Klemens Wenzel von Metternich
|
---|
![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/Metternich_by_Lawrence.jpeg/240px-Metternich_by_Lawrence.jpeg) Portrait of Prince Metternich by Lawrence
|
Born
| 15 May 1773
|
---|
Died
| 11 June 1859 (aged 86)
|
---|
Nationality
| Austrian
|
---|
Education
| University of Strasbourg
|
---|
Known for
| The
Congress of Vienna
, Minister of State, Conservatism,
Concert of Europe
|
---|
Title
| Prince von Metternich
|
---|
Spouse(s)
| Baroness Antoinette Leykam (1827-1829), Countess Melanie Zichy-Ferraris (1831-1854)
|
---|
Children
| Richard, Furst von Metternich
|
---|
Parent(s)
| Franz Georg Karl, Graf von Metternich-Winneburg and Countess Beatrix Kagenegg
|
---|
Klemens Wenzel, Prince von Metternich
(German: Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Furst von Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein) (May 15, 1773 ? June 11, 1859) was an
Austrian
politician
. He is thought of as one of the most important
diplomats
of all time. Metternich was Foreign Minister for Austria from 1809 to 1848. He got Austria out of a bad treaty with
Napoleon
, which forced Austria to fight for
France
. Metternich then helped to build a system in
Europe
that kept the peace for most of the next 100 years.
In 1809, when Metternich became
foreign minister
, Napoleon had control of most of Europe. France had taken over some of the closest countries directly. In more distant countries like Austria and
Prussia
, Napoleon forced them to sign treaties that would make them fight on his side in wars. Metternich thought that was bad for Austria. When Napoleon declared war and raised a huge army for the
French invasion of Russia
, Metternich told the Russians that Austria would not attack but only defend. Napoleon lost badly in Russia, and Metternich used that excuse to get out of the treaty.
In 1814, troops of the Quadruple Alliance (Prussia, Russia, Austria and the
United Kingdom
) had entered France, and Napoleon had lost the war. For the next year, diplomats from all over Europe met at the
Congress of Vienna
to decide the future after Napoleon.
Metternich believed that the best way to keep Europe peaceful was to create a balance of power, with no country being strong enough to beat all the other countries. To make sure that happened, he made some countries stronger so that other countries, especially France, would think twice about going to war. For example, he added
Belgium
and
Luxembourg
to the
Netherlands
, he turned 300 small countries of
Germany
into a group of larger countries, and he put together some countries in what we call
Italy
today.
After making that new order, Metternich also did a lot to keep it together. For example, he
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander wanted to send troops to
Greece
to protect
Orthodox Christians
there fighting the
Greek War of Independence
against the
Ottoman Empire
, which was
Muslim
. The Ottomans had become weak, and Alexander would probably have won. Metternich was afraid that if the Ottoman Empire fell apart, all of the powerful countries in Europe would start fighting to get its land. That would upset Metternich's balance and start a huge war. Also, Russia might get too big and too powerful. Therefore, Metternich convinced the Alexander attacking now would make the Ottomans would fall apart before Alexander was ready to take it for himself, and the United Kingdom and France would get most of it. Alexander agreed to help keep the Ottoman Empire going so that Russia could later take all of it. Also, he was talked out of sending troops to Greece.
Metternich kept peace in Europe for a long time, but there were still some revolts in Europe. Finally in 1848, many revolts happened at the same time. One of them was in Austria, and the rebels had Metternich taken out of office. After he was gone,
Otto von Bismarck
in Prussia managed to become powerful, take over the
German Confederation
and start a big German country, which still exists. Having one big Germany, however, upset Metternich's balance and helped to cause
World War I
.
Media related to
Klemens von Metternich
at Wikimedia Commons
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
People
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|