CONGRESS OF VIENNA - International Relations Organization
Transcription
CONGRESS OF VIENNA - International Relations Organization
VICS XX CONGRESS OF VIENNA Dear Delegates, It is our pleasure to welcome you to the University of Virginia to VICS XX. We are very excited to host you and hope you will enjoy the simulation we have designed. For both of us, it is our first time playing a major role, namely Chair and Crisis Director, in a crisis simulation and we have put in a lot of work to bring forth intrigue and heated debate to the Congress of Vienna. The committee is obviously set in the past, and we are keeping the background history true to reality. Therefore, we are looking to see how you, as a delegate, will respond to these historical events and use your prescribed powers to win your way. While a simple conference regarding the restructure of Europe after the disastrous Napoleonic wars embodies the bulk of discussion, it is frankly a little dull and also not true to history. The Congress of Vienna was held largely through informal meetings, and delegates were sidetracked by parties and scandals. Therefore, we encourage outside-of-the-box thinking to keep the rest of the delegates, and also us, on our toes. While you can expect curveballs and challenges from crisis, you will find that history is in your hands. Similarly, while each of the positions has his own personality and goals, you are the delegate, and how you use your character is up to you. We look forward to hearing your interesting ideas in debate. Please reach out to us, or our Director General, Gary DePalo, at [email protected] if you have any questions about the committee and we wish you the best of luck! Sincerely, Thomas Lee Chair [email protected] Pascal Hensel Crisis Director [email protected] Committee Overview After the destruction and political mayhem of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, Europe as a whole now seeks to restore peace and stability. As a result, the European powers, in the spirit of conservatism, must establish new borders and regimes and crush revolution so as to achieve a balance of power. However, each party to the Congress of Vienna maintains its own interest and delegates will face a key paradox in international relations: increased security of one country leads to decreased security of others. Your task is nothing less than achieving this balance of power that will preserve the peace in Europe for generations to come. To this effect, any final agreement must have the approval of all members of the former quadruple alliance – the United Kingdom, Austria, Prussia and Russia – the approval of France, and the approval of at least half of the remaining states present. You must therefore strive for consensus. Your final agreement must contain both a territorial settlement and provisions to preserve peace in Europe. The territorial settlement should resolve the outstanding claims of states in order to prevent futures disputes. The provisions preserving peace ought to establish some mechanism by which peace can be maintained in the event of a future crisis. Throughout the course of the committee, you will be coping with events unfolding at a breakneck speed. In order to expedite your response, directives will require the consent of a simple majority only. It is with these issues in mind that you, as a delegate at the Congress of Vienna, will meet and debate. The task with which you are faced is not easy. The back and forth of uneasy alliances and the necessary trade-offs of compromise must be realized and addressed as countries seek to both establish peace and press their claims. It is only with determination, shrewdness, and a little ingenuity that consensus and a final agreement can be achieved. We wish you the best of luck. The French Revolution The origins of the French Revolution and the wrecked Europe that the Congress of Vienna was tasked to mend can be found in war, in taxes, in politics and in bread. France found itself in immense debt after the Seven Years’ War with Britain and its intervention with the American Revolution.1 As the monarchy tried to recover its losses, it found itself with a radicalized nobility who refused to pay the taxes the monarchy wanted to impose. Next to lose affection with the monarchy were the bourgeoisie, who for ages felt underrepresented by France’s ancient system of government. Finally came France’s rural peasants, who suffered greatly after bad harvests in the 1780’s resulted in the doubling of grain prices.2 On May 5, 1789, the Estates-General met and declared a “Tennis Court Oath”. It threw its support behind a radical constitution which would curb royal authority. After King Louis XVI tried to assemble troops in the capital, some 250,000 Parisians took to the streets.3 They seized weapons, clashed with Royal troops and robbed customs posts accused of hoarding grain. On July 14, a crowd of 8,000 infamously !