1. travel
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3. france

VICS XX
CONGRESS OF VIENNA
Dear Delegates,
It is our pleasure to welcome you to the University of Virginia to VICS XX. We are
very excited to host you and hope you will enjoy the simulation we have
designed. For both of us, it is our first time playing a major role, namely Chair and
Crisis Director, in a crisis simulation and we have put in a lot of work to bring forth
intrigue and heated debate to the Congress of Vienna.
The committee is obviously set in the past, and we are keeping the background
history true to reality. Therefore, we are looking to see how you, as a delegate, will
respond to these historical events and use your prescribed powers to win your
way. While a simple conference regarding the restructure of Europe after the
disastrous Napoleonic wars embodies the bulk of discussion, it is frankly a little dull
and also not true to history. The Congress of Vienna was held largely through
informal meetings, and delegates were sidetracked by parties and
scandals. Therefore, we encourage outside-of-the-box thinking to keep the rest of
the delegates, and also us, on our toes.
While you can expect curveballs and challenges from crisis, you will find that history
is in your hands. Similarly, while each of the positions has his own personality and
goals, you are the delegate, and how you use your character is up to you.
We look forward to hearing your interesting ideas in debate. Please reach out to us,
or our Director General, Gary DePalo, at [email protected] if you have
any questions about the committee and we wish you the best of luck!
Sincerely,
Thomas Lee
Chair
[email protected]
Pascal Hensel
Crisis Director
[email protected]
Committee Overview
After the destruction and political mayhem of the French Revolution and the
Napoleonic Wars, Europe as a whole now seeks to restore peace and stability. As a
result, the European powers, in the spirit of conservatism, must establish new
borders and regimes and crush revolution so as to achieve a balance of power.
However, each party to the Congress of Vienna maintains its own interest and
delegates will face a key paradox in international relations: increased security of one
country leads to decreased security of others.
Your task is nothing less than achieving this balance of power that will
preserve the peace in Europe for generations to come. To this effect, any final
agreement must have the approval of all members of the former quadruple alliance –
the United Kingdom, Austria, Prussia and Russia – the approval of France, and the
approval of at least half of the remaining states present. You must therefore strive for
consensus.
Your final agreement must contain both a territorial settlement and
provisions to preserve peace in Europe. The territorial settlement should resolve the
outstanding claims of states in order to prevent futures disputes. The provisions
preserving peace ought to establish some mechanism by which peace can be
maintained in the event of a future crisis.
Throughout the course of the committee, you will be coping with events
unfolding at a breakneck speed. In order to expedite your response, directives will
require the consent of a simple majority only.
It is with these issues in mind that you, as a delegate at the Congress of
Vienna, will meet and debate. The task with which you are faced is not easy. The
back and forth of uneasy alliances and the necessary trade-offs of compromise must
be realized and addressed as countries seek to both establish peace and press their
claims. It is only with determination, shrewdness, and a little ingenuity that
consensus and a final agreement can be achieved. We wish you the best of luck.
The French Revolution
The origins of the French Revolution and the wrecked Europe that the
Congress of Vienna was tasked to mend can be found in war, in taxes, in politics and
in bread. France found itself in immense debt after the Seven Years’ War with Britain
and its intervention with the American Revolution.1 As the monarchy tried to recover
its losses, it found itself with a radicalized nobility who refused to pay the taxes the
monarchy wanted to impose. Next to lose affection with the monarchy were the
bourgeoisie, who for ages felt underrepresented by France’s ancient system of
government. Finally came France’s rural peasants, who suffered greatly after bad
harvests in the 1780’s resulted in the doubling of grain prices.2
On May 5, 1789, the Estates-General met and declared a “Tennis Court Oath”. It
threw its support behind a radical constitution which would curb royal authority.
After King Louis XVI tried to assemble troops in the capital, some 250,000 Parisians
took to the streets.3 They seized weapons, clashed with Royal troops and robbed
customs posts accused of hoarding grain. On July 14, a crowd of 8,000 infamously
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1 Chapman, Tim. The Congress of Vienna: Origins, Processes and Results. New
York: Routledge, 1998. 3
2 McPhee, Peter. The French Revolution: 1789-1799. Oxford, United Kingdom:
Oxford University Press, 2001. 32.
