Castlereagh vs Canning for re-establishing a general system of Public Law in Europe’. As a
protégé of Pitt, Castlereagh supported this principle. It was formed on the
Viscount Castlereagh 1812-1822 basis of his thinking at the peace conferences and resulted in the Congress
system which he masterminded. From 1812 as Foreign Secretary, he had
Castlereagh was in favour of catholic emancipation and the abolition of been very involved in keeping the allies together in the Fourth Coalition
slavery but was influenced by the French Revolution and saw liberalism which ultimately defeated Napoleon. His ‘personal diplomacy’ with
and nationalism as evils. He played a major role in engineering the defeat European leaders brought him praise and respect from his allies. He
of Napoleon and in finalising the peace settlement on France and he thought that if European powers could work together in war then they
developed ‘personal diplomacy’ by forging a close relationship with should be able to do so in peacetime too. This led to the Congress System.
Metternich of Austria. He was a skilled mediator who saw Britain as part
of Europe and wished to achieve a lasting peace. The European statesmen had several aims at the Vienna Settlement
There were many criticisms of Castlereagh: To make France pay for involving Europe in war from 1793-1815
To ensure that the victors were suitably compensated for their
He put Europe above his own country
efforts.
He was repressive and tyrannical To prevent France from making war and disrupting European
He was the pawn of Metternich, the Austrian chancellor.
peace and security in the future.
To restore the rulers overthrown by Napoleon.
Partly because of this, Castlereagh was very unpopular in England. It is
important to separate his unpopularity at home from his work as Foreign This list hides differences that existed amongst the countries represented at
Secretary. He was not just Foreign Secretary from 1812 but also Leader of Vienna. Castlereagh wanted to make sure that the French were not
the House of Commons where he had to defend and justify government punished so severely that they would try and take revenge. Other European
policies. This was because other senior government figures like the Prime countries, as victors, wanted trophies. Talleyrand tried to protect French
Minister were in the House of Lords. It was his role as government interests. This was made more difficult when Napoleon escaped from Elba.
spokesman in Commons that led to him taking the blame for government After Waterloo there was a greater desire to punish the French harshly and
policies at home. He was therefore seen as reactionary especially as this a yet the Vienna Settlement remained surprisingly lenient.
time of repression with Peterloo, the Six Acts and the Corn Laws.
What did Castlereagh do in Vienna?
The Vienna Settlement
He persuaded Prussia to tone down its demands for territory so
During the French Wars in 1805 Pitt had been considering the principles of
that France wasn’t treated too harshly.
Peace which he believed should involve ‘a general agreement and
guarantee for mutual security and protection of the different powers and
, He prevented Russia and Prussia gaining too much territory and there was no major war involving all of the great powers of Europe until
hence too much power. A powerful Russia could result in a threat 1914 and a balance of power had been achieved. There were criticisms of
to British routes in the Mediterranean and possessions in India. the settlement though because liberals disliked the fact that autocratic
He tried to maintain peace by cooperation through the Congress rulers like Ferdinand IV, the Bourbon King of Naples who was guilty of
System whereby the powers would meet to discuss international misgovernment and repression had been restored. In the reconstruction of
problems and find solutions without reverting to war (the Concert Europe the seeds of discontent were sown: the Belgians under Dutch rule
of Europe). He worked closely with Metternich in setting up the and the Italians under Austria meant that rebellions were inevitable.
Quadruple Alliance in November 1815 (Britain, Austria, Prussia
How successful was Castlereagh’s involvement in the Congress System.
and Russia).
He preserved the balance of power in Europe in order to ensure Castlereagh committed suicide on 12th August 1822. He left notes on
British policy to be followed at the Congress of Verona. These notes
that no one country became too powerful, as had happened with
confirmed that Castlereagh was not prepared to intervene to prevent
France under Napoleon.
Britain’s territorial gains emphasised its naval supremacy by revolution whenever it occurred. Widespread misunderstanding had led
many to believe that he was an unquestioning supporter of absolutist
providing valuable bases; they were important sources of raw
monarchs. Castlereagh had found the unity og European powers hard to
materials and markets which were vital to future imperial and
maintain. The ambitions of Russia and the Holy Alliance made the
commercial expansion.
He ensured that France gained a lenient peace so there would be Congress system troublesome for Britain. European peace was harder to
maintain than Castlereagh had expected. This is the main failure of
no grounds for revenge.
He was hostile to the view that the great powers had the right to Castlereagh’s foreign policies.
interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. Castlereagh’s foreign policy successes:
This was ultimately a success for Castlereagh because he wanted to be He ended the war with the USA in 1814
lenient but wanted to reduce the threat that France posed and the fact that He subsidised the allies with £26 million
the United Provinces (the Netherlands???) were combined with Belgium The troops were successful in Spain
formed a strong buffer to France in the North-east. Castlereagh was He negotiated alliances against Napoleon and these result in
unhappy with the settlement because the unity of great powers was going
Napoleon’s defeat.