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1 Chapman, Tim. The Congress of Vienna: Origins, Processes and Results. New York: Routledge, 1998. 3 2 McPhee, Peter. The French Revolution: 1789-1799. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2001. 32. 3 Chapman. Congress of Vienna. 4-5. stormed the Bastille, the massive military fortress and “awesome symbol of the arbitrary authority of the monarchy.”4 The rebellion quickly took fire throughout the country, spreading to cities like Marseilles, Lille and Lyon.5 Along with urban workers, the population of rural laborers took up arms. As the “great fear” that the nobility had destroyed the harvest spread through the countryside, the peasants took out their anger on the feudalism itself, burning registrars and forcing nobles to relieve them of their ancient obligations.6 The monarchy’s days were numbered when a new National Constituent Assembly was formed. It passed the August Decrees, which abolished feudalism, and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which declared, “men are born free and equal in their rights.”7 The liberal ideas of the revolutionary government owed great influence to the philosophes of the eighteenth century enlightenment, including Voltaire, Rousseau and Montesquieu. Passions of the mob were further inflamed when the king attempted to escape Paris in the “flight to Varennes”.8 He was brought back to the capital, however, not long after in the midst of a much more radicalized revolutionary climate. At the Champ de Mars, delegates called for the creation of a republic and then in the fall of 1792 a National Convention was held with Maximilien de Robespierre at its head.9 The Convention voted to execute Louis !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 4 McPhee. French Revolution. 54. 5 Chapman. Congress of Vienna. 5. 6 McPhee. French Revolution. 57-58. 7 Chapman. Congress of Vienna. 6. 8 Ibid. 7. 9 Ibid. XVI and on January 21, 1793, he was sent to the guillotine, and afterward, his head was held up before a cheering crowd.10 The new France which followed was as politically volatile as the old. As people throughout the land shouted the revolutionary cry of “liberté, égalité, fraternité," fear and violence was on the rise.11 Society was now divided into supporters of the revolution, mostly in the cities, and opponents in the countryside. Robespierre came to head a Committee of Public Safety which sought to protect the new republic from “supporters of tyranny and the enemies of liberty,”12 The result of its efforts was the Reign of Terror from 1793 to 1795 in which as many as 50,000 died.13 But Robespierre’s increasingly fanatical attempts to “purify” France lead to a fierce backlash from the National Convention, who finally had him removed and guillotined in July 1794.14 The so-called Thermidorian Reaction to excesses following the revolution lead to the adoption of the new Constitution of 1795 and ascension of a new five man executive body, the Directory.15 This body came increasingly to depend on the military to maintain order in a chaotic country. After 1792, the Revolution brought war to the rest of the continent as France fought its neighbors after a French affair threatened to spread across Europe. The socalled Fraternity Decree sought to export the revolution to France’s neighbors. The First Coalition – Austria and Prussia, and later Britain, Holland and Spain – were !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 10 Ibid. 11 Ibid. 12 Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization. Fifth Ed. Belmont, California: Thomson Wadsworth, 2003. 538. 13 Chapman. Congress of Vienna. 7. 14 Spielvogel. Western Civilization. 538. 15 Ibid. 543. the first group to try to contain the internationalization of the French Revolution.16 The republic’s new leaders were at first carried away in the zeal of the struggle against these monarchist foes. But it quickly became apparent that France’s armies were overextended, and an anti-French coalition was soon poised on invasion.17 The Directory responded to this threat by mobilizing the French nation for war. A new policy of universal conscription transformed a small professional army into a massive fighting force. In the year after the policy was enacted, France’s army increased in size from 650,000 to 1,169,000.18 France was now “a nation in arms.”19 The new army pushed back against the disunited anti-revolutionary powers in a series of stunning successes. It was in the midst of these successes that Napoleon Bonaparte came to prominence. Napoleon and His Wars Napoleon distinguished himself through fighting the Austrians and the British and launching a coup against the Directory in 179920. By 1804, he was declared emperor of a new French Empire. He was an extraordinarily efficient administrator, working to rationalize France’s bureaucracy and improve state functions such as tax collection.21 He preserved many of the more successful reforms of the revolution, introduced the Code Napoleon, a new legal code, and strengthened France’s system of central government. He also reached the Concordat with Pope, agreeing to allow !