File:Europe – Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna.doc

Europe – Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna

Napoleon Bonaparte played a large role in reshaping Europe, both directly through his conquests, and indirectly, when the Congress of Vienna reshaped Europe after he was exiled. Napoleon Bonaparte became emperor after the French Revolution, where the people of France disposed the king and tried to create a democracy. This effort failed however, and Napoleon became emperor. Napoleon was always trying to expand France. He attacked neighboring countries and either added it to France or installed his family as rulers. Napoleon ended up controlling most of Europe himself or through his many alliances. He even tried to make Europe self-sufficient with the continental system. However this effort did not work and this and other mistakes he made weakened his empire. Nationalism, feeling towards one’s culture and country, and the too large expanses of his territory, were overwhelming for him to guard. Napoleon’s enemies attacked and exiled him far, far away.

After removing Napoleon, other countries wanted to weaken France to prevent future reveloution. They also wanted to restore the monarchs that were replaced be democracy. They decided to meet at the Congress of Vienna, in order to reshape Europe. Metternich and others made many changes to the map like joining Norway and Sweden together. They also created the German Confederation, linking together 39 small german states. The legacy continues today, as all of the german states are inside one country, Germany. Italy was also split up into The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Papal States, Tuscany, Parma, and Moderna. France was restored to near its former size, but not made too small. The goal was to balance the power in Europe. Again, many of the former monarchs were restored to their former thrones. In France, Louis XVIII returned to being the king of France. Overall, Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna that followed him, greatly changed the map of Europe for years to come.