Vienna, 1814
Vienna, 1814

Author: David King

Publisher: Crown

Published: 2008-03-11

Total Pages: 493

ISBN-13: 0307407365

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“Reads like a novel. A fast-paced page-turner, it has everything: sex, wit, humor, and adventures. But it is an impressively researched and important story.” —David Fromkin, author of Europe’s Last Summer Vienna, 1814 is an evocative and brilliantly researched account of the most audacious and extravagant peace conference in modern European history. With the feared Napoleon Bonaparte presumably defeated and exiled to the small island of Elba, heads of some 216 states gathered in Vienna to begin piecing together the ruins of his toppled empire. Major questions loomed: What would be done with France? How were the newly liberated territories to be divided? What type of restitution would be offered to families of the deceased? But this unprecedented gathering of kings, dignitaries, and diplomatic leaders unfurled a seemingly endless stream of personal vendettas, long-simmering feuds, and romantic entanglements that threatened to undermine the crucial work at hand, even as their hard-fought policy decisions shaped the destiny of Europe and led to the longest sustained peace the continent would ever see. Beyond the diplomatic wrangling, however, the Congress of Vienna served as a backdrop for the most spectacular Vanity Fair of its time. Highlighted by such celebrated figures as the elegant but incredibly vain Prince Metternich of Austria, the unflappable and devious Prince Talleyrand of France, and the volatile Tsar Alexander of Russia, as well as appearances by Ludwig van Beethoven and Emilia Bigottini, the sheer star power of the Vienna congress outshone nearly everything else in the public eye. An early incarnation of the cult of celebrity, the congress devolved into a series of debauched parties that continually delayed the progress of peace, until word arrived that Napoleon had escaped, abruptly halting the revelry and shrouding the continent in panic once again. Vienna, 1814 beautifully illuminates the intricate social and political intrigue of this history-defining congress–a glorified party that seemingly valued frivolity over substance but nonetheless managed to drastically reconfigure Europe’s balance of power and usher in the modern age.

The Congress of Vienna and its Legacy
The Congress of Vienna and its Legacy

Author: Mark Jarrett

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2013-09-30

Total Pages: 560

ISBN-13: 0857722344

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Two centuries ago, Europe emerged from one of the greatest crises in its history. In September 1814, the rulers of Europe and their ministers descended upon Vienna to reconstruct Europe after two decades of revolution and war, with the major decisions made by the statesmen of the great powers. The territorial reconstruction of Europe, however, is only a part of this story. It was followed, in the years 1815 to 1822, by a bold experiment in international cooperation and counter-revolution, known as the 'Congress System'. The Congress of Vienna and subsequent Congresses constituted a major turning point - the first genuine attempt to forge an 'international order', to bring long-term peace to a troubled Europe, and to control the pace of political change through international supervision and intervention. In this book, Mark Jarrett argues that the decade of the European Congresses in fact marked the beginning of our modern era, with a profound impact upon the course of subsequent developments. Based upon extensive research, this book provides a fresh look at a pivotal but often neglected period.

The Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna

Author: Brian E. Vick

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2014-10-13

Total Pages: 445

ISBN-13: 0674729714

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Historians have dismissed the pageantry of the Vienna Congress as window dressing when compared with the serious maneuverings of sovereigns and statesmen. By seeing these two dimensions as interconnected, Brian Vick reveals how one of the most important diplomatic summits in history managed to redraw the map of Europe and the international system.

The Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna

Author: Tim Chapman

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2006-11-22

Total Pages: 120

ISBN-13: 1134680503

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In 1814-1815, after the French revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, the leaders of the most important countries in Europe gathered together to redraw the frontiers of their continent. The Congress of Vienna explores the attempt by Britain, Russia, Austria and Prussia to agree Europe's new frontiers after almost twenty years of continuous fighting against France and analyses how successful the Congress was. The Congress of Vienna offers a readable introduction to this difficult topic, providing a background to the negotiations, a summary of the agreements reached and assessment of the longer term consequences.

