Czy okres 1815 - 1848 można nazwać okresem rządów Metternich'a w Centralnej Europie? [ang.]

Do you agree with the opinion, that the period 1815 – 1848 was the ‘age of Metternich’ in Central Europe?

Prince Klemens von Metternich lived in 1773 – 1859 and was the Austrian Foreign Minister. Although, the Austrian Empire had its king – Francis I Habsburg, the decisions were taken by the Minister principally, because Francis occurred to be not much interested in his country affairs, thus the main idea, he believed in, was ‘rule and change nothing’.
Metternich is thought to be the most influential man during the mentioned period, because most of the actions were considered and made by him.
Indeed, these opinions seem to be very true, and it is easy to find the confirmation of them.

The Minister’s ‘reigns’ concerning the period 1815 - 1848, began actually in February 1814, when Metternich gathered the representatives of the Great Powers - Russia, Austria, Great Britain and Prussia on the Congress of Chatillon. On this meeting, they settled the Treaty of Chaumont, in March 1814, where the powers agreed to continue the war if Napoleon doesn’t accept their terms, they made some decisions about Holland, Spain, Italy, Germany and Switzerland’s future as well as the agreement to work together for the next 20 years not to allow French expansion and to meet every now and again. This was vital for the future, when Congress in Vienna took place, as the resolutions made in Chatillon were one of the causes to organize the meeting in Vienna.
This, happened after Napoleon’s defeat in Paris, while he was to be exiled to the island of Elba. When, on the First Treaty of Paris, the members of it wanted to confirm all the decisions taken, it was Metternich first, who gave the proposal to come to the Austrian capital – Vienna. He was glad to be a host, since he had some major points to achieve there: to prevent the French and Russian position growing stronger, as the Austrian Empire lied in the middle. It was, then, a duty to maintain the order and balance them, just for safety of Austrians. Later, it was also very important for Metternich to restrain Prussian ambitions of becoming a major power, after the aid in the defeat of Napoleon. Besides, he preferred to continue the monarchical government and aristocratic leadership in order to retain his and his followers positions, and to have the conservative policy, which does not accept any liberal and national disturbances, that could be possible because of the complex structure of Austrian society, as well as the foreign influence.
In the result, the Minister gained most of his aims, and unnoticeably, he realized most of his visions. Evidently, France was carefully controlled by all the powers, focused strongly on this country. Meanwhile, Metternich used it for his advantage and suggested to control the Italian states of Lombardy and Venetia, justifying it as the recompense of the loss of the Austrian Netherlands. Moreover, the central Italian duchies of Parma, Modena and Tuscany were supposed to be controlled by the restored there Habsburgs monarchs. Austria, made also quite beneficial interest, when creating the German Confederation. Prussia was, thanks to it, weakened, or just deprived of some individual possibilities to lead for. There were few Austrian States included, which enabled Metternich to skim through the situation there whenever he wanted. The significant fact was as well the Frankfurt Diet, whose president was to be the Austrian nominee, so that it was also under Metternich’s authority. The other advantages for Austria, was the expansion of The Habsburg Empire, when absorbing the territories, that were independent before, like Archbishopric of Salzburg, or that had formerly belonged to the Venetian Republic, such as the Illyrian provinces.
The following action of Metternich, was joining the ‘Holy Alliance’, which meant to him as ‘loud sounding nothing’ but as he realized of some different points of view from Britain for example, he considered this to be very useful being in the co – operation with three of five Great Powers, than with the rest two. It occurred soon to be a good step forward, especially looking at the Congress of Troppau in October 1820. The breakout of the revolutions was a threat for Austria, and principally the one in the Naples. Metternich, then, was in favour to meet in Troppau. He persuade the others, since he did not want to argue with Britain to leave the affairs of Spain, the more that they were not those, which mattered for him. The problem was in Naples, which Britain wished to be intervened only by the Austrian Empire, as it was under its control. Metternich made a good job, when finding the two supporters – Russian Tsar and Prussian king and writing down a new document, a Troppau Protocol, which declared a war on every country, that has undergone a change of government due to revolution. This had a great opposition in France and Great Britain in Castlereagh’s State Paper, which did not help much.
At Congress of Laibach, which was the continuity of the one in Troppau, Austria supported by the rest of the Holy Alliance, came in Naples and succeed in crushing a rebellion there as well as the Piedmontese one.
However, Metternich was full of fear, when thinking of the Russian desire to enter the West Europe and intervene in Spain, thus now, Russia had a credible excuse to go there and establish the situation. Similarly was later with Greece, but Metternich somehow managed to persuade Alexander to stay away, but it lasted only a little time.
When there was a Greek struggle for independence in 1821, Austrian Foreign Minister appointed with British Castlereagh to prevent any tension between Turkey and Russia, and at the conference in St Petersburg, no decision had been made due to Metternich objection of any pro – Greek suggestion of intervention, to prevent Russia going there. Without any doubt, he would have succeed it, because he already taught in to the Tsarist head his angle, if Alexander I had not died.

A new Tsar, Nicolas I announced to follow his independent policy. In that exact time, the problems for Metternich began. There was a St Petersburg Protocol in 1826. and the Treaty of London next year, which mobilized Russia, Britain and France to work together in order to make a settlement for Turkey. That actions were totally opposite to what Austrian Minister had been working for so long. The next events are not even worth to mention, as Austria was excluded of them, and in that moment disappeared from the international policy. It was surely a failure of the Minister, and a contrary to the opinion of the ‘age of Metternich’. He allowed Russia to expanse and others to improve a prestige and make some gains, showed the weakness of Austria, and realized of the threat, which was the power of revolution in that time. The subsequent stroke for Metternich was the refusal of the other powers to intervene in France, when the revolution occurred there. Others were to busy with their own affairs, when the liberal and national ideas started to circulate throughout Europe.

Nevertheless, Austria seemed to have some success in Italian States later, which prevented the revolutions to get in the Austrian Empire.
The next achievement was in 1833, when the agreement at Munchengratz was signed, which was later joined by Prussia. Metternich tackled Russia to stop acting independently. This document stayed in for another Holy Alliance. The Three of the countries agreed to maintain the Ottoman Empire. Alas, Austrian influence in Russian affairs was rather minor, though it kept Tsar’s ambitions restricted.



Internally, Metternich was successful. He managed to prevent the spread of liberalism in Austria and Germany for a long time. His steps were radical and immediate on every single hint of revolution. His ideas popular and commonly shared with the rulers of Germany, Austria and Italy. Although, on the other hand, he tried to inflict some modernization of Austrian government and make some reforms especially after 1835, they were not taken into account by the Austrian Emperor, but they proved of his not such conservative points of view, which he was regarded to have.

To conclude my investigations, I owe to say, that Metternich was an ideal ruler. He cared about his territories, and was ready to defend them. Altogether, he was not conservatist, in spite of what people used to gossip about him, since he had a great plans of reforms and improvement of the country, which were just not accepted, and his steps to maintain the monarchical way of governing were just the natural ideas to keep the position. His influence concerned almost all of Europe. He, as the only one, could calm all the arising down and managed to retain his country stable and balanced in the difficult position, what was a major success, the more, that it contained a lot of different nations inside, ready of any provocation to break out the revolt.
He made some mistakes, as being only a human, which were his failures, but they did not give any more significant print in the later period. Besides, comparing to his successes, they seem not to be of any importance. The great loss for Austrian Empire was, that he wasn’t born as a king, because his rules were limited by the Emperor. His reigns can be formed in one sentence, as he made once a pithy remark:
‘I have sometimes ruled Europe, but I have never governed Austria.’.