070265 SE Seminar Vertiefung 2 (2014S)

We are approaching the 200th anniversary of the Congress of Vienna when, following the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars, delegations from nearly every European state came to participate in this historical event held from September 1814 to June 1815 in the City of Vienna: Among those represented were Prussia, Russia, Great Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Sweden and Norway, Denmark, The Netherlands, Switzerland, the Republic of Genoa, the Papal States as well as some other 180 powers of every size and kind. Apart from the Congress' significance as the beginning of modern diplomacy, its primary objective, as pursued especially by Europe's conservative Great Powers, was to undo the Napoleonic system of states in order to restore past territorial rule and land tenures, thus creating the political and social conditions that formed the basis for European and global politics for the following century.

As the German scholar Manfred Kossok had rightly observed, these endeavours were naturally not limited to Europe itself but extended to all European colonies and beyond. Especially political change in the form of liberation and independence along with both republican and revolutionary movements throughout the Americas was considered not only a genuine “problem” but perceived also as potential threat. The repercussions were feared by many European statesmen, who devoted considerable attention to the issue and thus initiated a separate investigation of the “South American Matter” during the Congress. The fear was reflected in striking expressions such as “the revolution in the Americas is the revolution in Europe”. In this regard, the statesman Klemens von Metternich, who represented the Austrian interests during the proceedings, played an instrumental role.