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 16 Chapman. Congress of Vienna. 8-9. 17 Spielvogel. Western Civilization. 537. 18 Ibid. 19 Chapman. Congress of Vienna. 9-10. 20 Ibid. 21 Spielvogel. Western Civilization. 547. the Catholic Church back into France but not at the expense of state power.22 He also had great success in building on the post-revolutionary reforms of the military. Napoleon further centralized control of the military, ensuring that he alone remained at the top of the chain of command.23 He created thousands of new officer positions from the bourgeoisie who reported only to him as he prepared to conquer Europe.24 The Napoleonic Wars saw a series of European powers attempt to stop Napoleon from taking over Europe. They comprised at various times of Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia. Napoleon struggled at sea against the British, particularly after Admiral Horatio Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar in 1805.25 But Napoleon’s armies overran Austrian forces at the battle Austerlitz in 1807 and Prussian forces at Jena in 1806 before finally reaching Moscow before Russian winter forced him to retreat.26 Meanwhile, the British, led by the Duke of Wellington, were retaking the Iberian Peninsula while the Foreign Secretary, Castlereagh, helped form a new coalition to finish Napoleon once and for all. The “battle of nations” took place at Leipzig in 1813, chasing Napoleon back to France.27 In 1814, with France defeated and occupied, Napoleon abdicated and prepared France to negotiate a peace settlement.28 Great Power Politics at the Conclusion of the War The agreement that finally brought the great powers together to defeat Napoleon was also decisive in rethinking the state and appearance of Europe after Napoleon. The most significant aspect of the Treaty of Chaumont, signed on March 1, 1814, was !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 22 Chapman. Congress of Vienna. 9-10. 23 Ibid. 24 Speilvogel. Western Civilization. 547. 25 Chapman. Congress of Vienna. 11. 26 Ibid. 27 Idid. 28 Ibid. that it marked the first true beginning of the Quadruple Alliance. By the time of its signing, various European powers had been at war with France for more than twenty years and in that time had been unable, or unwilling, to work together to achieve France’s defeat. Napoleon had expertly played off of the individual self-interests of each country in order to prevent them from joining together, with all but France’s ancient enemy Britain at some point reaching accommodation with France.29 Indeed, Austria was effectively an ally of Napoleon before finally being drawn against him in June 1813. Finally, at Chaumont, the four states wised up and agreed to an alliance against France for the next twenty years with no individual settlements with France.30 Considering the general conservatism that was already infused in the diplomatic objective of the four powers, the treaty made some rather spectacular changes in the territorial makeup of Europe. The lands of the Holy Roman Empire, for instance, were now to be a Germanic Confederation.31 Switzerland was to be guaranteed independence. Italy was to remain divided into separate states. The Bourbons were to regain the throne of Spain. For the British, significantly, the house of Orange was to gain the throne of an enlarged Holland. The treaty ominously made no mention of Poland.32 As the delegations convened on Vienna in 1814, their central objective was to achieve a lasting balance of power that would prevent future war. Only by dividing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 29 Ibid. 30 Gulick, E. V. “The Final Coalition and the Congress of Vienna”. The New Cambridge Modern History. Ed. C. W. Crawley. Vol. IX. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 1975. 641. 31 Chapman. Congress of Vienna. 29. 