3 Chapman. Congress of Vienna. 4-5.
stormed the Bastille, the massive military fortress and “awesome symbol of the
arbitrary authority of the monarchy.”4 The rebellion quickly took fire throughout the
country, spreading to cities like Marseilles, Lille and Lyon.5 Along with urban
workers, the population of rural laborers took up arms. As the “great fear” that the
nobility had destroyed the harvest spread through the countryside, the peasants took
out their anger on the feudalism itself, burning registrars and forcing nobles to
relieve them of their ancient obligations.6
The monarchy’s days were numbered when a new National Constituent Assembly
was formed. It passed the August Decrees, which abolished feudalism, and the
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which declared, “men are born
free and equal in their rights.”7 The liberal ideas of the revolutionary government
owed great influence to the philosophes of the eighteenth century enlightenment,
including Voltaire, Rousseau and Montesquieu. Passions of the mob were further
inflamed when the king attempted to escape Paris in the “flight to Varennes”.8 He
was brought back to the capital, however, not long after in the midst of a much more
radicalized revolutionary climate. At the Champ de Mars, delegates called for the
creation of a republic and then in the fall of 1792 a National Convention was held
with Maximilien de Robespierre at its head.9 The Convention voted to execute Louis
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4 McPhee. French Revolution. 54.
5 Chapman. Congress of Vienna. 5.
6 McPhee. French Revolution. 57-58.
7 Chapman. Congress of Vienna. 6.
8 Ibid. 7.
9 Ibid.
XVI and on January 21, 1793, he was sent to the guillotine, and afterward, his head
was held up before a cheering crowd.10
The new France which followed was as politically volatile as the old. As people
throughout the land shouted the revolutionary cry of “liberté, égalité, fraternité," fear
and violence was on the rise.11 Society was now divided into supporters of the
revolution, mostly in the cities, and opponents in the countryside. Robespierre came
to head a Committee of Public Safety which sought to protect the new republic from
“supporters of tyranny and the enemies of liberty,”12 The result of its efforts was the
Reign of Terror from 1793 to 1795 in which as many as 50,000 died.13 But
Robespierre’s increasingly fanatical attempts to “purify” France lead to a fierce
backlash from the National Convention, who finally had him removed and
guillotined in July 1794.14 The so-called Thermidorian Reaction to excesses following
the revolution lead to the adoption of the new Constitution of 1795 and ascension of
a new five man executive body, the Directory.15 This body came increasingly to
depend on the military to maintain order in a chaotic country.
After 1792, the Revolution brought war to the rest of the continent as France
fought its neighbors after a French affair threatened to spread across Europe. The socalled Fraternity Decree sought to export the revolution to France’s neighbors. The
First Coalition – Austria and Prussia, and later Britain, Holland and Spain – were
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10 Ibid.
11 Ibid.
12 Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization. Fifth Ed. Belmont, California:
Thomson Wadsworth, 2003. 538.
13 Chapman. Congress of Vienna. 7.
14 Spielvogel. Western Civilization. 538.
15 Ibid. 543.
the first group to try to contain the internationalization of the French Revolution.16
The republic’s new leaders were at first carried away in the zeal of the struggle
against these monarchist foes. But it quickly became apparent that France’s armies
were overextended, and an anti-French coalition was soon poised on invasion.17 The
Directory responded to this threat by mobilizing the French nation for war. A new
policy of universal conscription transformed a small professional army into a
massive fighting force. In the year after the policy was enacted, France’s army
increased in size from 650,000 to 1,169,000.18 France was now “a nation in arms.”19
The new army pushed back against the disunited anti-revolutionary powers in a
series of stunning successes. It was in the midst of these successes that Napoleon
Bonaparte came to prominence.
Napoleon and His Wars
Napoleon distinguished himself through fighting the Austrians and the British
and launching a coup against the Directory in 179920. By 1804, he was declared
emperor of a new French Empire. He was an extraordinarily efficient administrator,
working to rationalize France’s bureaucracy and improve state functions such as tax
collection.21 He preserved many of the more successful reforms of the revolution,
introduced the Code Napoleon, a new legal code, and strengthened France’s system
of central government. He also reached the Concordat with Pope, agreeing to allow
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16 Chapman. Congress of Vienna. 8-9.
