European fear: the Congress of Vienne

For much the Congress of Vienne is alone a meeting of ornithology or art history men or a casino ante litteram, this is before its time; instead it is an historical episode of the nations that have fought  Napoleon, hence the Austrian, Spain, England, Russian and other; the title of this essay want describe the fright that Europe has had, and the volume that has been necessary, translated from French to English is almost contemporary, because was publicized in year 1816, hence it has took the wit and the ideological party, rigorously against Napoleon, that it seems a childhood reaction after the fright that has avoided; the usual vent that after avoided danger is natural the gratification of wit; same reaction, certainly more polite and elegant that chiefs of States has had after Napoleon; rightly somebody can think that the writing was there in 1816, because this precision, to psychologic level is anomalous; but the writer in born some 157 years after this Congress, and a second congress in Vienne there wasn’t, because Napoleon, it seems can occurs, is died. Anyway we can understand this fright from some step: “Similar to the condition of a man relieved of a most oppressive load, Europe gave a long sigh…”, this step is very important because we can infer that Napoleon was very dangerous for the European monarchies, and the paragon is very inappropriate and mistook, because Napoleon made wars for the conquest, but he made it for stopped the will of reaction of European States, and stop. The text said: “The thirty. first day of March 1814 ! A day that will he memorable to eternity! No longer did Madrid, Vienna, Berlin, Warsaw, behold their former masters flying, and their conquerors planting their ensigns on their battered and degraded walls. The thunder has returned to peal over those places whence, for the past twenty years, it has never ceased to issue. In its turn, Paris has received its conquerors. They entered into the city that had conveyed terror, with its decrees, into every empire. He who for a long time had burst from the capital with the rapidity of the eagle and the strength of the lion, in order to seize, either as an easy prey, or as a trembling victim, every people in Europe, tamely submitted to the triumphant entry of the enemies he had produced, and whom he was less able to deceive than to conquer. He approached near enough to hear the cries that distinguished the overthrow of his throne silent and pale, he separated himself from the city he knew not how to defend, and which, for the happiness of France, he ought never to have revisited. Similar to the condition of a man relieved of a most oppressive load, Europe gave a long sigh, and began to breathe. Henceforward, all the revolutionary policy…”; although hide or scantly evident other note is present in the narration: “France, that has occasioned all this subversion, must be first quieted. This great body must be fixed, in order that Europe shall not vacillate: so much, even in its fall, does it preserve its influence.”; this step is more manifest of a fear of European monarchies, because in this step is mentioned the influence, it means that what is effaced politically is present in the wit, hence in the brain, above all the example, that has innovated the ideology and the policy in the Europe, and it was too much new, because Napoleon has frustrated centuries of history and domain, true or alone think, but certainly different, and the novelty attracts because it is something that nobody hasn’t seen; hence the will of knowledge is very natural. The elegant wit of Congress and its members, hence the continuity to ancient policy, also because a punitive intent toward the French have had effects very much different, and contrary to the original think, because somebody have solicited, in French, the respect for the nation, that when Napoleon was to power there was, instead now no; to be pitiless toward the French, have given the possibility to somebody for become from victim of this Congress to persecutor, but not certainly in Vienna but in Paris, where the people have follows the ideas of some instigator or demagogue, and if the Europe managed to defeated Napoleon in year 1815, now it would be more difficult, because the armies and weapons were employed for the first contrast to Napoleon, and the finances certainly not have enabled the contract so great; hence the French was the guilty but guardedly. Simply one note: this behavior that was pitiless the European nations have used after the first word war, they in fact humiliated the German, and the nationalism was a motive principle for the birth of second word war. In fact the text says: “A treaty recalled this country to its ancient possessions, and there it remained.”; the political strategy is evident, to avoid the humiliation, and to follow the fair treatment. The my ideas is confirmed form the following words: “On all sides were heard cries of justice, indemnity, peace, and the balance of power.”; the justice and other that is mentioned, enclosed the peace, is a lie, because Napoleon made the war but alone to conquers and after the peace, and for justice Napoleon is author of Napoleonic Code, in year 1804, and today used for some case in French, where the equality and freedom was dominant; hence the justice must be excluded, around the balance of power, the monarchy has had the power in their nations, not certainly autocratic as in Russian, but very extensive, that through the Napoleon code was limited, and it is the principal motive for these lies; but the confirm of my opinion is above all in the words: “…the balance of power…”, because form the power of European monarchies, now is mentioned the balance of power; same condition that the French Revolution has had through the National assembly; where the opinions and thinks were different, and the power wasn’t in a person or social class, but alone in the hands of electors; this balance of power is clear reference to decrease of power of monarchy.

Alessandro Lusana