32 Ibid. power in Europe between themselves and France could the great powers maintain peace. But each power had a different vision of what that balance would look like and some were more hostile to what it entailed than others. The British desired a balance of power and peace in Europe so that they would not have to intervene on the continent again. Castlereagh sought create a stable Europe so Britain could return to its primary focus of international trade in its empire. Particularly important to him was a free Belgium and the protection of the port at Antwerp.33 Metternich shared a similar vision, seeking a “just equilibrium” in Europe. He wanted to protect the Hapsburg Empire from future attack, particularly from Russia.34 Austria, Britain and defeated France were all greatly concerned that Russia would be the next hegemonic power in Europe. Indeed, no single issue better illustrates the divergent views of post-Napoleonic Europe better than the dispute between those three powers on the one hand, and Prussia and Russia on the other over the Polish Saxon issue. The most significant difference prior to the Congress was over jurisdiction of Poland and Saxony. One author referred to the issue as an “‘aching tooth’ of the peace conference.”35 The central pillar of Tsar Alexander’s proposal for peace involved the Russian annexation of Poland and the dispensation of Saxony to Prussia. Both states were land hungry and felt a sense of being wronged for their sacrifices during the war against Napoleon.36 The issue was further complicated by the Russian troops occupying both territories.37 Poland was by far the more contentious of the two. Various powers had asserted claim and counter claim to the !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 33Ibid. 17. 34 Ibid. 35 King, David. Vienna 1814. New York City, New York: Broadway, 2008. 107. 36 Gulick. “Final Coalition.” Cambridge History. 648. 37 Ibid. territory throughout the early modern era and it had been subject to several partitions and annexations. In the 1790s, Austria and Prussia made gains in the western part of Poland and in 1795 Russia was positioned in the east.38 When Napoleon’s army swept across Eastern Europe he founded the Duchy of Warsaw as a satellite state.39 However, after the disaster in Moscow, Napoleon’s armies retreated and Russians once again returned to Polish lands. For the mercurial Alexander, this territory was a new valuable center of culture and a bulwark against future invasion from the West. Although less contentious than Poland, the central German state of Saxony also posed problems. Prussia saw in Saxony the possibility of more land and a greater buttress against France and Austria. Two treaties prior to Congress muddied the waters between Russia and Prussia and the remaining three powers. After allying themselves against France in 1813 (before the quadruple alliance was formed), Russian and Prussia signed the most important treaty in February of that year at Kalisz. The treaty promised the whole of Saxony to Prussia and the whole of Poland to Russia, and neither side was quick to abandon it.40 The next and quite contradictory agreement was that of Reichenbach in June, which seemed to indicate to Austria that the future of Poland, to which she also had a claim, would be decided between the three powers.41 In the lead up to the Congress of Vienna all sides were divided on the PolishSaxon issue. The designs of Prussia and Russia on the two territories directly !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 38 Ibid. 39 Ibid. 40 Chapman. Congress of Vienna. 18. 41 Ibid. 27. contradicted the principle of a “just equilibrium” that Castlereagh and Metternich so favored. To them, and to Talleyrand, Russia in Poland would be “a launch pad for an attack on western Europe”.42 Russian expansion already appeared to be an enormous threat after the Tsar’s annexation of Finland in 1809 and Bessarabia in 1812.43 If the new territory was taken as proposed by Alexander, Russia’s frontiers would now approach 175 miles of Vienna, a frightening thought to Metternich.44 Likewise, the incorporation of Saxony into Prussia would see the border length between that country and Austria double.45 For Austria, already being the weakest of the great powers and the last to join the coalition against Napoleon, this position was unacceptable. As the most important delegate of a declining power, Metternich’s sole objective for Austria was “maintaining as much of her traditional preeminence as possible” by stopping “power deals liable to entrench the influence of the flanking states in the German centre of the continent.”46 Castlereagh’s objections to the proposal were both out of principle, based on its blatant incompatibility with the balance of power, and out of the very real fear that if Russia and Prussia were to succeed, Britain might once again find herself enmeshed in another continental war. He said of Russia that she was engaged in “an attempt to revive the system we had all united to destroy, namely one colossal military power holding two other powerful States in a species of dependence and subjugation”.47 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 42 Ibid. 18. 43 Hingly, Ronald. Russia: A Concise History. London, United Kingdom: Thames and Hudson, 2003. 109. 