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The Effects of the Great War on Europe and the World |
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Since the Napoleonic Wars, the European continent had been able to maintain a relatively balanced division of power. At the Congress of Vienna, the meeting in 1814 when the great European powers gathered to repair Napoleon’s damage to the continent, decisions were made concerning the borders and governments of the European states. The Great Powers (Britain, Prussia, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and even France) distributed control of many smaller states amongst themselves. A section of Poland was given to Russia, Prussia annexed a segment of Saxony, and Austria received part of northern Italy. The control of the German states was a particularly controversial issue, as Prussia, an exceptionally powerful German state, and Austria, who typically claimed leadership over the German peoples, both wanted total control. Boundaries set up at the Congress of Vienna were made to keep France from dominating Europe. The Great Powers made their decisions with the mindset of a balance of power. None of the powerful countries wanted her power lessened in any way. To avoid conflict, the balance of power ideology was created. Every time one of the countries of the Great Powers added to her control a piece of European territory, the other countries of the Great Powers would have the right to take similarly significant pieces of the continent for themselves. The Great Powers were given no authority to make their decisions regarding other countries at the Congress of Vienna. Their authority was taken from the fact that they were the largest and strongest countries in Europe. The decisions that were made in Vienna kept Europe politically stable for nearly one hundred years. However, the balance of power that the Great Powers tried to maintain did not account for Imperialism or the ever-growing trend of nationalism among the smaller states. |
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© Julie |