17 Spielvogel. Western Civilization. 537.
18 Ibid.
19 Chapman. Congress of Vienna. 9-10.
20 Ibid.
21 Spielvogel. Western Civilization. 547.
the Catholic Church back into France but not at the expense of state power.22 He also
had great success in building on the post-revolutionary reforms of the military.
Napoleon further centralized control of the military, ensuring that he alone remained
at the top of the chain of command.23 He created thousands of new officer positions
from the bourgeoisie who reported only to him as he prepared to conquer Europe.24
The Napoleonic Wars saw a series of European powers attempt to stop Napoleon
from taking over Europe. They comprised at various times of Britain, Austria,
Prussia and Russia. Napoleon struggled at sea against the British, particularly after
Admiral Horatio Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar in 1805.25 But Napoleon’s armies
overran Austrian forces at the battle Austerlitz in 1807 and Prussian forces at Jena in
1806 before finally reaching Moscow before Russian winter forced him to retreat.26
Meanwhile, the British, led by the Duke of Wellington, were retaking the Iberian
Peninsula while the Foreign Secretary, Castlereagh, helped form a new coalition to
finish Napoleon once and for all. The “battle of nations” took place at Leipzig in 1813,
chasing Napoleon back to France.27 In 1814, with France defeated and occupied,
Napoleon abdicated and prepared France to negotiate a peace settlement.28
Great Power Politics at the Conclusion of the War
The agreement that finally brought the great powers together to defeat Napoleon
was also decisive in rethinking the state and appearance of Europe after Napoleon.
The most significant aspect of the Treaty of Chaumont, signed on March 1, 1814, was
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22 Chapman. Congress of Vienna. 9-10.
23 Ibid.
24 Speilvogel. Western Civilization. 547.
25 Chapman. Congress of Vienna. 11.
26 Ibid.
27 Idid.
28 Ibid.
that it marked the first true beginning of the Quadruple Alliance. By the time of its
signing, various European powers had been at war with France for more than twenty
years and in that time had been unable, or unwilling, to work together to achieve
France’s defeat. Napoleon had expertly played off of the individual self-interests of
each country in order to prevent them from joining together, with all but France’s
ancient enemy Britain at some point reaching accommodation with France.29
Indeed, Austria was effectively an ally of Napoleon before finally being drawn against
him in June 1813. Finally, at Chaumont, the four states wised up and agreed to an
alliance against France for the next twenty years with no individual settlements with
France.30
Considering the general conservatism that was already infused in the
diplomatic objective of the four powers, the treaty made some rather spectacular
changes in the territorial makeup of Europe. The lands of the Holy Roman Empire,
for instance, were now to be a Germanic Confederation.31 Switzerland was to be
guaranteed independence. Italy was to remain divided into separate states. The
Bourbons were to regain the throne of Spain. For the British, significantly, the house
of Orange was to gain the throne of an enlarged Holland. The treaty ominously made
no mention of Poland.32
As the delegations convened on Vienna in 1814, their central objective was to
achieve a lasting balance of power that would prevent future war. Only by dividing
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29 Ibid.
30 Gulick, E. V. “The Final Coalition and the Congress of Vienna”. The New
Cambridge Modern History. Ed. C. W. Crawley. Vol. IX. Cambridge, United
Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 1975. 641.
31 Chapman. Congress of Vienna. 29.
32 Ibid.
power in Europe between themselves and France could the great powers maintain
peace. But each power had a different vision of what that balance would look like
and some were more hostile to what it entailed than others. The British desired a
balance of power and peace in Europe so that they would not have to intervene on
the continent again. Castlereagh sought create a stable Europe so Britain could
return to its primary focus of international trade in its empire. Particularly important
to him was a free Belgium and the protection of the port at Antwerp.33 Metternich
shared a similar vision, seeking a “just equilibrium” in Europe. He wanted to protect
the Hapsburg Empire from future attack, particularly from Russia.34 Austria, Britain
and defeated France were all greatly concerned that Russia would be the next
hegemonic power in Europe. Indeed, no single issue better illustrates the divergent
views of post-Napoleonic Europe better than the dispute between those three powers
on the one hand, and Prussia and Russia on the other over the Polish Saxon issue.
