Directions: Read through the following information and answer the questions in COMPLETE SENTENCES and in a colored font that is readable!
Starting with the French Revolution in the 1790s through the Napoleonic Wars in the early 1800s, France was fighting with many European countries. The French Revolution and Napoleon’s rule brought changes to Europe, including new ideas of more equality between classes, the unseating of kings and queens, and a new idea of nationalism. Nationalism was the belief in supporting a nation rather than a monarch which started to promote unity between people. Europe also saw Napoleon control much of Europe with impressive military victories.
In your own words, how did the French Revolution change Europe?
The French Revolution changed Europe by
The Napoleonic Wars had resulted in France taking land from several European countries, which created an imbalance of power between the major European countries. The Treaty of Paris ended the Napoleonic Wars and said that European leaders would meet together to restore the balance of power in Europe and create a plan to keep Europe peaceful.
In your own words, why was an imbalance of power created and what did leaders do in response to the imbalance?
These meetings were called the Congress of Vienna and happened over a year from July 1814 to June 1815. Prince Metternich of Austria was an important figure and led a group of representatives known as The Conservative Order. He pushed for the revolutionary ideas of equality, liberty, and fraternity to be replaced as he felt they led to the French Revolution. This meant that the Conservative Order saw that the overthrown monarchs like the Bourbons of France were put back in charge. Metternich and others wanted to prevent one power from controlling Europe, and a solution was to redraw some borders of European countries. This reduced France’s land area and created a “buffer zone” between powerful European countries. For example, a new kingdom, known as the Kingdom of the Netherlands, made up of present-day Belgium and the Netherlands, was created to keep peace between France, Prussia, and the United Kingdom.
Explain in your own words, what the Conservative Order wanted and why.
Explain in your own words, why was the Kingdom of Netherlands created.
The Congress of Vienna’s attempt to stop nationalism, and other French Revolution values, led to tension between the European powers. For example, there were violent efforts by groups of people across Europe about 30 years after the Congress of Vienna. Countries like Germany became nationalistic which would again disrupt the balance of power. However, the Congress of Vienna was successful in keeping Europe peaceful for about one hundred years, until World War I. The Congress of Vienna would end up being the model for the creation of the League of Nations and the United Nations in the future.
Explain in your own words! Was the Congress of Vienna’s attempt at creating peace in Europe successful?
What was the Congress of Vienna later used as a model for?
