Napoleon’s Defeat and the Congress of Vienna
Napoleon’s Downfall and European Reaction
Being isolated caused England to intervene on too many fronts, from Spain to Russia; it is impossible to be victorious in all of them.
Spain: The Guerrilla War
Spain: Napoleon’s military difficulties began in Spain. The Spanish people refused to accept Napoleon’s brother as king and began a guerrilla war, which earned France a continuous drain of men and resources. Also in Spain, France received military aid from England.
The Russian Campaign Disaster
Napoleon tried to invade Russia and reached Moscow, but had to start a winter retreat, which ended with heavy casualties. It is estimated that 570,000 French soldiers were killed in the Russian campaign due to the cold and lack of appropriate equipment against the enemy.
The Coalition and Final Defeat
The difficulties and losses in Spain and Russia were used by other countries, which joined together to re-declare war on Napoleon. Finally, he could not cope with the many enemies and was defeated at the Battle of Leipzig (Germany) in 1813.
On April 11, 1814, Napoleon signed his surrender and resigned from the government of France, after which he was banished to the island of Elba in the Mediterranean. From there, he escaped to regain power for a short period, known as the Hundred Days Empire. He reconvened a powerful army but faced defeat at the Battle of Waterloo (1815).
The dream of a unified Europe under the revolutionary principles of France was over. The defenders of the Ancien Régime temporarily returned to take control of the situation.
The Old Regime Refuses to Die: Restoration
Principles of Restoration
Restoration entailed:
- Return to the Old Regime: Imposing absolute monarchy and estate society on all European territories.
- Establish Regional Balance: Creating a balance among the major European powers so that none would stand out too much over the others.
- Control and Repression: Imposing control to prevent liberal ideas propagated by the French Revolution from disseminating.
For 15 years, the main absolutist kings maintained control, based on a peace treaty regulating international relations (signed at the Congress of Vienna in 1814 and renewed several times) and a military alliance for mutual support against liberal revolutionary attempts: the Holy Alliance.
Europe Organized by Absolutist Powers: The Congress of Vienna (1815)
The restoration system was organized at the Congress of Vienna, a meeting where ambassadors of Napoleon’s victorious countries agreed to lay the foundations of the new international order. The highlights agreed upon were:
Key Decisions of the Congress
- The restoration to their thrones of monarchies legitimately dethroned by the French Revolution and Napoleon. The power of absolutist monarchs would be as before the revolution. If a king faced problems maintaining absolute rule, all other kings would support him immediately.
- Redrawing the Map of Europe: An attempt was made to return the map to the state before the Napoleonic wars, undoing countries created under Napoleon’s protection (such as Italy and the Confederation of the Rhine) and stripping France of all conquered territories. A regional balance was sought to prevent any single country from dominating the rest of Europe.
A Pact for Absolutism’s Defense: The Holy Alliance
To sustain the resolutions of the Congress of Vienna, the main absolutist monarchs of Europe signed a military alliance called the Holy Alliance. Austria, Russia, and Prussia were the drivers, later joined by other absolute monarchs like Louis XVIII of France and Ferdinand VII of Spain.
Agreements of the Holy Alliance
The main agreements signed by the members of the Holy Alliance included:
- Respect Vienna’s Territorial Division: Respecting the division of territories established at the Congress of Vienna and making no territorial claims among themselves.
- Prevent Liberal Initiatives: Maintaining vigilance to prevent liberal revolutionary initiatives in any European country.
- Regular Conferences: Holding regular meetings to coordinate further action if necessary. In this way, dialogue and negotiation were intended to replace war between European powers.
- Joint Armed Force: Creating a joint armed force ready to intervene in any country where a liberal revolution attempted to overthrow absolutism.
The Holy Alliance successfully intervened in the 1820s in Naples, Piedmont, and Spain, crushing revolutionary attempts to end absolutism. In Spain, troops entered in 1823 to aid Fernando VII; these forces are known as “the Hundred Thousand Sons of St. Louis.”