The most significant difference prior to the Congress was over jurisdiction of
Poland and Saxony. One author referred to the issue as an “‘aching tooth’ of the
peace conference.”35 The central pillar of Tsar Alexander’s proposal for peace
involved the Russian annexation of Poland and the dispensation of Saxony to
Prussia. Both states were land hungry and felt a sense of being wronged for their
sacrifices during the war against Napoleon.36 The issue was further complicated by
the Russian troops occupying both territories.37 Poland was by far the more
contentious of the two. Various powers had asserted claim and counter claim to the
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33Ibid. 17.
34 Ibid.
35 King, David. Vienna 1814. New York City, New York: Broadway, 2008. 107.
36 Gulick. “Final Coalition.” Cambridge History. 648.
37 Ibid.
territory throughout the early modern era and it had been subject to several
partitions and annexations. In the 1790s, Austria and Prussia made gains in the
western part of Poland and in 1795 Russia was positioned in the east.38 When
Napoleon’s army swept across Eastern Europe he founded the Duchy of Warsaw as a
satellite state.39 However, after the disaster in Moscow, Napoleon’s armies retreated
and Russians once again returned to Polish lands. For the mercurial Alexander, this
territory was a new valuable center of culture and a bulwark against future invasion
from the West.
Although less contentious than Poland, the central German state of Saxony
also posed problems. Prussia saw in Saxony the possibility of more land and a
greater buttress against France and Austria. Two treaties prior to Congress muddied
the waters between Russia and Prussia and the remaining three powers. After allying
themselves against France in 1813 (before the quadruple alliance was formed),
Russian and Prussia signed the most important treaty in February of that year at
Kalisz. The treaty promised the whole of Saxony to Prussia and the whole of Poland
to Russia, and neither side was quick to abandon it.40 The next and quite
contradictory agreement was that of Reichenbach in June, which seemed to indicate
to Austria that the future of Poland, to which she also had a claim, would be decided
between the three powers.41
In the lead up to the Congress of Vienna all sides were divided on the PolishSaxon issue. The designs of Prussia and Russia on the two territories directly
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
38 Ibid.
39 Ibid.
40 Chapman. Congress of Vienna. 18.
41 Ibid. 27.
contradicted the principle of a “just equilibrium” that Castlereagh and Metternich so
favored. To them, and to Talleyrand, Russia in Poland would be “a launch pad for an
attack on western Europe”.42 Russian expansion already appeared to be an enormous
threat after the Tsar’s annexation of Finland in 1809 and Bessarabia in 1812.43 If the
new territory was taken as proposed by Alexander, Russia’s frontiers would now
approach 175 miles of Vienna, a frightening thought to Metternich.44 Likewise, the
incorporation of Saxony into Prussia would see the border length between that
country and Austria double.45 For Austria, already being the weakest of the great
powers and the last to join the coalition against Napoleon, this position was
unacceptable. As the most important delegate of a declining power, Metternich’s sole
objective for Austria was “maintaining as much of her traditional preeminence as
possible” by stopping “power deals liable to entrench the influence of the flanking
states in the German centre of the continent.”46 Castlereagh’s objections to the
proposal were both out of principle, based on its blatant incompatibility with the
balance of power, and out of the very real fear that if Russia and Prussia were to
succeed, Britain might once again find herself enmeshed in another continental war.
He said of Russia that she was engaged in “an attempt to revive the system we had all
united to destroy, namely one colossal military power holding two other powerful
States in a species of dependence and subjugation”.47
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42 Ibid. 18.
43 Hingly, Ronald. Russia: A Concise History. London, United Kingdom: Thames
and Hudson, 2003. 109.
44 Gulick. “Final Coalition.” Cambridge History. 649.
45 Ibid.
46 Okey, Robin. The Habsburg Monarchy From Enlightenment to Eclipse. New
York City, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2001. 72.
