The Congress of Vienna

Last week in history class, we delved into the Congress of Vienna and explored the motives of different 

powers in Europe at the time of the Congress of Vienna. The Essential Question asked "What should people 

in power do when their power is threatened?". To figure this out, we created timelines of the Congress of 

Vienna and learned the history of what actually happened.

One of the things monarchs had to apply in order to maintain their power is to maintain a balance of power 

between the powers of Europe. Klemens Von Metternich, the king of Austria at the time, applied this 

concept in order to eliminate threat to his power in creating a "Holy Alliance" between the monarchies of 

Austria, Russia, Prussia and France. This impacted the Congress of Vienna by creating a more unified and 

centralized unit of power within Europe.

I think that the Congress of Vienna made the correct decision in maintaining a balance of power. This 

ultimately led to the formation of the Holy Alliance, making Europe a more centralized and unified place, 

which can have little to no potentially harmful effects. The powers that had to give up some power in this 

process should have done so willingly if their interests were in favor of the greater good rather than their own

greed.