he French Revolution that began in 1789 was a scary event for all members of old, conservative Europe. Not only was an established dynasty of monarchs pulled down and replaced with a republic, but the fall of that republic was followed by the strong, well liked Emporer Napoleon who, though not royal or accepted by other monarchs, conquered various parts of Europe, put his families members on the thrones of the two Sicilies and Spain, and collapsed the Holy Roman Empire. Though he eventually fell, liberal ideas of revolution and governmental reform were scattered throughout Europe. Scared for their own power, leaders of the four other major European powers (plus France) gathered in 1815 to ensure that such a change would never come to place. They created a system called The Congress of Vienna, which was an alliance between the five to ensure a continued balance of power between the five countries. Based on ideas created by Austrian minister Klemens von Metternich, they would help each other put out any ensuing revolutions, respect each other’s power, and keep the conservtive order in place. However, this would only work to a certain extent. Though the Congress initially worked because it restored the old order immediately and worked to keep things in place, it could not be continually successful because of the unstoppable forces of liberalism.
The Congress did initially restore the old order, which would have made it difficult for continued change to occur. First of all, it restored any fallen monarchies that the revolution or Napoleon had deposed. Louis XVIII was returned to Frace, Ferdinand IV was returned to the Two Sicilies, and Ferdinand VII was returned to Spain. This would help suppress any hope of revolution because it would appear as though previous attempts had totally failed--everything was back the way it was. It also helped to suppress change because the rulers were in established dynasties--unlike Napoleon, the rulers were born into their...