The Congress of Vienna (Part 2) (1814 to 1815) 

...BEEFY

Of all the people there, Tsar Alexander seems to be the most timeless. Can imagine him in any century.

The Congress of Vienna should be a limited drama series. So many layers to all of these negotiations, it’s actually insane.

Tsar Alexander being the funniest character in the whole series and just leaving after getting what he wanted is such a chad move honestly.

The Treaty of Versailles is becoming my new obsession and having the Congress of Vienna to compare it to has made it so much more interesting to me. Vienna, despite having to overcome some serious clashes of personality, seems as if everyone eventually got onto the same page: create a new model of what Europe looks like that will ensure peace for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile Versailles is the wildest mix of France wishing it could Ctrl+X Germany while at the same time Wilson walks into the room and convinces the allies that what started as a Rube Goldberg machine of personal rivalries is actually about Truth, Justice and the American Way, and the only solution is to remake Central Europe in his image... and everyone kind of goes along with it. Anyway, thanks for sparking my interest

I’ll admit, I was a little surprised but ultimately respected how you handled the 100 days. Treating it as more of a pause rather then the huge shockwave some portray it as to the peace process in order to really focus on the actual diplomacy going on was a novel choice I think.

Its noteworthy, that for all his bluster, the Tzar got most of what he wanted. I do wonder if there was some method to his madness, especially when dealing with strategic minds who seem much smarter than him

Am I the only one who thinks that the Tzar’s actions were deliberate? He is the master of a juggernaut, Shows up making wild threats and enormous, unreasonable demands and then accepts far less than what he had originally asked for; eagerly. He was ether brilliant or mad.

>be tsar of russia >occupy paris >meet with french foreign minister >he asks for a peaceful exchange of territory >threaten to declare a world war if russia has to give up a single inch of territory it occupies >tell him it's time to go to the threater >give him a massive bear hug >refuse to elaborate >leave gigachad

Even more crazy is that during all of this, there was a crisis in Norway, where after the Treaty of Kiel (which was to transfer Norway from Denmark to Sweden), Norway tried a declaration of independence and fought a two week war with Sweden before falling into a loose union. This also involved the United Kingdom's diplomats as they were arbitrators for this question during 1814. This video has an Easter Egg alluding to this: you can see Norway changing colors from Denmark's color at the start of the video to a shade resembling Sweden's color near the end.

14:20 -- The situation must have been dire. Tallyrand was never clear about _anything_ if he could help it. He was so well-known for saying things in oblique ways, and implying more than he actually said aloud, that when he died someone said to have remarked, "Died, has he? Now I wonder what he meant by that." (Variously attributed to Metternich or Louis-Philippe.)

Talleyrand: So about this whole Poland thing- Alexander: You want to go to war? Talleyrand: Wait what?! Alexander: Yeah let's do it I'm down, let's go to war with them. Talleyrand: That's not what I- Alexander: Alright I'm gonna go hit the theater, we'll plan the war later.

I love how during the entire Congress, everyone's worst fear was negotiating with the Tsar, and everyone after doing so was left thoroughly baffled

I find it hilarious that Austria's attempts to keep the French out of Italy is what eventually led to Italian unification and the gradual downfall of Austria as a great power. A strong Sardinia Piedmont will be able to resist outside influence, sure. But the French don't have any influence in Italy, it's all Austria, so Austria is going to be the main target of that resistance. And with French backing (looking to see a weakened Austria), Sardinia was able to snowball their way into the Kingdom of Italy

"Austria and Prussia would be the two anchors of the German Confederation, and it was paramount to the survival of the confederation that the two great powers within it got along." Spoiler warning: They don't end up getting along.

I love history channels who focus on the real issues in history: Diplomacy, economics, culture, ideas instead of brute war, like so many others. Thank you for actually enlightening us on this very interesting diplomatic event that had wide-reaching implications until today and still serves as interesting material to learn about diplomacy.

