Prime Minister Lord Liverpool’s Copy of the Final Draft for the Ratification of the Congress of Vienna Treaty of June 1815, Ending the Napoleonic Wars, Sent from Lord Castlereagh, Chief British Negotiator

By 1792 the French Revolution was in the hands of its radicals and the other governments in Europe were convinced they had to intervene to prevent its spread. They invaded France, thus commencing a war that would not end for well over two decades. By its close, France, led by Napoleon, had conquered (at one time or another) much of the continent, and spread its influence pervasively throughout. Virtually no aspect of life in Europe was unaffected by what came to be called the Napoleonic Wars. Finally, on March 31, 1814, the allied forces entered Paris, compelling Napoleon to abdicate and go into exile at Elba.

The hostilities were suspended by a convention signed on April 23, and on May 30 the Treaty of Paris was signed ending the state of war. But this was just the start. The victorious European powers determined to reestablish, as far as possible, the order and borders in force in 1792, and to resolve the many other problems that had arisen during revolution and war. They called the Congress of Vienna, which started on September 27, 1814. The Congress proved to be the most important international conference in European history. Although these representatives wanted what was best for their own countries, they followed one fundamental principle: in order to prevent another major war, they wished to create a European ‘balance of power’ which would prevent any one nation from being able to again dominate the continent. The settlement that resulted accomplished this crucial goal, and was the first conference that foresaw what was essentially a European Union.

The principal figures at Vienna included some of the most remarkable ever brought together under one roof. Representing the principle power, Great Britain, was the foreign minister Viscount Castlereagh, aided for a time by the Duke of Wellington. Then there was Tsar Alexander I of Russia with his chief minister Count Nesselrode, the Austrian Emperor Francis I and his enigmatic Prime Minister von Metternich, the Prussian King Frederick William III with his chancellor von Hardenberg, the Italians Count Capo d’Istria and Pozzo di Borgo, and the wily representative of the post-Napoleonic France, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, who, by skillfully exploiting differences among the allies, soon obtained an equal voice with the great victorious powers. All other European states, large and petty, that had legally existed before the Napoleonic upheaval were represented by an army of delegates and agents.

On February 26, 1815, Napoleon escaped from Elba, slipped past interception by a British ship, and returned to France. Immediately, people and troops rallied to the returned Emperor. This new threat shocked the negotiators at Vienna and indeed all of Europe. Napoleon entered Paris on March 20, beginning the Hundred Days of his restored rule. The Congress of Vienna discussions continued despite Napoleon’s return from exile and resumption of power in France. Just nine days after the Congress concluded with the Treaty of Vienna which was signed on June 9, 1815, France was defeated at the hands of the British and the Prussians in the Battle of Waterloo, and Napoleon was forced to abdicate again on June 22. King Louis XVIII, who had fled the country when Napoleon arrived in Paris, took the throne for a second time on July 8. Thus the Congress’s treaties and agreements could be ratified and implemented by the powers concerned. The Treaty of Vienna was so far-reaching, however, that it took some time for the main and additional treaties, conventions and agreements to be officially ratified and signed.

By the fall of 1815 a second Treaty of Paris was being negotiated, and it would be signed on November 20 1815. It became known as the ‘Concert of Europe’, and was an agreement between the four leading powers that had brought Napoleon Bonaparte to his knees—Austria, Great Britain, Prussia, and Russia—to sustain their alliance against France, halt a future return of Napoleon to power, protect the restored Bourbon dynasty against any new revolutions, and jointly assume responsibility for the territorial status quo and the peace of Europe. The concord of these four nations was called the Quadruple Alliance. France was ordered to pay 700 million francs in indemnities, the country’s borders were reduced to their 1790 level, and a good portion of France was occupied.

Lord Castlereagh was the chief British negotiator in all these treaties, and in late October 1815, knowing he was on the verge of a new treaty, he wrote to Prime Minister Lord Liverpool that the King must officially ratify the Congress of Vienna documentation before the new treaty could be concluded. He wished to simplify this by the creation of one short document to be used to ratify the much larger text of the entire June 9 treaty, to which much had been appended. He wrote, “The extreme length of the General Treaty of Vienna and of all the annexes has rendered it extremely desirable that the ratification should be made in a form more concise than is usual…. An instrument of this nature has been prepared in the Austrian Chancery which I have shown to Sir Charles Robinson who sees no objection to its form and I enclose a copy to your Lordship in order that you may consult upon it with the Chancellor…” He explained that any longer treatment would delay approval by Parliament.

He enclosed that document, which we offer here:

Autograph document prepared by the Austrian foreign office, in Diplomatic French, September 15, 1815, in the hand of an aide in the Parisian diplomatic mission, Paris, October 23 1815, to Prime Minister Liverpool. “The powers which have signed the Treaty of Paris of May 30, 1814, having met in Vienna, in conformity with article 32 of this act with the Princes and States, their allies, to complete the dispositions of this transaction, there has been concluded and signed in the City of Vienna, June 9, of the present year, 1815, between: Great Britain, Austria, France, Portugal, Prussia, Russia and Sweden, a general and common Treaty, in 8 original copies, all word for word the same and entirely in conformity with each other, of which 7 are to be kept by the seven signatory powers and the 8th found deposited, in execution of article 1212 of this act, in the archives of state in Vienna, belonging jointly to each of the above signatories…. We, having read and examined the general treaty of the 9th June and its articles, conventions, declarations and other acts cited in the 118th article and joined to the general treaty, which are intended to be inserted here word for word, have found them in conformity with our desires and in consequence, we approve, conformed and ratify them, promising, in our names and those of our heirs and successors, to abide and honor them. In faith of which, we have signed and caused the seal to be affixed to the acts of ratification to seven copies, of which one shall be deposited, as common property, in the imperial archives in Vienna….” On the left are instructions, which read, in part: “To be translated into Latin, We George, etc….” – “Each ratifying power will be placed himself first and the six others in alphabetical order.” – “In the other copies to be sent to the other signatory powers, mention shall be made of the sovereign to whom the act is destined.” – “The date of September 15 shall be used because “the act of Congress must be ratified under a date anterior to the current transactions in Paris”.

The ultimate ratification was signed by Prince Regent George, later King George IV, acting for his father.

The alliances designed to uphold the decisions of Vienna and to settle disputes and problems by means of conferences were an important step toward European cooperation. Moreover, the Treaty of Vienna was very effective: it kept the peace for the next forty years and prevented a major conflict in Europe for a century. As another way to look at its accomplishments, unlike the Versailles Treaty of 1919, it contained in none of its provisions the seeds of a future war between the major powers. A further contribution of the Congress was adoption of standard rules of diplomacy.