Decisions of the congress

The major points of friction occurred over the disposition of Poland and Saxony, the conflicting claims of Sweden, Denmark, and Russia, and the adjustment of the borders of the German states. In general, Russia and Prussia were opposed by Austria, France, and England, which at one point (January 3, 1815) went so far as to conclude a secret treaty of defensive alliance. The major final agreements were as follows.

In return for acquiring Poland, Alexander gave back Galicia to Austria and gave Thorn and a region around it to Prussia; Kraków was made a free town. The rest of the Duchy of Warsaw was incorporated as a separate kingdom under the Russian emperor’s sovereignty. Prussia got two-fifths of Saxony and was compensated by extensive additions in Westphalia and on the left bank of the Rhine River. It was Castlereagh who insisted on Prussian acceptance of the latter territory, with which it had been suggested the king of Saxony should be compensated. Castlereagh wanted Prussia to guard the territories of the Rhine region against France and act as a buttress to the new Kingdom of the Netherlands, which comprised both the former United Provinces and Belgium. Austria was compensated by Lombardy and Venice and got back most of Tirol. Bavaria, Württemberg, and Baden on the whole did well. Hanover was also enlarged. The outline of a constitution, a loose confederation, was drawn up for Germany—a triumph for Metternich. Denmark lost Norway to Sweden but got Lauenburg, while Swedish Pomerania went to Prussia. Switzerland was given a new constitution.

In Italy, Piedmont absorbed Genoa; Tuscany and Modena went to an Austrian archduke; and the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza was given to Marie-Louise, consort of the deposed Napoleon. The Papal States were restored to the pope, and Naples went to the Sicilian Bourbons.

Valuable articles were agreed to on the free navigation of international rivers and diplomatic precedence. Castlereagh’s great efforts for the abolition of the slave trade were rewarded only by a pious declaration.

The Final Act of the Congress of Vienna comprised all the agreements in one great instrument. It was signed on June 9, 1815, by the “eight” (except Spain, which refused as a protest against the Italian settlement). All the other powers subsequently acceded to it. As a result, the political boundaries laid down by the Congress of Vienna lasted, except for one or two changes, for more than 40 years. The statesmen had successfully worked out the principle of a balance of power. However, the idea of nationality had been almost entirely ignored—necessarily so because it was not yet ready for expression. Territories had been bartered about without much reference to the wishes of their inhabitants. Until an even greater settlement took place at Versailles after World War I, it was customary for historians to condemn the statesmen of Vienna. It was later realized how difficult their task was, as was the fact that they secured for Europe a period of peace, which was its cardinal need. The statesmen failed, however, to give to international relations any organ by which their work could be adapted to the new forces of the 19th century, and it was ultimately doomed to destruction.