This could be seen as a dry topic, but you narrate it like a story of intrigue and suspense, with a great amount of humor. I’d never call myself a history buff but I always drop everything to watch your videos!

In Brazil right after we became independent from Portugal Britain started to pressure us into abolishing slavery, but the government wasn't very enthusiastic about it, so in 1831 a law was passed saying that any slave brought to Brazil would be declared a free man, this was know as "lei pra inglês ver" (law to show to the Englishman) because the penalty was a fine that for the most part wasn't really enforced To this day we still use the expression "to show the Englishman" when referring to something that's done only for the optics and it's actually not doing anything substantial

Historia Civilis giving the people what they want: in-depth reviews of historical events. I see a new video drop and know I'm about to learn myself some great stuff.

As a stokie (someone from Stoke on Trent), I want to provide more info on the medallion. The medallions were designed by Josiah Wedgwood of Wedgwood pottery (still the most influential and most sought after pottery in the world, no shits, seriously) and he was at the time one of the largest advocates for the abolition of slavery as he believed that we are all the creations of god and should be treated with respect and equality. He is very well remembered in Stoke as one of the key drivers of the abolition of slavery in the empire. A truly magnificent man who sought equality. Im sharing this as outside of Stoke he is completely forgotten in Britain and it’s a national disgrace. So if you celebrate the end of slavery in Britain, be sure to raise a glass to Josiah Wedgwood, a lost by society a social and economic leader who put Stoke on the map for all the right reasons. Also if your interest look up Sir Stanley Mathews who formed the first all black professional football team in South Africa called ‘Stans Men’ (at the time breaking the law) and throughout Africa taught kids sports. Edit: Stanley Mathews is also a Stokie hence why I put it there.

Speaking as a Saxon: The Congress of Vienna was a traumatic event for Saxony. Not enough that the region had been devastated by war for years, now half of the country was annexed by the old arch-rival, Prussia. This rivalry goes back to the time after the Thirty Year's War and since the reign of Frederick II. of Prussia (who is not called "the Great" in Saxony, since he invaded it on two different occasions and greatly damaged Dresden), Prussia had tried to annex its southern neighbour. Even to this day, the southern part of the german state of Brandenburg calls itself "Saxon Brandenburg". (The Saxon King was held as a prisoner by the great powers and was not allowed to take part in the peace negotiations, because his "loyalty" to Napoleon. But what choice did he have? His country was effectively occupied by the French and he himself was a semi-hostage of Napoleon. And when Napoleon was finally defeated at Leipzig, Frederick Augustus was immediatly captured by the Coalition. The other "allies" of Napoleon, like Bavaria, were allowed to change sides and even profit from the peace agreements, but Saxony was barely able to survive. Since then (even to this day), there was no love for Prussia in Saxony...)

Historia Civilis: "...and we will see, in time, wheter these frenzied and far-reaching negotiations were worth it." Poland: "NO" Italy: "NO"

This guy is literally my favorite RU-vidr. When I seen this video dropped - everything else is on hold. Sorry wife and kids !

High schooler from Germany here! My history class is entirely in English and I am having a class test tomorrow. Thanks for helping me out it’s incredible that I was not once bored throughout 90 minutes of your video! Great job and thank you very much

Whatever you think of Alexander I as a negotiator, he did get everything he wanted

It's incredible how hyped I was for the sequel to The Congress of Vienna.

"Russia didn't want Poland to exist at all" Times truly never change

Hey buddy, hope you’re doing well. Didn’t have a way to send you a message, just wanted to say I miss your videos, and I think you’re the best historian on the internet! Hope you can do this for a living.

I know it takes you forever to make each of your videos, considering all of the research, script writing, recording, and editing that goes into each and every one of them. I just want to say thank you so much for each of these masterpieces. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and because there is such time between videos, I get super excited whenever I see anything new from your channel because I know that it’s going to be of the highest quality. I’m fearful that all of these other larger channels with similar content will just end up pressuring you out of your videos, but I would explore you to keep making them because they are some of my absolute favorite content on RU-vid. Keep up all the fantastic work!

