Congress of Vienna

Peace Presentation
Edited By: Natthida Luthra

May 27th, 1886

The war days have ended, and none of us want to go back through that phase
again, where the only way decisions were made were through wars. Present with us today
is the Congress of Vienna, a meeting between ambassadors of the European states, which
holds a great legacy. The conference had brought about positive changes into the
European continent, and those changes are slowly spreading throughout the whole
European continent, and it may spread throughout the rest of the rest of the world.
The Congress of Vienna had their specific goals and objectives to which they
wanted to reform Europe into a peaceful continent. With the emerging powers and
combined forces, the conference established their goals which included: reinforcing
absolutism, containing France, and balancing powers of European nations. According to
Vienna Unwrapped, an inner source, the ultimate goal of the unified ambassadors was
not about the peoples and their needs for freedom and prosperity, but of restoring the
interests of the old European dynasties.
Through the conference, the nations have witnessed previous monarchs gaining
back their power. These monarchs, who were taken off their thrones because of
Napoleon, built back their kingdoms on the beliefs of absolutism--a political theory that
absolute power should be vested in one or more ruler. Since France was the sole leader
before the conference, the Congress of Vienna made sure that some power was taken out
of France and the nations of Europe would have a balance of power. Based on this
balance of power, the ambassadors of the Congress of Vienna put forward two opposing
military alliances, France and Austria (The Congress of Vienna: A Peace for the Strong,
Ghervas). Smaller nations that surrounded France were made stronger so that power
would not reside only in one nation. Through the recorded events we know that the

ambassadors wanted to achieve specific goals, however were they actually successful?
Did their predictions come to action?
Wars have always been the easy-way-out for stronger nations to take advantage of
their powers and destroy the weaker ones. Considering previous wars like the ThirtyYears War, which was a war for religious standings and powers, The Congress of Vienna
did not want to do something that would eventually countries negatively. They wanted to
settle disputes amongst countries through negotiation and diplomacy. It is apparent to say
that until now, these goals have been successful enough for major powers to see that there
is more to warfare and terror. We need to hope that these goals will be preserved to keep
nations at peace and the continent united.

Sources:
1. Absolutism. (n.d.). Retrieved October 6, 2015, from http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/absolutism
2. Congress of Vienna - Goals and Results In a Nutshell. (n.d.). Retrieved October 6,
2015 from http://www.vienna-unwrapped.com/vienna-history/congress-of-vienna/
3. Ghervas, S. (2014, September 9). The Congress of Vienna: A Peace for the
Strong. Retrieved October 6, 2015, from http://www.historytoday.com/stellaghervas/congress-vienna-peace-strong
4. Reinalda, B. (n.d.). From the Congress of Vienna to Present-Day International
Organizations. Retrieved October 6, 2015, from
http://unchronicle.un.org/article/congress-vienna-present-day-international-organizations/
5. Thirty Years War. (n.d.). Retrieved October 6, 2015, from
http://en.wikipedia/wiki/Thirty_Years_War