47 Gulick. “Final Coalition.” Cambridge History. 650.
The second major issue the great powers had to cope with was the spread of the
ideas of French revolution by Napoleon’s army. The spirit of conservatism that so
drove the delegations at Vienna was particularly evident in the reestablishment of a
monarchy in France and the creation of new monarchy in the Netherlands. The ideas
of the revolution had the most salience in the Low Countries, the Rhineland, and
Northern Italy, where French occupation had been the longest.48 Although there
were wide differences in the governance of the United Kingdom (liberal and
constitutional) on the one hand and Austria, Prussia and Russia (autocratic) on the
other, all shared a fear of revolutionary ideas and the excesses of the 1790s. In
Britain, the skepticism goes back to Edmund Burke, but in the three Empires, the
more levelheaded fear of their populations, particularly in multi-ethnic Austria,
drove their skepticism.49
Questions to consider
1. How does the chaos that embodied and followed immediately after the French
Revolution compare to or contrast from other historical revolutions, such as the
American Revolution or the recent revolutions in the Middle East? What lessons did
the delegates at Vienna draw from witnessing such events?
2. Though the tenets of the French Revolution were pushed under the rug by Napoleon,
how do these tenets and other ideas from the Enlightenment resonate among the
European people? Is the threat of new uprisings real or has revolution and its
promises of liberty, equality, and fraternity lost its holiness?
3. In light of the grievances and interests of the delegates at the Congress, political and
personal, who are your allies and who are your enemies?
4. As is the case with all historical events, those who participate in a conference like the
Congress of Vienna cannot be sure of the long lasting implications of the decisions
they are about to make. How will you change the legacy of the Congress of Vienna?
5. While delegates meet in the spirit of conservatism, do what their constituents think
and say matter? How will those living in particular areas respond to being absorbed
or given up by kingdoms?
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48 Chapman. Congress of Vienna. 14.
49 Ibid. 22.
Resources
Text of the Treaty of Chaumont
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Chaumont
Animated Map of Early 19th Century Europe
http://www.the-map-as-history.com/demos/tome01/index.php
Yale Open Course Lectures on the French Revolution and Napoleon
http://oyc.yale.edu/history/hist-202/lecture-6
http://oyc.yale.edu/history/hist-202/lecture-7
New York Public Library’s Guide to the Napoleonic Wars
http://www.nypl.org/node/5648
The Congress of Vienna 1814-15: Making Peace After Global War
From Columbia University’s European Institute
http://blogs.cuit.columbia.edu/congressofvienna/
Henry Kissinger on the Congress of Vienna
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2008974?sid=21105245709361&uid=70&ui
d=2&uid=3739808&uid=2129&uid=3739256&uid=4
The Final Act of the Congress of Vienna
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Final_Act_of_the_Congress_of_Vienna
Dossiers
Great Britain
Robert Stewart – Viscount Castlereagh
Castlereagh is the Foreign Secretary of Great Britain and is at the forefront of British
negotiations at the Congress of Vienna. He is a middle-aged man with expensive
taste who favors a balance of power. Indeed, one of his biggest fears leading up to
the Congress is the expansion of Russia with her vast territories and massive
army. While he has a history of aloofness and recklessness, he is conscious of the
implications and importance of his role of representing Great Britain, the country
with the strongest economy and navy.
Charles Stewart – 1st Baron Stewart
Stewart is the British Ambassador to Vienna serving under his half-brother
Viscount Castlereagh. Although many doubt his diplomatic skills, he is
inflammatory with his crude sense of humor and unpredictable behavior. He has
close ties with the Portuguese delegation and is good friends with Joaquim Lobo
Silveira. Also known as Lord Pumpernickel, Stewart is not afraid to show off his
extravagant lifestyle, and he is both willing and capable of thinking outside the box
(or outside the red tape), as long as he is not distracted by his own lavish living.
Richard Le Poer Trench – 2nd Earl of Clancarty
Lord Clancarty is one of Castlereagh’s assistants. Clancarty plays an important role
to British negotiations as an expert adviser on the Netherlands. He was a minister to
The Hague where he furthered goodwill between the British and the Dutch. He is
industrious in establishing good relations with others and is charming and amicable.
Paradoxically, while he is known for being reserved and diplomatic, he has an
emphatic hatred of the French and does not want to work with their delegation.