44 Gulick. “Final Coalition.” Cambridge History. 649. 45 Ibid. 46 Okey, Robin. The Habsburg Monarchy From Enlightenment to Eclipse. New York City, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2001. 72. 47 Gulick. “Final Coalition.” Cambridge History. 650. The second major issue the great powers had to cope with was the spread of the ideas of French revolution by Napoleon’s army. The spirit of conservatism that so drove the delegations at Vienna was particularly evident in the reestablishment of a monarchy in France and the creation of new monarchy in the Netherlands. The ideas of the revolution had the most salience in the Low Countries, the Rhineland, and Northern Italy, where French occupation had been the longest.48 Although there were wide differences in the governance of the United Kingdom (liberal and constitutional) on the one hand and Austria, Prussia and Russia (autocratic) on the other, all shared a fear of revolutionary ideas and the excesses of the 1790s. In Britain, the skepticism goes back to Edmund Burke, but in the three Empires, the more levelheaded fear of their populations, particularly in multi-ethnic Austria, drove their skepticism.49 Questions to consider 1. How does the chaos that embodied and followed immediately after the French Revolution compare to or contrast from other historical revolutions, such as the American Revolution or the recent revolutions in the Middle East? What lessons did the delegates at Vienna draw from witnessing such events? 2. Though the tenets of the French Revolution were pushed under the rug by Napoleon, how do these tenets and other ideas from the Enlightenment resonate among the European people? Is the threat of new uprisings real or has revolution and its promises of liberty, equality, and fraternity lost its holiness? 3. In light of the grievances and interests of the delegates at the Congress, political and personal, who are your allies and who are your enemies? 4. As is the case with all historical events, those who participate in a conference like the Congress of Vienna cannot be sure of the long lasting implications of the decisions they are about to make. How will you change the legacy of the Congress of Vienna? 5. While delegates meet in the spirit of conservatism, do what their constituents think and say matter? How will those living in particular areas respond to being absorbed or given up by kingdoms? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 48 Chapman. Congress of Vienna. 14. 49 Ibid. 22. Resources Text of the Treaty of Chaumont http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Chaumont Animated Map of Early 19th Century Europe http://www.the-map-as-history.com/demos/tome01/index.php Yale Open Course Lectures on the French Revolution and Napoleon http://oyc.yale.edu/history/hist-202/lecture-6 http://oyc.yale.edu/history/hist-202/lecture-7 New York Public Library’s Guide to the Napoleonic Wars http://www.nypl.org/node/5648 The Congress of Vienna 1814-15: Making Peace After Global War From Columbia University’s European Institute http://blogs.cuit.columbia.edu/congressofvienna/ Henry Kissinger on the Congress of Vienna http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2008974?sid=21105245709361&uid=70&ui d=2&uid=3739808&uid=2129&uid=3739256&uid=4 The Final Act of the Congress of Vienna http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Final_Act_of_the_Congress_of_Vienna Dossiers Great Britain Robert Stewart – Viscount Castlereagh Castlereagh is the Foreign Secretary of Great Britain and is at the forefront of British negotiations at the Congress of Vienna. He is a middle-aged man with expensive taste who favors a balance of power. Indeed, one of his biggest fears leading up to the Congress is the expansion of Russia with her vast territories and massive army. While he has a history of aloofness and recklessness, he is conscious of the implications and importance of his role of representing Great Britain, the country with the strongest economy and navy. Charles Stewart – 1st Baron Stewart Stewart is the British Ambassador to Vienna serving under his half-brother Viscount Castlereagh. Although many doubt his diplomatic skills, he is inflammatory with his crude sense of humor and unpredictable behavior. He has close ties with the Portuguese delegation and is good friends with Joaquim Lobo Silveira. Also known as Lord Pumpernickel, Stewart is not afraid to show off his extravagant lifestyle, and he is both willing and capable of thinking outside the box (or outside the red tape), as long as he is not distracted by his own lavish living. Richard Le Poer Trench – 2nd Earl of Clancarty Lord Clancarty is one of Castlereagh’s assistants. Clancarty plays an important role to British negotiations as an expert adviser on the Netherlands. He was a minister to The