The Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle, held in the autumn of 1818, was a high-level diplomatic meeting of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and the four allied powers

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Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

and

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, which had defeated it in 1814. The purpose was to decide the withdrawal of the army of occupation from France and renegotiate the reparations it owed. It produced an amicable settlement, whereby France refinanced its reparations debt; the Allies in a few weeks withdrew all of their troops. It was part of the series of conferences known as the Concert of Europe. The occupation was formally terminated at the conference on 30 September 1818; by 30 November evacuation was complete. The French representative Duc de Richelieu succeeded in having France admitted as a full discussion partner in the European congress system and France's position as a European power was restored. Financially, France was originally obligated to pay 700 million francs, in installments every four months for five years ( 1815 Treaty of Paris). When the Congress met, Paris had discharged its obligations punctually. 332 million remained; France offered to pay the sum of 265 million. Of that, 100 million francs would be in the form of French bonds bearing interest, the rest in installments through to English banks. The main achievement of the Congress was to definitively terminate the wars of 1792–1815. They closed out all claims against France, and accepted France as an equal and full member of the Concert of Four, which was now composed of Five Powers. To hedge their bets, the Four secretly renewed the Quadruple Alliance, but this was a formality of no consequence. The Four drifted apart year by year over questions dealing with Italy, South America, and Greece.

Background

British Foreign Secretary Lord Castlereagh proposed in March 1818 that there should be a Congress later in the year. Metternich took up the proposal but was concerned to limit the number of countries attending. In particular he was alarmed by the prospect of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, whose growing closeness to Russia was clear, strengthening the hand of the Tsar. It was therefore agreed that only those five countries that had signed the 1815 Treaty of Paris would take part. This excluded a large number of participants who had previously taken part in the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

. While several locations were considered for the Congress Aix-la-Chapelle, which had been part of Prussia since 1815, was chosen due to its proximity to Wellington's Army of Occupation in northern France. Seventy years before the

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath, Somerset, Ba ...

had hosted the negotiations that led to the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle of 1748 that ended the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...

. Britain's

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commissioned the country's leading portrait painter

Thomas Lawrence Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English people, English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was a ...

to travel to the Congress and paint the leading dignitaries. Amongst them was his '' Portrait of Francis I of Austria'' and '' Portrait of the Duke of Richelieu''. These works became the core of the Waterloo Chamber at

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Delegates

The congress, convened in

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(Aix-la-Chapelle) on 1 of October, and its first session was attended by Emperor

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (, ; – ), nicknamed "the Blessed", was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first king of Congress Poland from 1815, and the grand duke of Finland from 1809 to his death in 1825. He ruled Russian Empire, Russia during the chaotic perio ...

, the Emperor Francis I of Austria, and King

Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William III (; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when the empire was dissolved ...

. Britain was represented by Lord Castlereagh and the Duke of Wellington, Austria by Prince Metternich, Russia by Counts Capo d'Istria and

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, Prussia by Prince Hardenberg and Count Bernstorff. The Duc de Richelieu, by favour of the Allies, was present on behalf of France. Members of the Rothschild banking dynasty were also heavily involved in the congress. The British Secretary at War

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865), known as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman and politician who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1855 to 1858 and from 1859 to 1865. A m ...

, a future Foreign Secretary, was also present.

A treaty for withdrawal

The evacuation of France by Allied units was agreed to in principle at the first session, the consequent treaty being signed on 9 October. The immediate object of the conference being thus readily disposed of, the time of the congress was mainly occupied in discussing the form to be taken by the European alliance, and the "military measures", if any, to be adopted as a precaution against a fresh outburst on the part of France. The proposal of the Emperor Alexander I to establish a "universal union of guarantee" on the broad basis of the Holy Alliance, after much debate, broke down on the uncompromising opposition of Britain; and the main outcome of the congress was the signature, on 15 November, of two instruments: # a secret protocol confirming and renewing the Quadruple Alliance established by the treaties of Chaumont and

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(of 20 November 1815) against France # a public "declaration" of the intention of the powers to maintain their intimate union, "strengthened by the ties of

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brotherhood", of which the object was the preservation of

peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...

on the basis of respect for treaties. The secret protocol was communicated in confidence to Richelieu; to the declaration France was invited publicly to adhere.