William Cathcart – 1st Earl Cathcart
Lord Cathcart is another one of Castlereagh’s assistants. He has military experience
in the United States and Flanders and therefore has a degree of persuasive authority
on British military matters. He is hardworking and loyal, but is often untrustworthy
and manipulative. He plays a role equally powerful to Clancarty’s yet very
different. Specifically, he is an expert on Russia and has a great relationship with the
Russian Tsar, who the Earl considers to be one of his friends.
Arthur Wellesley – 1st Duke of Wellington
Wellington is a British general and diplomat. He is most notable for his outstanding
military career, which includes victories against Spain and Napoleon. Overall, he
remains undefeated in war. He is a staunch conservative, relatively arrogant, and
hawkish. At the Congress of Vienna he will be serving as Castlereagh’s right-handman and chief military adviser.
Prussia
Karl August – Prince von Hardenberg
Hardenberg is the Prussian Prime Minister. He is in his sixties and shows his
aloofness through his pride in his Iron Cross and disrespect to representatives from
smaller and less important countries. One of his biggest wishes is to acquire the
Kingdom of Saxony for Prussia, citing Prussia’s sacrifices in the war against
Napoleon. He and Humboldt make a generally hardworking team and are fierce in
the diplomatic arena. Overall, despite his arrogance and imposingly aggressive style,
he is domestically seen as a reformer with relatively liberal policies.
Friedrich Wilhelm – Baron von Humboldt
Humboldt is a Prussian scholar and ambassador to Vienna serving under
Hardenberg. In the past, he played an influential role in restructuring the education
system in Prussia and founding the Humboldt University of Berlin. He is notable for
his very hard work and for his aggressive and blunt diplomatic style. He is very
educated, a borderline romantic, and supports liberal policies, including policies for
Jewish rights.
Austria
Klemens Wenzel – Prince von Metternich
Metternich is the Austrian Foreign Minister and main orchestrator of the Congress
of Vienna. He is sly, sophisticated, and haughty, but his high social status comes
more from his marriage to a woman from a very distinguished family, Countess
Eleanor von Kaunitz, than from his own family history. He also is notorious for his
love affairs and arrogance. In terms of his foreign policy, he is known for his
calculated alliance with Napoleon followed by his defection to the Allied coalition
that defeated Napoleon in 1813. Thus, he raised Austria out of the ashes of utter
defeat by Napoleon in 1809 to a more stable and influential country that tipped the
scales against Napoleon. His main goals include peace, friendship with Prussia, the
careful balancing of power between Russia and France, the creation of a German
Confederation, and overall increased Austrian influence.
Johann Philipp – Baron von Wessenberg
Wessenberg is Austria’s second delegate and Metternich’s deputy. He is a hard
worker and really wants to see the German Confederation formally ratified. He is
notable for his composure as he comes from a fairly humble background relative to
the rest of the delegates. He served as ambassador to Berlin beginning in 1808
where he made personal connections with Prussian King Frederick William III and
Hardenberg.
Friedrich von Gentz – Diplomat
Gentz is an Austrian diplomat and Metternich’s assistant. He is more middle-class
than aristocratic, but he is very well educated in philosophy and proves to be
eloquent and manipulative. As a former student of Immanuel Kant, he likes to be at
the center of matters and apply his philosophical knowledge to test his
opponents. He is loyal to Metternich, but their relationship is sometimes unstable,
and Gentz is often critical of Metternich’s flamboyant and arrogant ways.
Russia
Karl Robert – Count Nesselrode
Nesselrode is Russia’s main envoy to the Congress of Vienna. He is originally
German, but now is one of the Tsar’s most trusted advisers. Under Tsar Alexander I,
his main objectives include gaining Poland and restoring the Bourbons in France so
as to promote stability. He is constantly in very close contact with the Tsar and is
well acquainted with William Cathcart.
Gustav Ernst – Count von Stackelberg
Stackelberg is one of Nesselrode’s assistants. He was recently ambassador to Prussia
and most recently to Austria, and he is of German descent. He is fiery, difficult to
control, and very passionate about gaining Poland. He cares more for Russia’s
success than European stability, but overall his heritage and recent posts as
ambassador make him sympathetic to ethnic Germans.