Hague where he furthered goodwill between the British and the Dutch. He is industrious in establishing good relations with others and is charming and amicable. Paradoxically, while he is known for being reserved and diplomatic, he has an emphatic hatred of the French and does not want to work with their delegation. William Cathcart – 1st Earl Cathcart Lord Cathcart is another one of Castlereagh’s assistants. He has military experience in the United States and Flanders and therefore has a degree of persuasive authority on British military matters. He is hardworking and loyal, but is often untrustworthy and manipulative. He plays a role equally powerful to Clancarty’s yet very different. Specifically, he is an expert on Russia and has a great relationship with the Russian Tsar, who the Earl considers to be one of his friends. Arthur Wellesley – 1st Duke of Wellington Wellington is a British general and diplomat. He is most notable for his outstanding military career, which includes victories against Spain and Napoleon. Overall, he remains undefeated in war. He is a staunch conservative, relatively arrogant, and hawkish. At the Congress of Vienna he will be serving as Castlereagh’s right-handman and chief military adviser. Prussia Karl August – Prince von Hardenberg Hardenberg is the Prussian Prime Minister. He is in his sixties and shows his aloofness through his pride in his Iron Cross and disrespect to representatives from smaller and less important countries. One of his biggest wishes is to acquire the Kingdom of Saxony for Prussia, citing Prussia’s sacrifices in the war against Napoleon. He and Humboldt make a generally hardworking team and are fierce in the diplomatic arena. Overall, despite his arrogance and imposingly aggressive style, he is domestically seen as a reformer with relatively liberal policies. Friedrich Wilhelm – Baron von Humboldt Humboldt is a Prussian scholar and ambassador to Vienna serving under Hardenberg. In the past, he played an influential role in restructuring the education system in Prussia and founding the Humboldt University of Berlin. He is notable for his very hard work and for his aggressive and blunt diplomatic style. He is very educated, a borderline romantic, and supports liberal policies, including policies for Jewish rights. Austria Klemens Wenzel – Prince von Metternich Metternich is the Austrian Foreign Minister and main orchestrator of the Congress of Vienna. He is sly, sophisticated, and haughty, but his high social status comes more from his marriage to a woman from a very distinguished family, Countess Eleanor von Kaunitz, than from his own family history. He also is notorious for his love affairs and arrogance. In terms of his foreign policy, he is known for his calculated alliance with Napoleon followed by his defection to the Allied coalition that defeated Napoleon in 1813. Thus, he raised Austria out of the ashes of utter defeat by Napoleon in 1809 to a more stable and influential country that tipped the scales against Napoleon. His main goals include peace, friendship with Prussia, the careful balancing of power between Russia and France, the creation of a German Confederation, and overall increased Austrian influence. Johann Philipp – Baron von Wessenberg Wessenberg is Austria’s second delegate and Metternich’s deputy. He is a hard worker and really wants to see the German Confederation formally ratified. He is notable for his composure as he comes from a fairly humble background relative to the rest of the delegates. He served as ambassador to Berlin beginning in 1808 where he made personal connections with Prussian King Frederick William III and Hardenberg. Friedrich von Gentz – Diplomat Gentz is an Austrian diplomat and Metternich’s assistant. He is more middle-class than aristocratic, but he is very well educated in philosophy and proves to be eloquent and manipulative. As a former student of Immanuel Kant, he likes to be at the center of matters and apply his philosophical knowledge to test his opponents. He is loyal to Metternich, but their relationship is sometimes unstable, and Gentz is often critical of Metternich’s flamboyant and arrogant ways. Russia Karl Robert – Count Nesselrode Nesselrode is Russia’s main envoy to the Congress of Vienna. He is originally German, but now is one of the Tsar’s most trusted advisers. Under Tsar Alexander I, his main objectives include gaining Poland and restoring the Bourbons in France so as to promote stability. He is constantly in very close contact with the Tsar and is well acquainted with William Cathcart. Gustav Ernst – Count von Stackelberg Stackelberg is one of Nesselrode’s assistants. He was recently ambassador to Prussia and most recently to Austria, and he is of German descent. He is fiery, difficult to control, and very passionate about gaining