I´m austrian and we get this taught in school. Still never appreciated the full importance of this "event". Great video and greetings from austria!

A note: the restored dukes of Modena and (eventually) Parma and the king of the Two Sicilies weren't just "some relatives of the king of Spain" or "a cousin of the Austrian Emperor". They were the direct heir of the guy who held that throne before the French Revolution (in the case of Parma), the same guy (Two Sicilies), and the heir of the designated heir (Modena. The last Este Duke of Modena had no heir and signed a deal with the Habsburgs to give his domain to one of their princes, this deal was signed in 1763 and in the end the son of that prince got to sit on the Modenese throne). They weren't random people pulled out of a hat like it is implied here.

You sir, are an astounding teacher. Your videos have imbued apon me an insatiable thirst for learning history I wish I had when I was younger.

"Its time for the theater!" Iconic. This will be my new phrase when saying goodbye

*Structure of The Congress* 0:12 8 Member Committee 0:48 Economic Sub Committees *Subject-Matter of The Congress* 1:48 Borders 3:50 1792 Borders: Poland & Saxony 🇵🇱 Austria wants Poland as border Russia does not 5:23 Poland is Russia 🇷🇺 6:25 7:06 Francis I - “Saxony is not a bargaining chip” 8:31 DUEL 🤺 take it up with Francis 9:17 Prussia 🇩🇪 and Austria 🇦🇹 at odds over Saxony 10:30 Russia had sacrificed everything, Russia deserves Poland • You would make enemies of Austria and Prussia my friend 12:54 1, Enlarged Poland 2, Reduced Poland 3, Full Partition (3-Country Cut) 15:36 🇷🇺 Will have Poland! 🇩🇪 Will have Saxony! 16:42 🇦🇹 WE WILL FIGHT YOU IF YOU TAKE POLAND Russia and Prussia mobilize troops 18:00 🇬🇧 we need moderate and sound course 19:40 Independence SOLUTION: *1/2 Saxony* 23:27 SOLUTION: • Polish Lands given to 🇷🇺 and 🇩🇪 And A Constitutional Kingdom of Poland created 26:10 🇩🇪 1. Complete Independence OR 3. Loose Confederation ? 30:40 🇦🇹 ❤️ 🤝 🇩🇪 ? The German Diet *Italy* 31:47 🇬🇧 🇦🇹 34:04 Lombardy & Venice are Austrian Dutchies handed to Royal family 36:38 *The Hundred Days* Napoleon returns from Elba 38:36 Allies had far more military strength 39:33 IN SUMMARY • 1792 Borders • Russia Prussia Poland 🇵🇱 • Prussia 1/2 Saxony *The Slave Trade* 40:55 British Abolitionists 🇬🇧 The wedge wood medallion Slave Trade Act of 1807 43:47 Eventual Abolition Wait a minute, it’s only in Great Britain’s Interest! 46:14 “Declaration of Intent” a maybe 47:50 Cuba 🇨🇺 and Brazil 🇧🇷 *The Treaty of Vienna* 48:26 Great Powers Agree, 49:58 The Concert of Europe 50:29 (Next Time: Revolutions of 1848)

Historia Civilis is so exceptional in that this is the highest quality history knowledge that you can get and there are no adverts at the beginning just right into the good stuff. We are truly blessed to have this man.

You seriously do not disappoint. Every single video is well written, well spoken, and well animated. You’ve become the absolute gold standard for historical RU-vid. Well done, sir

It’s insane how many layers there are in the congress of Vienna. I had no idea it was this complex. I wish strategy games had this level of nuance.

I love how the Congress was supposed to be about sorting out France after everyone was at war with them, but Russia ended up being the bigger problem

In hindsight the geopolitics of the early 19th century are like watching a train wreck that will take centuries to finish. I love it.