Andrey Kirillovich Razumovsky – Prince Razumovsky
Razumovsky is the only ethnically Russian envoy under the Tsar. He is a former
ambassador to Vienna and is known for his lavish parties. He is interested in and
embodies large aspects of upper-class culture given his personal ties to Beethoven,
his great appreciation for art, and his parties in his magnificent palace on
Landstrasse in Vienna. As he is much entwined in the culture, he will do anything to
fulfill the Tsar’s hopes of gaining Poland.
France
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord – Prince de Talleyrand
Talleyrand is the French Foreign Minister. He is usually very shrewd, crafty,
charming, and has a long history of scandals that has been pushed under the rug
given his diplomatic successes under Napoleon. After breaking with Napoleon
around 1807, he developed personal ties with Tsar Alexander I as they joined to
attempt to thwart Napoleon’s advances via the negotiating table. Therefore, he is
often referred to as a traitor by nationalistic French politicians and several branches
of the military. As he seeks to restore the Bourbons, he faces the large challenge of
representing a country that started and lost the war that tore apart Europe.
Emmerich Joseph – Duke de Dalberg
Dalberg is a French diplomat under Talleyrand and a good friend of his. He comes
from one of Germany’s oldest aristocracies and is notable for his untrustworthiness
along with his role as Talleyrand’s loudmouthed outlet for secrets and dirty
work. While he takes his position seriously, he can be crude and abrasive. He is a
staunch supporter of the Bourbon restoration and is prepared to help Talleyrand to
accomplish whatever he needs.
Alexis – Count de Noailles
Noailles is a French delegate serving under Talleyrand. He is a royalist and is also
known for having been an informer to the royal family, which has led to rumors of
him being a spy. Needless to say, he is not afraid of getting his hands dirty. He is
quiet, manipulative, and despises revolution, given that he watched several of his
family members die at the guillotine. It is well known that he can make matters
personal and also take them behind the scenes.
Frederic – Marquis de la Tour du Pin Gouvernet
La Tour du Pin is a French delegate under Talleyrand. He is a former ambassador to
the Netherlands where he fostered goodwill with the Dutch. Overall he is often lazy
but also arrogant and loves parties. Though he is not the most responsible, he is in
very close contact with Talleyrand and a loyal assistant, often finding creative ways
to bring information to him.
Spain
Pedro Gomez Labrador – Marquis de Labrador
Labrador is the Spanish envoy to the Congress of Vienna. He is flamboyant and has
a short and explosive temper. His relationship with Talleyrand is frosty at best. He
is an advocate of the restoration of the Bourbons in Spain, and otherwise is looking
to expand Spanish influence and find ways to gain territory, such as taking
Portuguese land and growing the Spanish navy.
Portugal
Pedro de Sousa Holstein – 1st Count of Palmela
Palmela is a diplomat from Portugal and in charge of the Portuguese delegation. He
is seeking first and foremost to regain Olivenca, which Portugal lost during the
Napoleonic wars. He is shrewd and well connected with his British allies. He is
often in close contact with Castlereagh and wants to see Portugal exist among the
greats.
Joaquim Lobo Silveira – 7th Count of Oriola
Oriola is a diplomat from Portugal. He is seeking to have Portugal regain Olivenca
and otherwise carry out Palmela’s wishes. Portugal is also closely allied with Great
Britain, and Oriola is good friends with Charles Stewart. Both he and Stewart are
known for their upper-class debauchery as they are always seen at parties. When
sober, he is manipulative, pleasing, and misguides his opponents with his charm.
Antonia de Saldanha da Gama – Count of Porto Santo
Porto Santo is very good friends with Oriola and they share similar goals. He is more
hostile towards Spain as he is looking for any opportunity to grab land. He also is
well acquainted with Stewart yet disapproves of his behavior. He is also looking to
maximize the benefits of being allied to Great Britain, so he will do anything for the
British while increasing his demands as well. He is nationalistic and does not want
to see Portugal being taken advantage of.
Switzerland
Charles Pictet de Rochemont – Diplomat
Rochemont is a diplomat from Geneva. His goals are fairly simple. He seeks to have
Geneva included in the Swiss Confederation and guarantee Swiss, especially
Genevan, independence and territorial integrity. Though his goals are narrow, he is
often very involved in negotiations and has the charismatic capability to tip balances
and redirect discussion back to Switzerland.