Poland. He cares more for Russia’s success than European stability, but overall his heritage and recent posts as ambassador make him sympathetic to ethnic Germans. Andrey Kirillovich Razumovsky – Prince Razumovsky Razumovsky is the only ethnically Russian envoy under the Tsar. He is a former ambassador to Vienna and is known for his lavish parties. He is interested in and embodies large aspects of upper-class culture given his personal ties to Beethoven, his great appreciation for art, and his parties in his magnificent palace on Landstrasse in Vienna. As he is much entwined in the culture, he will do anything to fulfill the Tsar’s hopes of gaining Poland. France Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord – Prince de Talleyrand Talleyrand is the French Foreign Minister. He is usually very shrewd, crafty, charming, and has a long history of scandals that has been pushed under the rug given his diplomatic successes under Napoleon. After breaking with Napoleon around 1807, he developed personal ties with Tsar Alexander I as they joined to attempt to thwart Napoleon’s advances via the negotiating table. Therefore, he is often referred to as a traitor by nationalistic French politicians and several branches of the military. As he seeks to restore the Bourbons, he faces the large challenge of representing a country that started and lost the war that tore apart Europe. Emmerich Joseph – Duke de Dalberg Dalberg is a French diplomat under Talleyrand and a good friend of his. He comes from one of Germany’s oldest aristocracies and is notable for his untrustworthiness along with his role as Talleyrand’s loudmouthed outlet for secrets and dirty work. While he takes his position seriously, he can be crude and abrasive. He is a staunch supporter of the Bourbon restoration and is prepared to help Talleyrand to accomplish whatever he needs. Alexis – Count de Noailles Noailles is a French delegate serving under Talleyrand. He is a royalist and is also known for having been an informer to the royal family, which has led to rumors of him being a spy. Needless to say, he is not afraid of getting his hands dirty. He is quiet, manipulative, and despises revolution, given that he watched several of his family members die at the guillotine. It is well known that he can make matters personal and also take them behind the scenes. Frederic – Marquis de la Tour du Pin Gouvernet La Tour du Pin is a French delegate under Talleyrand. He is a former ambassador to the Netherlands where he fostered goodwill with the Dutch. Overall he is often lazy but also arrogant and loves parties. Though he is not the most responsible, he is in very close contact with Talleyrand and a loyal assistant, often finding creative ways to bring information to him. Spain Pedro Gomez Labrador – Marquis de Labrador Labrador is the Spanish envoy to the Congress of Vienna. He is flamboyant and has a short and explosive temper. His relationship with Talleyrand is frosty at best. He is an advocate of the restoration of the Bourbons in Spain, and otherwise is looking to expand Spanish influence and find ways to gain territory, such as taking Portuguese land and growing the Spanish navy. Portugal Pedro de Sousa Holstein – 1st Count of Palmela Palmela is a diplomat from Portugal and in charge of the Portuguese delegation. He is seeking first and foremost to regain Olivenca, which Portugal lost during the Napoleonic wars. He is shrewd and well connected with his British allies. He is often in close contact with Castlereagh and wants to see Portugal exist among the greats. Joaquim Lobo Silveira – 7th Count of Oriola Oriola is a diplomat from Portugal. He is seeking to have Portugal regain Olivenca and otherwise carry out Palmela’s wishes. Portugal is also closely allied with Great Britain, and Oriola is good friends with Charles Stewart. Both he and Stewart are known for their upper-class debauchery as they are always seen at parties. When sober, he is manipulative, pleasing, and misguides his opponents with his charm. Antonia de Saldanha da Gama – Count of Porto Santo Porto Santo is very good friends with Oriola and they share similar goals. He is more hostile towards Spain as he is looking for any opportunity to grab land. He also is well acquainted with Stewart yet disapproves of his behavior. He is also looking to maximize the benefits of being allied to Great Britain, so he will do anything for the British while increasing his demands as well. He is nationalistic and does not want to see Portugal being taken advantage of. Switzerland Charles Pictet de Rochemont – Diplomat Rochemont is a diplomat from Geneva. His goals are fairly simple. He seeks to have Geneva included in the Swiss Confederation and guarantee Swiss, especially Genevan, independence and territorial integrity. Though his goals