The Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle , held in the autumn of 1818, was a high-level diplomatic meeting of France and the four allied powers Britain , Austria , Prussia and Russia , which had defeated it in 1814. The purpose was to decide the withdrawal of the army of occupation from France and renegotiate the reparations it owed. It produced an amicable settlement, whereby France refinanced its reparations debt; the Allies in a few weeks withdrew all of their troops.
22-841: The Quintuple Alliance came into being at the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1818, when France joined the Quadruple Alliance created by Austria , Prussia , the Russian Empire , and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . The European peace settlement concluded at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. After following the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle (in Aachen ), the Alliance powers met thrice: in 1820 at
44-705: A great variety of questions were considered, from the treatment of Napoleon in exile at Saint Helena to the grievances of the people of Monaco against their prince and the position of the Jews in Austria and Prussia. An attempt made to introduce the subject of the Spanish colonies was defeated by the opposition of Britain. Certain vexatious questions of diplomatic etiquette were settled once and for all. (see diplomatic rank and Aix-la-Chapelle: Diplomatic Precedence of Ministers Resident ) The Congress, which broke up at
66-546: A reciprocal right of search on the high seas and to the objection of Britain to international action which would have involved the presence of a Russian squadron in the Mediterranean. In matters of less importance the Congress was more unanimous. Thus on the urgent appeal of King Frederick VI of Denmark , Charles XIV of Sweden received a peremptory summons to carry out the terms of the Treaty of Kiel ; The petition of
88-531: The Congress of Troppau ( Opava ), in 1821 at the Congress of Laibach ( Ljubljana ), and in 1822 at the Congress of Verona . While Britain stood largely aloof from the Alliance's illiberal actions, the four continental monarchies were successful in authorising Austrian military action in Italy in 1821 and French intervention in Spain in 1823. The Alliance is conventionally taken to have become defunct along with
110-636: The Congress of Vienna . While several locations were considered for the Congress Aix-la-Chapelle, which had been part of Prussia since 1815, was chosen due to its proximity to Wellington's Army of Occupation in northern France. Seventy years before the spa town had hosted the negotiations that led to the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle of 1748 that ended the War of the Austrian Succession . Britain's Prince Regent commissioned
132-631: The Holy Alliance of the three original continental members following the death of Emperor Alexander I of Russia in 1825. Despite the Alliance's dissolution, the Great Powers of France, Britain, and Russia would go on to intervene in the Battle of Navarino . Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle (1818) It was part of the series of conferences known as the Concert of Europe . The occupation
154-624: The Prince-elector of Hesse to be recognized as king was unanimously rejected; and measures were taken to redress the grievances of the German mediatized princes . The important outstanding questions in Germany, e.g. the Baden succession , were after consideration reserved for a further conference to be called at Frankfurt am Main, which occurred on 10 July 1819. In addition to these
176-642: The Concert of Four, which was now composed of Five Powers. To hedge their bets, the Four secretly renewed the Quadruple Alliance, but this was a formality of no consequence. The Four drifted apart year by year over questions dealing with Italy, South America, and Greece. British Foreign Secretary Lord Castlereagh proposed in March 1818 that there should be a Congress later in the year. Metternich took up
198-454: The Congress met, Paris had discharged its obligations punctually. 332 million remained; France offered to pay the sum of 265 million. Of that, 100 million francs would be in the form of French bonds bearing interest, the rest in installments through to English banks. The main achievement of the Congress was to definitively terminate the wars of 1792–1815. They closed out all claims against France, and accepted France as an equal and full member of
220-677: The Emperor Francis I of Austria , and King Frederick William III of Prussia . Britain was represented by Lord Castlereagh and the Duke of Wellington , Austria by Prince Metternich , Russia by Counts Capo d'Istria and Nesselrode , Prussia by Prince Hardenberg and Count Bernstorff . The Duc de Richelieu , by favour of the Allies, was present on behalf of France. Members of the Rothschild banking dynasty were also heavily involved in