38:18 I beg to differ. Napoleon's escape from Elba was at least in part inspired by petty bickering in Vienna. He was well informed of what was happening and believed (wrongly, I agree with that) that the allies who defeated him before, would not be able to overcome their differences in order to gang up on him. Along with Napoleon the "diplomats" in Vienna were to blame for the additional unnecessary bloodshed caused by the futile attempt of Napoleon to regain power. Therefore I would argue that the Hundred Days are extremely interesting for students of history of diplomacy

I'm at the 8 minute make and I just want to say how freaking cool this video is. Your editing, voice, music, and style of story telling is so refreshing. I'm a serial history RU-vid watcher and this content is why I open this app. Just found you today and you earned a new big ol juicy subscriber.

The best project of my history class was a class-wide 're-creation' of the Congress of Vienna. The defining feature was Russia, Spain, and the Papal State(???) ganging up into a pro-war faction VS everyone else. We paid off Russia with the Faroes and Tahiti, the Papal State with Provence, and Spain with IKEA and a Charizard card. It was wild and amazing. Also someone was assigned to represent the smaller German states and they immediately declared their intent to unify those states separately from Prussia and Austria, so that happened.

Well, Metternich’s decision to restore the Kingdom of Sardinia (which was really the kingdom of Piedmont) would definetly ovme back to bite Austria in the back. I have the strong feeling Historia Civilis would really like the long and complicated history leading up to the Italian unification. Lots of stuff happened between the Congress of Vienna and Garibaldi’s expedition.

Its been 6 months since last video. Is Historia Civilis alright? Historia Civilis, if you're reading this show sign of life please.

You know more about this than I do, but I'm not sure how Castlereagh could've got anything done about slavery. 1. Britain hadn't abolished slavery, so anything forced onto the other countries would be hypocritical. 2. The other countries were united against Britain's push, with them collectively having much more influence that Britain. 3. As the nation with the biggest colonies, they were in the best position survive abolition (think of a modern equivalent situation to a developed country that got developed by using fossil fuels telling an undeveloped country not to use fossil fuels, or else). 4. The only way they would've got anything done would be to disperse with a large amount of resources and give them to their direct competitors, comprimising Britain and their geopolitical spot at the top. 5. Oh by the way, this was right after the largest war in history where no one wants to comprimise on anything unless it's to prevent another war.

Two months and already we have a new video? You’re too good to us Historia

"I'm a stinky little baby poopy boy" - Tsar Alexander I

All I saw was Tsar Alexander Strong-Arming, trolling, bull$hitting and gaslighting his way into most of what he wanted XD. More of a Madlad than a Madman Imo.

2 years ago I watched this. Today I walked past the blue plaque in Kent which shows where Lord Castlereagh lived. I told my friends all about his role in the Congress of Vienna, I have you to thank for my impromptu lecture :)

About Waterloo, I am inclined to agree about the fact that a victory at Waterloo (although the battle itself was not planned by Napoleon, but was the consequence of incoordination within the now disorganised French army) and even the whole campaign of 1815 in general. However, it seems that Napoleon hoped to use the disagreements between the great power to create a wedge, perhaps some time to re-arm in the form of an armistice, and eventually even an alliance with one of the great powers (such as with Alexander. Once a supposedly dear friend of Napoleon. It was impossible to predict what Alexander would have done but he could have potentially struck an agreement with Napoleon. This didn't happen, however I don't think it would have been impossible. Had Alexander simply woken up on a different side of the bed). The fact that Castlereagh managed to get the other great powers to declare war on Napoleon was already against Napoleon's plan. Whom expected the dissonance of the congress of Vienna to stop the great powers from acting united and give France time to maneuver diplomatically. However, even after that failed, a victory at Waterloo, or even better, the separation and forced retreat of Blucher's and Wellington's armies and a quick annexation of Belgium, could have re-opened conflict between the other powers. Re-opening an opportunity for Napoleon. Seeing as Napoleon only alternative was practical exile, and for his French supporters the return of the Bourbon monarchy, I don't think his actions were out of delusion. Rather he saw an opportunity and took it, as he had done his whole career. This time he simply got unlucky (or at least, not lucky). Edit: As always, great video!!! When are we returning to Rome and the creation of the principate by Augustus.