Sweden
Carl Axel Loewenhielm - Count Loewenhielm
Loewenhielm is the Swedish representative. He is a renowned military officer but is
also an illegitimate son of the Swedish king, which is often the source of
mockery. His main goals include preventing Russian expansion into Swedish
territory. He is proud and willing to sabotage deals between the “greater” countries
simply because he seeks to have more influence and wants to see himself and his
country be among the greats.
Denmark
Fredrick VI – King of Denmark
King Frederick VI is leading the Danish delegation and works closely with his
Foreign Minister, Count Niels Rosenkrantz. Denmark had not been very involved in
the Napoleonic wars, but in the later periods the King became a staunch supporter
and ally of Napoleon. Therefore, Danish relations with the British worsened and
Denmark bankrupted itself by helping Napoleon defeat rebellions in Germany.
Having been humiliated by Napoleon’s defeat and Denmark’s subsequent loss of
Norway, King Frederick VI developed totalitarian domestic policies and is otherwise
known as stubborn and proud.
Niels Rosenkrantz – Count Rosenkrantz
Rosenkrantz is Denmark’s Foreign Minister and works closely with King Frederick
VI. Overall, Denmark is not a very strong state, but Rosenkrantz has a burning
grudge against the British for when a British fleet attacked Copenhagen in 1801. He
is also determined to preemptively take German land, anticipating hostility from
northern German states, who may want retribution for when Denmark helped crush
rebellions in Germany. He is manipulative, even towards his king, and he is
determined to not allow Denmark to be taken advantage of.
German States
Maximilian Josef Garnerin – Count von Montgelas
Montegelas is a diplomat from Bavaria. He had actually been in favor of Napoleon
and helped orchestrate an alliance with him. Montgelas believed, though the
Bavarian king turned on Napoleon, that Napoleon would have made Bavaria more
influential through territorial gains. Montgelas is hot-tempered, opposes German
unification of any sort since he considers Bavarian to be his only nationality, and
seeks to protect Bavaria from what it sees as Austrian and Prussian domination.
Frederick I – King of Wuerttemberg
Frederick I is the King of Wuerttemberg. He had removed Wuerttemberg from the
Holy Roman Empire in favor of joining the Confederation of the Rhine. Though he
eventually turned on Napoleon, he is seeking to keep the territorial gains that an
alliance with Napoleon had won him. He is open to the idea of a German
Confederation, thinking it will prove powerful, as long as he ends up leading it. He is
very arrogant, holds his title with pride, and wants to avoid being ruled over by
Austria. Though he is poorly connected, he can be fierce and always seeks attention.
Georg – Count zu Muenster
Zu Muenster is the delegate from Hannover. Hannover is in personal union with the
British Crown and will work very closely with the British. Zu Muenster however is
also notorious for his untrustworthiness and is also seeking a more powerful German
Confederation. Though he believes in the ethnic bond of all German speakers, he
does not want to live in Prussia’s shadow.
Leopold Hartwig – Baron von Plessen
Plessen is the delegate from Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Though he represents a very
small power, he is well connected, with liaisons to most German states and an
amicable relationship to Austria’s von Wessenberg and his family, who often
vacation on the Baltic Sea beaches. He is passionate about self-determination for his
state and wants to form a German unity as he fears domination from Prussia. He is
on bad terms with Rosenkrantz from Denmark because of Denmark’s involvement
with squashing anti-Bonaparte rebellions in Mecklenburg.
Bibliography
Chapman, Tim. The Congress of Vienna: Origins, Processes and Results. New
York: Routledge, 1998.
Gulick, E. V. “The Final Coalition and the Congress of Vienna”. The New
Cambridge Modern History. Ed. C. W. Crawley. Vol. IX. Cambridge, United
Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 1975.
Hingly, Ronald. Russia: A Concise History. London, United Kingdom: Thames and
Hudson, 2003.
King, David. Vienna 1814. New York City, New York: Broadway, 2008.
McPhee, Peter. The French Revolution: 1789-1799. Oxford, United Kingdom:
Oxford University Press, 2001.
Okey, Robin. The Habsburg Monarchy From Enlightenment to Eclipse. New York
City, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2001.
Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization. Fifth Ed. Belmont, California:
Thomson Wadsworth, 2003.
Virginia International Crisis Simulation
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