“Concert of Europe”

Presented to: Ma’am Naila Afzal

Presented by:
Zainab Fayyaz (17187028)
Maham Imran (17187029)
Sehar Ibrahim (17187031)
Ruhma (17187052)
 Foundation of the Concert of Europe

“Congress of Vienna”
 As the four major European powers (Britain, Prussia, Russia, and Austria) opposing
the French Empire in the Napoleonic Wars saw Napoleon’s power collapsing in 1814,
they started planning for the postwar world. The Treaty of Chaumont of March 1814
reaffirmed decisions that would be ratified by the more important Congress of Vienna
of 1814–15. The Congress of Vienna was the first of a series of international meetings
that came to be known as the Concert of Europe, an attempt to forge a peaceful
balance of power in Europe.
 The Treaty of Chaumont united the powers to defeat Napoleon and became the
cornerstone of the Concert of Europe, which formed the balance of power for the next
two decades. The basic tenet of the European balance of power is that no single
European power should be allowed to achieve hegemony over a substantial part of the
continent.
The Congress of Vienna dissolved the Napoleonic world
and attempted to restore the monarchies Napoleon had
overthrown, ushering in an era of reaction.
The Congress was the first occasion in history where, on a
continental scale, national representatives came together
to formulate treaties instead of relying mostly on messages
between the several capitals. The Congress of Vienna
settlement, despite later changes, formed the framework
for European international politics until the outbreak of the
First World War in 1914.
 Conservative Order
The Conservative Order is a term applied to
European political history after the defeat of
Napoleon in 1815. From 1815 to 1830 a
conscious program by conservative statesmen,
including Metternich and Castlereagh, was put
in place to contain revolution and
revolutionary forces by restoring old orders,
particularly previous ruling aristocracies.
 The Concert of Europe

 The Concert of Europe, also known as the Congress System or the Vienna
System after the Congress of Vienna, was a System of dispute resolution
adopted by the major conservative powers of Europe to maintain their power,
oppose revolutionary movements, weaken the forces of nationalism, and
uphold the balance of power. It grew out of Congress of Vienna. It operated
in Europe from the end of the Napoleonic Wars (1815) to the early 1820s.
The Concert of Europe was founded by the powers of
 Austria
 Prussia
 Russian Empire
 United Kingdom
 Participants of the Congress

The leading participants of the Congress of Vienna were

British foreign secretary Lord Castlereagh,
Austrian Chancellor Klemens von Metternich,
Tsar Alexander I of Russia,
All of whom had a reactionary, conservative vision for
Europe after the Napoleonic Wars, favoring stability.
 Objectives of the Concert
The Congress System's first primary objectives were to
Contain France after decades of war
Achieve a balance of power between Europe's great
powers
Uphold the territorial arrangements made at the Congress
of Vienna in 1814-1815 and in doing so
Prevent the rise of another Napoleon-esque figure which
would result in another continent wide war
 First phase
The first phase of the Concert of Europe is typically
described as beginning in 1814 with the Congress of
Vienna, and ending in the early 1860s with the Prussian
and Austrian invasion of Denmark. This first phase
included numerous Congresses, including the 1856
Congress of Paris.
 Holy Alliance

The Kingdom of Prussia, and the Austrian and Russian

empires, formed the Holy Alliance (26 September 1815)
with the expressed intent of preserving Christian social
values and traditional monarchism. Every member of the
anti-Napoleonic coalition promptly joined the Alliance,
except for the United Kingdom. The great powers were now
in a system of meeting wherever a problem arose. Britain
and France did not send their representatives because they
opposed the idea of intervention.
 Quadruple Alliance
Britain did however ratify the Quadruple
Alliance, signed on the same day as the Second
Peace Treaty of Paris (20 November 1815), which
became the Quintuple Alliance when France
joined in 1818. It was also signed by the same
three powers that had signed the Holy Alliance on
26 September 1815.
 Quintuple Alliance

The Quintuple Alliance formed in October

1818 when France joined the Quadruple
Alliance, with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.
France was the 5th member of this alliance,
which now comprised France, Russia,
Prussia, Austria, and Great Britain.
 Second phase
The second phase of the Concert of Europe is typically described as
beginning in the early 1880s with another attempt at alliances driven
largely by German Chancellor Bismark, and ending in 1914 which
resulted in the outbreak of World War 1. The creation of the Triple
Alliance (which consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy) and
the rival Triple Entente (which consisted of France, Russia, and Great
Britain) occurred during the end of the second phase of the Concert of
Europe. It is these two alliances which played major factors in pitting
European powers against each other, and the outbreak of the first World
War.
 1818 Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle
 The 1818 Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle formed the Quintuple Alliance by adding
France to the Quadruple Alliance, which had comprised Great Britain, Austria, Prussia,
and Russia.
1820 Congress of Troppau
 The 1820 Congress of Troppau was held in Troppau, Austria by the Great Powers of
the Quintuple Alliance (Russia, Prussia, Austria, France, and Great Britain) to discuss
and put down the Napoleonic Revolution in Naples. At this Congress, the Troppau
Protocol was signed, which stated that if States which have undergone a change of
government due to a revolution threaten other States, then they are ipso facto no longer
members of the European Alliance if their exclusion will help to maintain legal order
and stability. Furthermore, the Powers of the Alliance would also be bound to
peacefully or by means of war bring the excluded State back into the Alliance.
 1821 Congress of Laibach

The 1821 Congress of Laibach took place in Laibach,

Slovenia, between the powers of the Holy Alliance (Russia,
Prussia, and Austria) in order to discuss the Austrian invasion
and occupation of Naples in order to put down the
Napoleonic Revolution. The Congress of Laibach represented
beginning tensions within the Concert of Europe, between the
Eastern powers of Russia, Prussia, and Austria, versus the
Western powers of Britain and France.
FALL OF THE CONCERT OF EUROPE
 First phase
The fall of the first phase of the Concert of Europe can be
attributed largely to the failure of a ceasefire in 1864 over the
issue of Prussia's and Austria's invasion of Denmark in the
Second Schleswig War.
Second phase
The fall of the second phase of the Concert of Europe can be
attributed largely to the rival alliance systems - the Triple
Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy) and the Triple
Entente (France, Russia, and Great Britain) - which formed a
rift in the European States
 Role of nationalism
Nationalism played a role in the fall of both the first
and second phases of the Concert of Europe, and was
generally on the rise around the world before the start
of the first World War; nationalism is seen by some
scholars as a driving factor in the creation of the first
World War.