1815-2-26 Bonaparte Escapes

1815-2-26 Bonaparte escapes exile on the Mediterranean island of Elba - HiPo > .

1815-6-9 Final Act of Congress of Vienna signed, days before Waterloo - HiPo > .

On 26 February 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte escaped exile on the Mediterranean island of Elba and sailed to the French mainland.

On 11 April 1814 Napoleon had agreed to the Treaty of Fontainebleau, in which he abdicated the throne following his defeat in the War of the Sixth Coalition. The Treaty ended his rule of France but allowed him to keep his title as Emperor. He was granted sovereignty of the island of Elba and, following a failed suicide attempt, arrived on the island on 30 May.

Throughout the nine months and twenty-one days that he remained on Elba, Napoleon observed with interest the unfolding situation in France under the restored Bourbon king. Meanwhile he implemented a series of social and economic reforms to improve the situation on the island.

It was Napoleon’s confidence in the likelihood of a popular revolt in his favour that led to him leaving the island. Furthermore the Great Powers were distracted by internal disagreements at the Congress of Vienna. The ships from the British Navy that were supposed to ensure Napoleon was unable to escape his exile were not in the area when, on 26 February, he left the island and headed for the French mainland on board the brig Inconstant accompanied by almost a thousand troops.

Napoleon’s arrival in France was greeted with enthusiasm. After landing at the coastal town of Golfe-Juan on 1 March, he quickly secured support from a small army with whom he marched to Paris. His arrival on 20 March led Louis XVIII to flee the city and heralded the start of a period of Napoleonic government that became known as the Hundred Days.

On 9 June 1815 the ‘Final Act’ of the Congress of Vienna was signed, nine days before Napoleon’s final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.

The Congress was chaired by Metternich, the Austrian principal minister, and led by the ‘Four Great Powers’ of Austria, Russia, Britain, and Prussia alongside France. In total over 200 states were represented in some way at the Congress, making it the largest diplomatic event of its time. However, the key terms were discussed and decided by the Great Powers in informal meetings.

The Congress met with the purpose of reviewing and reorganising Europe after the Napoleonic Wars. By doing this, the Great Powers hoped to achieve a lasting peace. Having first met after the defeat and surrender of Napoleonic France in 1814, the meetings continued in spite of the renewal of hostilities following the period known as the Hundred Days in which Napoleon returned from exile and took back control of France.

The Final Act of the Congress set in place a map of Europe that remained largely unchanged for the next forty years, and which laid the foundations for the First World War. Historians and politicians in the later 19th Century even criticised the attendees for focusing more on achieving a balance of power than on maintaining peace.

The Final Settlement largely ignored the emerging nationalist sentiments in parts of Europe, and this exclusion was particularly heavily criticised by later commentators. Although nationalist movements were a key factor in the disputes and conflicts that emerged later, it’s important to remember that the Congress did succeed in its primary aim of securing wider European peace for the best part of a century.