Diplomats: "Can we please try to cooperate towards establishing an everlasting peace?" Monarchs: "But I want Poland/Saxony NOW! NOW, NOW, NOW!!" Other diplomats to Castlereagh: "You're so lucky that your king is essentially an invalid." Castlereagh: "Extremely rude, but very true"

I found out that this was out for Patrons like half a week ago. I became a patron just to watch earlier and finally support one of the only channels covering historical topics and still managing to keep the hilarity to the perfect ratio. Overall, 10/10 video.

242k views in basically one day. You’re a powerhouse, dude. I’m so happy to see how well your channel is doing. I hope you’re able to keep this up with the revenue you get from it.

Considering how you characterized him last video, it sounds like Tsar Alexander got exactly what he wanted, at least for his heirs. I'm not saying he's a secret genius. "Baffle them with BS" is a very rookie but very effective realpolitik move. All it takes is the savvy to realize that you don't have anyone who could outmaneuver professional diplomats and to hold out with the crazy until they give you big concessions. Obviously threatening war is vile. Obviously. Still, based on your description, he got more than he could have expected and got exactly what he wanted.

These past two videos have been like nerd Christmas! A really good series, well researched and excellently produced. Thanks for making these and sharing them - our quiz team wouldn't be anywhere without your videos!

Ironic, they entered the peace talks fighting France with Russia, but left them fighting Russia with France.

29:28 I kind of love that Metternich kinda just went “alright I’m just gonna make the Holy Roman Empire 2.0”

You even changed the colour of Norway from red to blue during the course of the video without even a mention. I love it! Like watching a murder mistery film where you get to look for hidden clues along with the detective!

In Brazil we still refer to things done just for show as “ for Englishmen to look at / see “ to this day because of the issue with the antislavery agreements.

The synth that the end of the video is like a relief of the tension built up throughout the story. I love your work, and this was a great video

I loved this 2 part series. Really wonderfully made. Hope to see more content like this on modern events, just as beautifully made like your videos on more ancient events and societies.

I thought this era was dead boring from what history class gave me. Guess it just needed better narration. This is a triumph - looking forward to more like this series.

I think the Hundred Days are so hyped up because of Waterloo. In France, Waterloo is the heroic defeat, the battle that could have changed the world if we had won it, and the swan's song of Napoléon. A lot more glorious to lose a battle because of the terrain, and the non-arrival of some reinforcments, than to lose a war cause overwhelming forces marched upon Paris and demanded the peace. For Britain, Waterloo is the occasion to show up Wellington, to make him a genius, the one who bested Napoléon Bonaparte himself, and also it helps to forget that there was four other countries in the war against Napoléon, Waterloo it's France vs Britain and Prussia, it's not hard to say they defeated Napoléon almost alone ^^ Of course for other great powers Waterloo is not that important.... But french and british historiography is a lot more well known than german or russian one :p

I gotta say, colouring the outline of the characters with their countries colour is a genius move

these videos blow me away every time. You put so much research and effort into them. Thank you for being one of the absolute best history channels on youtube!

I studied international relations in college, and it’s learning about stuff like this which got me interested in geopolitics and diplomacy in the first place. Great video!

A few things on Northern Italy. Although it might seem that Austria was putting in Austrian puppets out of the blue, in actuality, Lombardy had already been Austrian for a century, and the rightful heirs of the previous rulers were placed back on the thrones in Tuscany, Modena, and (eventually) Parma - it just so happened that these were either Habsburgs or closely related to them. Venice was the only real exception, but everyone was OK with the Austrians taking it as the old republic was seen as moribund, it geographically simplified and rounded out Austrian territory, and was seen as a fair exchange for Austria losing the southern Netherlands and its other scattered territories in southern Germany (again, part of that geographic simplification). By the way, I'm surprised that there wasn't more on the southern Netherlands (today's Belgium). There were actually some pretty serious negotiations concerning its future at the Congress... which were all for nought as they revolted 15 years later anyway...