Diverse discussions

The Russian tsar proposed the formation of an entirely new alliance, to include all of the signatories from the Vienna treaties, to guarantee the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and preservation of the ruling governments of all members of this new coalition. The tsar further proposed an international army, with the Russian army as its nucleus, to provide the wherewithal to intervene in any country that needed it. Castlereagh, speaking for Britain saw this as a highly undesirable commitment to reactionary policies. He recoiled at the idea of Russian armies marching across Europe to put down popular uprisings. Furthermore, to admit all the smaller countries, would create intrigue and confusion. Britain refused to participate, so the idea was abandoned.Norman Rich, ''Great Power Diplomacy: 1814-1914'' (1992) pp 33-35. The delegates discussed several topics left unsettled in the hurried winding up of the Congress of Vienna, or which had arisen since. The most important were the methods to be adopted for the suppression of the

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and the

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. In neither case was any decision arrived at, owing mainly to the refusal of the other powers to agree with the British proposal for a reciprocal right of search on the high seas and to the objection of Britain to international action which would have involved the presence of a Russian squadron in the

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. In matters of less importance the Congress was more unanimous. Thus on the urgent appeal of King

Frederick VI of Denmark Frederick VI ( Danish and ; 28 January 1768 – 3 December 1839) was King of Denmark from 13 March 1808 until his death in 1839 and King of Norway from 13 March 1808 to 7 February 1814. He was the last king of Denmark–Norway. From 1784 until h ...

, Charles XIV of Sweden received a peremptory summons to carry out the terms of the

Treaty of Kiel The Treaty of Kiel () or Peace of Kiel ( Swedish and or ') was concluded between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Kingdom of Sweden on one side and the Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway on the other side on 14 January 1814 ...

; The petition of the

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to be recognized as king was unanimously rejected; and measures were taken to redress the grievances of the German mediatized princes. The important outstanding questions in Germany, e.g. the

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succession, were after consideration reserved for a further conference to be called at

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am Main, which occurred on 10 July 1819. In addition to these a great variety of questions were considered, from the treatment of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

at Saint Helena to the grievances of the people of

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against their prince and the position of the Jews in Austria and Prussia. An attempt made to introduce the subject of the Spanish colonies was defeated by the opposition of Britain.

Diplomacy

Certain vexatious questions of diplomatic etiquette were settled once and for all. (see

diplomatic rank Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, Seating plan, t ...

and Aix-la-Chapelle: Diplomatic Precedence of Ministers Resident)

Assessment

The Congress, which broke up at the end of November, is of historical importance mainly as marking the highest point reached during the 19th century in the attempt to govern

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

by an international committee of the powers. The detailed study of its proceedings is highly instructive in revealing the almost insurmountable obstacles to any really effective international diplomatic system prior to the creation of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

after the First World War.

Gallery of delegates

File:Francis I, Emperor of Austria - Lawrence 1818-19.jpg, Francis I of Austria Image:Alexander I of Russia by G.Dawe (1826, Peterhof).jpg, Alexander I of Russia Image:Friedrich Wilhelm III., König von Preußen (unbekannter Maler).jpg, Frederick William III of Prussia File:Lord Castlereagh Marquess of Londonderry.jpg, Lord Castlereagh Image:Sir Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.png, Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington Image:Prince Metternich by Lawrence.jpeg, Prince Metternich of Austria Image:Kapodistrias2.jpg, Count Capo d'Istria of Russia Image:Count Nesselrode.jpg, Count Nesselrode of Russia Image:Hardenberg.jpg, Prince Hardenberg of Prussia Image:Armand Emmanuel Duke of Richelieu.jpg, Duc de Richelieu of France

Notes

Bibliography

* Jarrett, Mark. ''The Congress of Vienna and Its Legacy: War and Great Power Diplomacy After Napoleon''. I.B. Tauris, 2013. * Palmer, Alan. ''Metternich: Councillor of Europe''. Faber, 2010.

References

Attribution: * *