are narrow, he is often very involved in negotiations and has the charismatic capability to tip balances and redirect discussion back to Switzerland. Sweden Carl Axel Loewenhielm - Count Loewenhielm Loewenhielm is the Swedish representative. He is a renowned military officer but is also an illegitimate son of the Swedish king, which is often the source of mockery. His main goals include preventing Russian expansion into Swedish territory. He is proud and willing to sabotage deals between the “greater” countries simply because he seeks to have more influence and wants to see himself and his country be among the greats. Denmark Fredrick VI – King of Denmark King Frederick VI is leading the Danish delegation and works closely with his Foreign Minister, Count Niels Rosenkrantz. Denmark had not been very involved in the Napoleonic wars, but in the later periods the King became a staunch supporter and ally of Napoleon. Therefore, Danish relations with the British worsened and Denmark bankrupted itself by helping Napoleon defeat rebellions in Germany. Having been humiliated by Napoleon’s defeat and Denmark’s subsequent loss of Norway, King Frederick VI developed totalitarian domestic policies and is otherwise known as stubborn and proud. Niels Rosenkrantz – Count Rosenkrantz Rosenkrantz is Denmark’s Foreign Minister and works closely with King Frederick VI. Overall, Denmark is not a very strong state, but Rosenkrantz has a burning grudge against the British for when a British fleet attacked Copenhagen in 1801. He is also determined to preemptively take German land, anticipating hostility from northern German states, who may want retribution for when Denmark helped crush rebellions in Germany. He is manipulative, even towards his king, and he is determined to not allow Denmark to be taken advantage of. German States Maximilian Josef Garnerin – Count von Montgelas Montegelas is a diplomat from Bavaria. He had actually been in favor of Napoleon and helped orchestrate an alliance with him. Montgelas believed, though the Bavarian king turned on Napoleon, that Napoleon would have made Bavaria more influential through territorial gains. Montgelas is hot-tempered, opposes German unification of any sort since he considers Bavarian to be his only nationality, and seeks to protect Bavaria from what it sees as Austrian and Prussian domination. Frederick I – King of Wuerttemberg Frederick I is the King of Wuerttemberg. He had removed Wuerttemberg from the Holy Roman Empire in favor of joining the Confederation of the Rhine. Though he eventually turned on Napoleon, he is seeking to keep the territorial gains that an alliance with Napoleon had won him. He is open to the idea of a German Confederation, thinking it will prove powerful, as long as he ends up leading it. He is very arrogant, holds his title with pride, and wants to avoid being ruled over by Austria. Though he is poorly connected, he can be fierce and always seeks attention. Georg – Count zu Muenster Zu Muenster is the delegate from Hannover. Hannover is in personal union with the British Crown and will work very closely with the British. Zu Muenster however is also notorious for his untrustworthiness and is also seeking a more powerful German Confederation. Though he believes in the ethnic bond of all German speakers, he does not want to live in Prussia’s shadow. Leopold Hartwig – Baron von Plessen Plessen is the delegate from Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Though he represents a very small power, he is well connected, with liaisons to most German states and an amicable relationship to Austria’s von Wessenberg and his family, who often vacation on the Baltic Sea beaches. He is passionate about self-determination for his state and wants to form a German unity as he fears domination from Prussia. He is on bad terms with Rosenkrantz from Denmark because of Denmark’s involvement with squashing anti-Bonaparte rebellions in Mecklenburg. Bibliography Chapman, Tim. The Congress of Vienna: Origins, Processes and Results. New York: Routledge, 1998. Gulick, E. V. “The Final Coalition and the Congress of Vienna”. The New Cambridge Modern History. Ed. C. W. Crawley. Vol. IX. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 1975. Hingly, Ronald. Russia: A Concise History. London, United Kingdom: Thames and Hudson, 2003. King, David. Vienna 1814. New York City, New York: Broadway, 2008. McPhee, Peter. The French Revolution: 1789-1799. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2001. Okey, Robin. The Habsburg Monarchy From Enlightenment to Eclipse. New York City, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2001. Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization. Fifth Ed. Belmont, California: Thomson Wadsworth, 2003. 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