From September 1814 to June 9, 1815 the Congress of Vienna, a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order and negotiate”a long-term peace plan for Europe by settling critical issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars”, after the defeat and surrunder of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte in May 1814. Participants were representatives of all European powers and other stakeholders, chaired by Austrian statesman Klemens von Metternich. [1, 2]
The Congress’s agreement was signed June 9, 1815 , just 9 days before Napoleon’s final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815.
“Some historians have criticised the outcomes of the Congress for causing the subsequent suppression of national, democratic, and liberal movements, and it has been seen as a reactionary settlement for the benefit of traditional monarchs. Others have praised the Congress for protecting Europe from large and widespread wars for almost a century.” [1]