A World Restored
A World Restored

Author: Henry Kissinger

Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing

Published: 2017-04-07

Total Pages: 600

ISBN-13: 1787204367

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Originally published in 1957—years before he was Secretary of State and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize—, Henry Kissinger wrote A World Restored, to understand and explain one of history’s most important and dramatic periods; a time when Europe went from political chaos to a balanced peace that lasted for almost a hundred years. After the fall of Napoleon, European diplomats gathered in a festive Vienna with the task of restoring stability following the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, and the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire. The central figures at the Congress of Vienna were the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, Viscount Castlereagh and the Foreign Minister of Austria Klemens Wenzel von Mettern Metternich. Castlereagh was primarily concerned with maintaining balanced powers, while Metternich based his diplomacy on the idea of legitimacy—that is, establishing and working with governments that citizens accept without force. The peace they brokered lasted until the outbreak of World War I. Through trenchant analysis of the history and forces that create stability, A World Restored gives insight into how to create long-lasting geopolitical peace-lessons that Kissinger saw as applicable to the period immediately following World War II, when he was writing this book. But the lessons don’t stop there. Like all good insights, the book’s wisdom transcends any single political period. Kissinger’s understanding of coalitions and balance of power can be applied to personal and professional situations, such as dealing with a tyrannical boss or co-worker or formulating business or organizational tactics. Regardless of his ideology, Henry Kissinger has had an important impact on modern politics and few would dispute his brilliance as a strategist. For anyone interested in Western history, the tactics of diplomacy, or political strategy, this volume will provide deep understanding of a pivotal time.

Europe After Napoleon
Europe After Napoleon

Author: Michael Broers

Publisher: Manchester University Press

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 164

ISBN-13: 9780719047237

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Broers seeks to unravel the different strands of modern European political culture at a crucial but neglected stage of their development by analyzing and comparing the major political ideologies of the period within the context of their times.

Peace, War and the European Powers, 1814–1914
Peace, War and the European Powers, 1814–1914

Author: Christopher John Bartlett

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 1996-10-02

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 1349249580

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The causes of war have tended to attract more attention than the causes of peace, yet the two are intimately related, Indeed there was much talk of war during the unprecedentedly long periods of peace between the European great powers in the years 1815-1854 and again in 1871-1914, the Near Eastern crises of 1878 and 1887-8 being only two of the more notable examples. In the case of the latter, there occurred a spell of fatalistic and belligerent talk in both Berlin and Vienna which in many ways anticipated that which gripped those capitals by 1914. A study of the whole question of the best methods by which to defend and advance the national interest is often more illuminating on why wars were avoided that are studies of the documentation surrounding the Holy Alliance, the congress system or the Concert of Europe. It is clear that the Concert tended to become most active only after a war had already been fought, or when the powers had already decided that conflict was likely to prove too costly, dangerous and unpredicatable in its effects both at home and abroad. Thus the Russians twice advanced almost to the gates of Constantinople only to recoil at the implications of trying to obtain control of the Straits. Similarly, Habsburg thoughts of war were frequently neutralised by reminders of financial weakness. This valuable book will be welcomed by anyone wishing to understand the nature of European state relations in the nineteenth century. Professor Bartlett examines why major wars did happen and did not happen, with particular attention being paid to the events of 1914.

The Danube
The Danube

Author: Henry Hajnal

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 170

ISBN-13: 9401527369

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At the London Congress in 1883 Sir Charles Dilke said that there were many people who knew a little about the Danube, but that there was not a single one who knew the subject thoroughly. This remark, and the fact that the Allied and Associated Powers have declared, in the various Treaties signed in Paris in 1919 and 1920, that they are to draw up a "General Conven tion" for the Regulation of traffic on the Donube and all other rivers declared international by those Trea ties, have encouraged me to write this work. As the subject is a very comprehensive one I have divided it into two parts. The first part deals very mi nutely with the :history of navigation on the Danube down to the year 1856. The second part contains fewer details, and is more in the nature of an outline, and covers the period from 1856 to the present day, and will form the subject of a later work. I have been very much indebted to Mr. Thomas W. Mc Callum, M.A., Lecturer at the University of Vien na, and Professor at the University of International Trade, not only for the great help he has given me in correcting this work, but also for his valuable informa tion and advice on numerous scientific questions. I also wish to express my sincere thanks to Sektions rat Dr. Bittner and to Dr. Fritz Antonius of the Court Archives in Vienna for all their kind help.