted the Congress made sure that they expand the territories under their jurisdiction to increase their grip on power. Some people claimed an ever-present form of control might make them more noticeable and wave off any enemies that might try to unseat their power by overthrowing them. Any territory concurred would lead to more power and people would be afraid to even think about starting a revolution. However, no land agreed would belong to other regions within the Congress (Eder, 2003).

Besides, the decision-making purposed to balance power among the members and in so doing bring about peace. Consequently, peace would settle the minds of the people the leaders ruled over and gave out a more holistic approach balanced perspective that would control the masses with ease. It is important to note that balance in power was to satisfy the masses and stop a possible revolution that was in the making due to the inequality or any unlawful act brought about by any nation (Jarrett, 2014).

The Congress restored boundaries to ensure that each nation had its rightful share of land. In fact, the restoration aimed at delivering justice to any aggrieved country by past actions of a nation. Correcting past mistakes was a sign of good faith to keep peace and make Europe an example other people will try to emulate (Merriman, 2010).

Peace came with a hefty price, but it was worth the effort the Congress was putting in. The Congress achieved its most important goals by uniting and inclusion of all Kingdoms known to contribute significantly to regional politics. Austrian Chancellor was at the center of the Congress and structured its cause of action. With a united front and strong leadership, the Congress had better perspectives and workable plans that made them more active within their region. Uniquely, it is their leadership and inclusion that made the Congress progress with pride and counters the effects of the French revolution that threatened to shatter peace and destroy the economy of Europe (Spielvogel, 2011).

The Congress had to define boundaries and come up with policies that would not undo whatever they rectified in the past such as allocation of territories. As stated above, the Congress was inclusive of any relevant nation whose effort would make a difference, but it also had to let go of around eight countries so that their participation would not have significant effects. The rejection of eight nations was to save time and ensure that policies discussed would not lead to divergent views. In short, a short board would quickly set the pace as compared to many board members. Therefore, the management of issues was more natural (Vick, 2014).

The downside of the Congress had to do with the amount of criticism it had to take head-on. At the time,   some members of the public claimed that Congress had a hand in restricting divergent views by suppression of opinions and movements that aimed at being liberal or bringing contrasting views on the table and into the public. The reason for suppressing different opinion some say was to retain power and keep peace at the center of Europe. On the other hand, speculation was rife that the Congress's primary goal was to protect monarchs, which had all the power. Despite all the perspectives, peace rested in Europe once the Congress came into being. It is good to look the Congress in all angles to reveal the manner in which they countered the French revolution (Vick, 2014).

Equally important to note that the Congress was not an official congress per se. In fact, it was one of the factors that made it efficiently counter the impacts caused  by the French Revolution. The Congress met in full, and the agendas of the meeting were not formal. Besides, the sessions of each conference were face to face with influential powers only. Different from other past Congresses that delegated duties, Vienna did not charge any responsibility to lower states as if to hide the subjects of the meeting held under closed doors. Then again, it was first of its kind and time where state legislatures came organized to make treaties instead of relying on the situations created by situations that their nations experienced at the time. This integration made them have similar perspectives that shaped their political landscape and formed a framework that would carry forward international geopolitics until world war one broke out (Spielvogel, 2011).

The Congress had a chair at each meeting session. Clemens Metternich was the chair of the Congress and saw to it that the goal of the Congress was the priority of each sitting. As stated earlier, the primary objective of the Congress was to ensure that peace and stability were in Europe and its environments. In addition, the chair was a representative of Austria. Emperor of France, Francis was informed of details of each meeting as the sessions took place in Vienna. Castlereagh was part of the leaders at the Congress. He was a man who represented the interests of England and ensured that all the sessions went according to plan and not deviate. Alexander was a Russian delegate who sought to colonize Poland and coalesce peace among European states. In fact, Alexandra formed the holy alliance in 1815, which was to promote and push forward an agenda of monarchism and oppose secularism that would effectively fight off Revolutions. Talleyrand was a French man who together with Dalberg ensured that settled a treaty in Paris. The agreement did not go as planned and had to talk with the chair of Congress secretly into intervening in their situation (Jarrett, 2014).

The dominant countries of the powerful nations had a plan to lock out France from engaging in the activities of the Congress or participating in any way. However, Talleyrand infiltrated the sessions with proxies unknown to other representatives at the Congress. Talleyrand managed to sneak meeting sessions in the early days of the meetings before the participants knew each other's faces or names. Talleyrand was shrewd in his dealings and befriended other members of lesser power such as Spain and Portugal. He succeeded in swaying the opinion of committee members of less powerful countries into allowing him to take apart in negotiations. After having an impact among the committee members of less powerful nations, he left the Congress (Eder, 2003).

In the meantime, while significant players had not come into a conclusion in the manner in which they should handle their affairs without triggering anger from less powerful nations, Talleyrand was already part of the Congress and took part in consultations on recommendation usable within the  Vienna. The purpose of the recommendations was to satisfy the needs of all the members present within the Congress. Talleyrand took part in the meeting and even attempted to suggestions made by some influential members of the Congress (Eder, 2003).

In summary, the Congress of Vienna brought together representatives of European nations. Their main aim was to bring peace to Europe and fight in the face of revolutions and secularism that threatened their monarchs and systems of status quo. The congress brought together great minds to think alike and create a strategy that would solidify their grip on power. Furthermore, the nations had designated various roles to each member to carry out the agenda of the Congress.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

 Eder, J. M. (2003). Barron's how to prepare for the AP European history advanced placement examination. Hauppauge, N.Y: Barron's.

Jarrett, M. (2014). The Congress of Vienna and its legacy: War and great power diplomacy after Napoleon. London: Tauris.

Merriman, J. M. (2010). A history of modern Europe: From the Renaissance to the present.

Spielvogel, J. J. (2011). Western civilization: A brief history. Boston: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.

Vick, B. E. (2014). The Congress of Vienna: Power and politics after Napoleon. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.