to be hard to maintain especially as Tsar Alexander I had considerable He negotiated in person using his ‘personal diplomacy’ which
ambitions. Castlereagh didn’t support the Holy Alliance. He also wanted to
proved to be very successful
avoid change but did not want Britain to be committed to preventing He represented Great Britain at the Peace Conference in Vienna in
change because it went against the principles of monarchy. Despite 1815
conflicting motives a settlement was reached and it was a success because He supported regular meetings of the Congress System
protégé of Pitt, Castlereagh supported this principle. It was formed on the
Viscount Castlereagh 1812-1822 basis of his thinking at the peace conferences and resulted in the Congress
system which he masterminded. From 1812 as Foreign Secretary, he had
Castlereagh was in favour of catholic emancipation and the abolition of been very involved in keeping the allies together in the Fourth Coalition
slavery but was influenced by the French Revolution and saw liberalism which ultimately defeated Napoleon. His ‘personal diplomacy’ with
and nationalism as evils. He played a major role in engineering the defeat European leaders brought him praise and respect from his allies. He
of Napoleon and in finalising the peace settlement on France and he thought that if European powers could work together in war then they
developed ‘personal diplomacy’ by forging a close relationship with should be able to do so in peacetime too. This led to the Congress System.
Metternich of Austria. He was a skilled mediator who saw Britain as part
of Europe and wished to achieve a lasting peace. The European statesmen had several aims at the Vienna Settlement
There were many criticisms of Castlereagh: To make France pay for involving Europe in war from 1793-1815
To ensure that the victors were suitably compensated for their
He put Europe above his own country
efforts.
He was repressive and tyrannical To prevent France from making war and disrupting European
He was the pawn of Metternich, the Austrian chancellor.
peace and security in the future.
To restore the rulers overthrown by Napoleon.
Partly because of this, Castlereagh was very unpopular in England. It is
important to separate his unpopularity at home from his work as Foreign This list hides differences that existed amongst the countries represented at
Secretary. He was not just Foreign Secretary from 1812 but also Leader of Vienna. Castlereagh wanted to make sure that the French were not
the House of Commons where he had to defend and justify government punished so severely that they would try and take revenge. Other European
policies. This was because other senior government figures like the Prime countries, as victors, wanted trophies. Talleyrand tried to protect French
Minister were in the House of Lords. It was his role as government interests. This was made more difficult when Napoleon escaped from Elba.
spokesman in Commons that led to him taking the blame for government After Waterloo there was a greater desire to punish the French harshly and
policies at home. He was therefore seen as reactionary especially as this a yet the Vienna Settlement remained surprisingly lenient.
time of repression with Peterloo, the Six Acts and the Corn Laws.
What did Castlereagh do in Vienna?
The Vienna Settlement
He persuaded Prussia to tone down its demands for territory so
During the French Wars in 1805 Pitt had been considering the principles of
that France wasn’t treated too harshly.
Peace which he believed should involve ‘a general agreement and
guarantee for mutual security and protection of the different powers and
, He prevented Russia and Prussia gaining too much territory and there was no major war involving all of the great powers of Europe until
hence too much power. A powerful Russia could result in a threat 1914 and a balance of power had been achieved. There were criticisms of
to British routes in the Mediterranean and possessions in India. the settlement though because liberals disliked the fact that autocratic
He tried to maintain peace by cooperation through the Congress rulers like Ferdinand IV, the Bourbon King of Naples who was guilty of
System whereby the powers would meet to discuss international misgovernment and repression had been restored. In the reconstruction of
problems and find solutions without reverting to war (the Concert Europe the seeds of discontent were sown: the Belgians under Dutch rule
of Europe). He worked closely with Metternich in setting up the and the Italians under Austria meant that rebellions were inevitable.
Quadruple Alliance in November 1815 (Britain, Austria, Prussia
How successful was Castlereagh’s involvement in the Congress System.
and Russia).
He preserved the balance of power in Europe in order to ensure Castlereagh committed suicide on 12th August 1822. He left notes on
British policy to be followed at the Congress of Verona. These notes
that no one country became too powerful, as had happened with
confirmed that Castlereagh was not prepared to intervene to prevent
France under Napoleon.
Britain’s territorial gains emphasised its naval supremacy by revolution whenever it occurred. Widespread misunderstanding had led
many to believe that he was an unquestioning supporter of absolutist
providing valuable bases; they were important sources of raw
monarchs. Castlereagh had found the unity og European powers hard to
materials and markets which were vital to future imperial and
maintain. The ambitions of Russia and the Holy Alliance made the
commercial expansion.
He ensured that France gained a lenient peace so there would be Congress system troublesome for Britain. European peace was harder to
maintain than Castlereagh had expected. This is the main failure of
no grounds for revenge.
He was hostile to the view that the great powers had the right to Castlereagh’s foreign policies.
interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. Castlereagh’s foreign policy successes:
This was ultimately a success for Castlereagh because he wanted to be He ended the war with the USA in 1814
lenient but wanted to reduce the threat that France posed and the fact that He subsidised the allies with £26 million
the United Provinces (the Netherlands???) were combined with Belgium The troops were successful in Spain
formed a strong buffer to France in the North-east. Castlereagh was He negotiated alliances against Napoleon and these result in
unhappy with the settlement because the unity of great powers was going
Napoleon’s defeat.
to be hard to maintain especially as Tsar Alexander I had considerable He negotiated in person using his ‘personal diplomacy’ which
ambitions. Castlereagh didn’t support the Holy Alliance. He also wanted to
proved to be very successful
avoid change but did not want Britain to be committed to preventing He represented Great Britain at the Peace Conference in Vienna in
change because it went against the principles of monarchy. Despite 1815
conflicting motives a settlement was reached and it was a success because He supported regular meetings of the Congress System