242-582: The European alliance, and the "military measures", if any, to be adopted as a precaution against a fresh outburst on the part of France. The proposal of the Emperor Alexander I to establish a "universal union of guarantee" on the broad basis of the Holy Alliance , after much debate, broke down on the uncompromising opposition of Britain; and the main outcome of the congress was the signature, on 15 November, of two instruments: The secret protocol
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#1732764786495264-747: The First World War. Attribution: Portrait of Francis I of Austria The Portrait of Francis I of Austria is a painting by the British artist Sir Thomas Lawrence depicting the Austrian Emperor Francis I (previously Francis II of the Holy Roman Empire ). Commissioned by the Prince Regent of Britain it was initially painted during the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1818 and completed over
286-745: The Garter and more prominently the Austrian Order of the Golden Fleece . Lawrence observed difficulties with the Emperor's face which he found long, thin and melancholic . However, when Francis smiled he showed a benevolence which Lawrence depicted in the painting. Unlike the other Allied monarchs Lawrence portrayed Francis in full-length and seated on a throne . The finished portrait was still in Lawrence's studio at his death in 1830. Today
308-479: The Russian army as its nucleus, to provide the wherewithal to intervene in any country that needed it. Castlereagh, speaking for Britain saw this as a highly undesirable commitment to reactionary policies. He recoiled at the idea of Russian armies marching across Europe to put down popular uprisings. Furthermore, to admit all the smaller countries, would create intrigue and confusion. Britain refused to participate, so
330-405: The congress. The British Secretary at War Lord Palmerston , a future Foreign Secretary, was also present. The evacuation of France by Allied units was agreed to in principle at the first session, the consequent treaty being signed on 9 October. The immediate object of the conference being thus readily disposed of, the time of the congress was mainly occupied in discussing the form to be taken by
352-555: The country's leading portrait painter Thomas Lawrence to travel to the Congress and paint the leading dignitaries. Amongst them was his Portrait of Francis I of Austria and Portrait of the Duke of Richelieu . These works became the core of the Waterloo Chamber at Windsor Castle . The congress, convened in Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle) on 1 of October, and its first session was attended by Emperor Alexander I of Russia ,
374-468: The end of November, is of historical importance mainly as marking the highest point reached during the 19th century in the attempt to govern Europe by an international committee of the powers. The detailed study of its proceedings is highly instructive in revealing the almost insurmountable obstacles to any really effective international diplomatic system prior to the creation of the League of Nations after
396-720: The following months. Lawrence, Britain's leading portrait painter of the Regency Era , was commissioned by the Regent to depict many European leaders who had participated in the defeat of the French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars . The Prince Regent commissioned the work for five hundred guineas . Francis wears military uniform with a plumed hat on the table beside him. He wears the British Order of
418-529: The idea was abandoned. The delegates discussed several topics left unsettled in the hurried winding up of the Congress of Vienna, or which had arisen since. The most important were the methods to be adopted for the suppression of the Atlantic slave trade and the Barbary pirates . In neither case was any decision arrived at, owing mainly to the refusal of the other powers to agree with the British proposal for
440-456: The proposal but was concerned to limit the number of countries attending. In particular he was alarmed by the prospect of Spain , whose growing closeness to Russia was clear, strengthening the hand of the Tsar. It was therefore agreed that only those five countries that had signed the 1815 Treaty of Paris would take part. This excluded a large number of participants who had previously taken part in
462-475: Was communicated in confidence to Richelieu; to the declaration France was invited publicly to adhere. The Russian tsar proposed the formation of an entirely new alliance, to include all of the signatories from the Vienna treaties, to guarantee the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and preservation of the ruling governments of all members of this new coalition. The tsar further proposed an international army, with
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#1732764786495484-455: Was formally terminated at the conference on 30 September 1818; by 30 November evacuation was complete. The French representative Duc de Richelieu succeeded in having France admitted as a full discussion partner in the European congress system and France's position as a European power was restored. Financially, France was originally obligated to pay 700 million francs, in installments every four months for five years ( 1815 Treaty of Paris ). When
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