Outstanding work as always, 51 minutes was an absolute treat. I'd love to see you look at later events in the 19th century and how the Congress contextualizes them.

36:45 oh I was so expecting that you will not mention this :(

“Might does not make right,” Talleyrand reminded. Has not Europe paid for it “with so much blood and so many tears”? The golden age of peace could be right around the corner, if only every peacemaker would follow this course of action.” ― David King, Vienna

the bit about abolishing slavery reminded me of certain ecologically-focused international conferences

Threatens a world war Refuses to elaborate Walks away

This video: Alexander was an idiot Austria: Alexander is an idiot France Britain, everyone: Alexander is an idiot Alexander, receiving Poland with essentially no concessions: if that’s what you want to think

Metternich was such a fucking genius, no one he's so famous in the halls of diplomacy.

Part 1 was a masterpiece, let’s go for Part 2. I’m seriously considering doing my dissertation on the congress of Vienna or Metternich.

Simply superb. A true masterpiece. I watch many history channels but yours is my favorite

Simply amazing "trilogy" of videos. Well done. I aspire to know and talk about history in a similarly informed but passionate way.

6:20 SIGMA males of 1815 be like: 1. Threatens a World war 2. Refuses to elaborate 3. Leaves and parties till 4 am 4. ????????? 5. Profit????

As sad as it sounds, I would guess that Castlereigh's antislavery addition to the treaty would have still been a failure if he was more sincere, though it certainly would have had a greater chance.

30:00 one particularly interesting point about the so called HRE was that both the Habsburgs and the Hohenzollern's (as the most powerful political forces in HRE) had vast possessions outside HRE and that some territories inside HRE belonged to the powers who were outside HRE. and finally some of the "German" states of the HRE weren't even German by any standard. and Metternich did his best NOT to resolve any of those issues when construing his "solution" for HRE and Europe

Your channel is my favourite on this whole web-site. Truly exceptional style, outstanding quality.

8:20 >Enters >Threatens another global conflict >Reuses to elaborate >Leaves to party

The German Confederation always reminded me of a "proto-European Union" of sorts, especially the customs union and free movement aspects.

In my college World History class (I don't care to mention when that was) only a page of the text book was devoted to the Congress, and most of that to Metternich. While I had some dim understanding all these years of the broad outlines of negotiations, it was so wonderful to view your detailed treatment. I love learning. Thank you. I must now check out what else you have produced.

I like this Czar Alexander character. I wish we could have a guy like this in the modern day.

Glad how videos from this guy just start like they should- no begging for subs, shilling some vpn or mobile game, etc Amazing work, keep it up 👍👍👍

>Threaten war over polish territory >Refuse to elaborate >Leave for party

00:00 Introduction 1:40 Borders 3:40 Poland & Saxony 26:10 Germany 31:40 Italy 36:40 The Hundred Days 39:26 The Slave Trade 48:27 The Treaty of Vienna

