¶ … Bourbon Restoration

The Congress of Vienna was a meeting of delegates from the Great Powers to determine the future boundaries and direction of Europe in the wake of the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, and the breakup of the Holy Roman Empire. Napoleon, after a brief return to power, was finally defeated at Waterloo and exiled to Elba. The Bourbon Restoration refers to the Bourbon dynasty of French monarchs being re-established after Napoleon's original defeat and exile in 1814, who maintained some power even during the "Hundred Days" of Napoleon's return and continued to rule after. The domination of the monarch over the State had ended, however, and Louis XVIII had to make many democratic concessions.

Part of the issue addressed at the Congress of Vienna was dealing with the former German States that had allied with Napoleon in a group known as the Confederation of the Rhine. Various rulers were restored or deposed based on their connection to Napoleon, and the results of the Congress of Vienna can be traced to the formation of a unified Germany. Other countries borders were altered or newly formed in the peace settlements between the Great Powers; Austria, Prussia, and Russia all gained or regained territory, and the beginnings of Great Britain's colonial empire were confirmed. France, too, had its borders subtly bur firmly redefined.

Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich was the host and one of the chief negotiators at the Congress; along with Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, who developed the Congress plan for Europe, he was one of the most prominent figures of the Congress. The French negotiator Talleyrand was instrumental in securing leniency or his country and restoring the House of Bourbon. This restoration was accomplished in 1814 after Talleyrand convinced the other European powers that it would provide the most security and stability in the region. Other factors that contributed to this were the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, which had contained more than 300 States, into a loose German Confederation of 39 states, and several smaller kingdoms. Russia and Prussia gained the most land, with Austria not far behind, and Great Britain's non-Continental colonial holds would be a major factor in nineteenth-century development. The major advancement here was the use of negotiation and treaties to divide and after the wars, instead of claiming the "Divine Right" of victory.