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| 3. The Peace Settlements and the Hundred Days |
| 1814–24 |
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| Louis XVIII (brother of the late Louis XVI) was restored to the throne partially as the result of the failure of other candidacies. Talleyrand induced Louis and his other advisers to issue a constitution. | 1 |
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| 1814, May 30 |
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| THE FIRST TREATY OF PARIS. France retained the boundaries of 1792, which included Avignon, Venaissin, and parts of the Savoy and German empire, and Belgium. France, in turn, recognized the independence of the Netherlands, the German and Italian states, and Switzerland. Britain restored the French colonies excepting Tobago, St. Lucia, and Mauritius; Britain also retained Malta. France promised to abolish all slave trade, and the allies abandoned all claims to indemnity. The complexities of this treaty led to the Congress of Vienna. | 2 |
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| Sept. 15–1815, June 9 |
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| THE CONGRESS OF VIENNA. The chief negotiators were Metternich (Austria), Hardenberg and William von Humboldt (Prussia), Castlereagh and Wellington (Great Britain), the tsar for Russia with his advisers, Talleyrand (France), and Cardinal Consalvi (the papacy). The full congress never met officially, and the main decisions were made by the four major allied powers. Talleyrand, in order to gain admission to the inner councils, tried to raise the principle of legitimacy but was only admitted after a dispute over the fate of Poland and Saxony led the allies to the brink of war. The work of the congress was interrupted by Napoleon's return, but the agreement was signed June 9. | 3 |
| Major provisions: (1) Austrian and Prussian monarchies were restored and their territories expanded: Austria received new territories in Italy and the Illyrian Provinces. Prussia received part of the duchy of Warsaw, Danzig, Swedish Pomerania and Rügen, and new parts of Westphalia and Neuchâtel and the greater portion of Saxony. (2) Formation of the kingdom of the Netherlands, comprised of Holland and Belgium. (3) The creation of the Germanic confederation to replace the old Holy Roman Empire. (4) Creation of a kingdom of Poland under the Russian tsar and king. Alexander granted Poland the right to have Polish as the official language and maintain its own army. (5) Britain retained Malta and Heligoland, and assumed a protectorate over the Ionian Islands (Nov. 5–6). Sweden retained Norway. (6) Switzerland was reestablished. (7) Restoration of legitimate dynasties in Spain, Sardinia, and the Papal States, all of which had been governed by members of Napoleon's family during the empire. | 4 |
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