Metternich's Europe: Holding Back the Nations After 1815

After Napoleon's defeat, the great powers met at the Congress of Vienna (1814–15) to rebuild Europe. Led by the Austrian minister Klemens von Metternich, they aimed for a balance of power and the restoration of legitimate monarchs, not the satisfaction of national demands. Poland remained partitioned, with a kingdom under the Russian tsar; Belgium was joined to the Netherlands; Norway passed from Denmark to Sweden; and Lombardy and Venetia went to Austria.

A German Confederation of 39 states replaced the Holy Roman Empire. To defend this order, the powers cooperated in the Concert of Europe and suppressed liberal and nationalist movements, for example through the Carlsbad Decrees of 1819 that censored German universities. Supporters credit Vienna with preventing a general European war for decades. Critics argue that ignoring national feeling stored up the revolutions that broke out in 1830 and 1848.