Restoring Order After Napoleon: The Congress of Vienna

CrashCourse

This educational video from Crash Course European History explores the aftermath of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, focusing on the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Host John Green explains how major European powers—Britain, Prussia, Russia, Austria, and a defeated France—convened to redraw the map of Europe and restore the "old order" of monarchy and aristocracy. The video details the political maneuvering of key figures like Klemens von Metternich and Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, illustrating how they established a "Balance of Power" intended to prevent future massive conflicts and check the expansion of nations like Russia. The video also delves deeply into the ideological and cultural shifts of the time. It contrasts the conservative political backlash, championed by thinkers like Edmund Burke who valued tradition and stability, against the lingering revolutionary spirit. Significant attention is given to the rise of Romanticism as a cultural reaction against Enlightenment rationality. Through examples in literature (Mary Shelley, Alexander Pushkin) and art, the video highlights how the era began to prioritize emotion, nature, and the past over reason and industrialization. For educators, this video serves as an excellent bridge between the age of revolutions and the modern era. It provides crucial context for understanding 19th-century geopolitics, the concept of the "Concert of Europe," and the tension between conservative institutions and rising liberal/nationalist movements. The juxtaposition of political history with art and literature offers interdisciplinary opportunities to discuss how cultural movements reflect and react to political realities, making it highly valuable for World History, European History, and Humanities curriculums.