Alexander I is now officially my favorite monarch at the table. He's HILARIOUS

What's so astounding about this conference is how despite all of the moving pieces they managed to pave the way for a CENTURY of *relative* peace Edit to be more historically accurate: I’ve been reading up on the congress recently and I actually think it’s really interesting how the whole house of cards began to collapse. For the first 50 years or so the great powers functioned on the basis of legitimacy and adherence to balance of power principles. The 5 power balancing act only really worked when Germany was disunited. The appeal of the German federation, especially to the British was under that system the German states had enough coordination to mount an effective defence which put France and Russia in check, but never enough to mount an offensive to be a threat to the balance. So when Austria became increasingly isolated after the Crimean war no great power was willing to intervene on their behalf to stop the unification of Germany. This destroyed the balancing act by making what used to be Prussia extremely powerful and threatening in its own right. This transitioned the national aims of the great powers from maintaining the legitimacy of their new system, to vying for power and dominance outright within the system. Especially since Bismarck was a cold pragmatist who openly stated that he didn’t believe in adopting a policy of acting in order to help other countries, because all foreign policy is only made in the interests of the state, so it would never be reciprocated. This is a stark contrast to Metternich who if you recall was the architect of the balance of power system, who believed in following a policy to maintain it, even at no direct immediate benefit to Austria. And for that matter I don’t want to overemphasise the role of Germany in this whole mess. Other things such as a new Bonaparte in France and the rise of nationalism also played notable roles in the transition of great power policy from legitimacy of the system to power within the system.

Many thanks for the great documentaries that you give us. In terms of depth this are the best videos RU-vid have to offer. Thank you so much

Awesome video I always get super excited when a new one drops no matter what it’s about but I’m honestly hoping you’ll go back and continue the 2nd triumvirate story cuz Augustus is my favorite historical figure and I always am interested in learning more because no matter how much I know you always teach me something new

6:21 "I have to return some videotapes" - Alexander I of Russia

I love the Roman history videos and Roman history in general, but this two-part series may be my favorite Historia Civilis videos. He is so clear and concise when laying out these complex diplomatic negotiations that basically anyone can understand what is happening and why it's happening without glossing over anything. I hope he covers more stuff from the Early Modern Period-Late Modern Period- Industrial Revolution Eras.

Nobody watches these videos for the history; we all watch to appreciate the outro music

the way Castlereagh's picture is looking straight at the viewer is perpetually hilarious.

Great video. You could have included the "Disputed State of Olivença" as an interesting fact. In the prelude to the peninsular war in 1801 Spain and France invade the Alentejo region in Portugal. At the end of the conflict, the Badajoz treaty was signed, recognizing the annexation by Spain of the Portuguese Territory of Olivença. In the 1815 Vienna treaty, it is written that the powers "recognize that the return of Olivenza and its territories must be done", thus officially returning the occupied territory to Portugal. Btw Spain only signed this treaty in 1817. The funny thing is, the territory was never returned. There was never any official manifestation, after 1815, on the part of Portugal for the return of Olivença, but the border is not defined there, and Portugal does not recognize Spanish sovereignty over the territory in any doccument or treaty. This territory is effectively occupied illegally. But In practice, due to immigration and repression of the Portuguese language and culture in the past, there are currently few inhabitants in the territory who identify with Portugal, or who wish to be part of the country. So um the field trully nobody wants this status to change. Spain claims that the article of the vienna treaty is not mandatory, and Portugal does not exert significant pressure for the return of the territory, maintaining a status quo of de facto Spanish sovereignty, without official recognition from Portugal, and that will not change anytime soon. Its interesting to think that diplomatic issues directly derived from this treaty concluded more than 200 years ago still exist today.

Even as an Irishman, Castlereagh is not considered very favourably in Ireland today - he was largely instrumental in enacting the 1801 Act of Union which united Great Britain and Ireland, so among nationalists he is considered something if a traitor to his homeland. Even upon his suicide it is said that the Irish issue haunted him to the end. There's a famous poem detailing the people's opinions of him: "How did they pass the Union, By perjury and fraud, By men who sold their souls for gold, As Judas sold his God. And thus they passed the Union, By Pitt and Castlereagh, Could Satan send, to such an end, More worthy men as they?"

These two videos were awesome. Thanks for doing them. Would love to see an addendum video discussing smaller topics of the Congress. What was the experience of Sweden, Spain and Portugal? How did the Netherlands negotiations go? What of the colonies? The Swiss question? etc.

The videos you produce have no equal. Thank you for what you do on youtube. Videos like these keep me invested in youtube.