398 



CONGRESS. 



congress ot Stockholm, separate treaties of peace with Mann, 

 ver, Nciv. -JI), 1 71 Si, an.), in 1720, with Prussia, Demi mk, and, 

 provisionally, with Poland. Finally, Sweden, by the media- 

 tion nt France, was obliged to ci.nclude peace, Sept. 10, 1721, 

 at Nystadt (where the congress liad assembled in May, 1721), 

 iipnii terms dictated by the c-z,ir, wliich established the prepon- 

 derance dt Russia in "the North. This ws followed by the 

 conclusion of the definitive treaty of peace with Saxony and 

 Poland, in IT.9 and 1732. 17. The war which broke out in 

 1741, between Sweden and Russia, wax ended by the defi- 

 nitive treaty of peace concluded at Abo, August 17. 171:i, 

 at the congress held there by Russian and Swedish minis- 

 ters, alter Sweden had chosen, as tint Micccs*ur to the 

 Intone, the bishop of Lubeck, Adolphus Frederic, duke of 

 IloUtvm (Jottorp, instead of the crown prince of Denmark. 

 This wa< followed by the treaty of St. Petersburg-, between 

 Russia ami Sweden, in 1746 While the mediation of foreign 

 powers was refused by Russia, especially under the reign of 

 Catharine II., in its treaties with Sweden, Poland, and the 

 Porte, it was employed in the disputes between Austria and 

 the Porte. 18. The MomM of Passarowitz, by the mediation 

 <.l Great Britain and Holland, put an end to the war which 

 had broken out in 17U and 1716, between the Porte and Aus- 

 tria and Venice, by the peace of Passarowitz, July 21, 1718, by 

 which the Morea was left in possession of the Porte, as a con- 

 quered province, without any mention of it being made in the 

 treaty. 19. The Porte, in a war with Russia, in 1736 desired 

 the mediation of Austria, Holland, and Great Britain ; but 

 Russia refused the mediation of the naval powers, so that the 

 congress at Niemiroff, in Poland, in June, 1737, consisted only 

 of ministers from the Porte, Russia, and Austria. lint when 

 Austria declared war against the Porte, France acted as medi- 

 ator. The negotiations were broken off in October, but they 

 were renewed and carried on, partly in Constantinople, partly 

 in the camp of the grand vizier, by the French Ambassador, M. 

 J)e Yilleiieuve, who had received secret instructions, on this 

 subject, from the emperor Charles VI., and the empress Anna, 

 of which, however, their ministers, count Von Siuzendorf and 

 count Osterinann, who, on their side, were negotiating for a 

 private peace with the Porte, knew nothing. Finally the 

 Austrian general count Neipperg concluded a preliminary trea- 

 ty, Sept J, 1739, in a very nasty manner, with the guarantee 

 of France, by which Belgrade, though in a good state of de- 

 fence, was surrendered to the Turks. Villeneuve, now con- 

 cluded with Austria and with Russia, Sept. 18, 1739, the defi- 

 nitive treaty of Belgrade, which was extremely advantageous 

 for the Porte, and signed it as plenipotentiary of the Russian 

 empresf, without the knowledge of field marshal! Munich, who 

 hart likew se received full power to make peace with the Porte. 



20. In tlie war of Russia with the Porte, from 1768 to 1774, a 

 congress was held by the Russian and Turkish ministers, in 

 August, 172u', at Focsani, in Moldavia, where appeared, also, 

 an Austrian and a Prussian minister ; but Catharine would not 

 recognize them as mediators, and they only learnt in secret, 

 from the Tuikish ambassador, the course of the negotiations. 

 This congress, however, soon after separated. A second con- 

 gress, also, assembled in October, 177* ; , at Bucharest, to which 

 these two ministers were likewise refused admittance, was dis- 

 solved, without having eflected anything, in March 17, 1773, 

 probably through the influence of the French in the divan. Fi- 

 nally, the grand vizier, cut off from Adriunople, saw himself 

 obliged, without further negotiation, to accept peace upon the 

 conditions of t"e Russian general, count Rumanzoff; and he 

 bigned it in the tent of the latter, at Kutschuk Kainardgi, July 



21, 1774. 21. In the war between Russia and Austria and the 

 Porte, in n,s7 and the following years, Catharine likewise re- 

 fused all mediation ; but Austria was obliged to accept it, and 

 a congress met in June, 1790, at Reichenbach, where count 

 Herzbtrg, in the name of Prussia, negotiated with Austria, and 

 in which Poland, Great Britain, and the states-general took 

 part. To avoid a war with Prussia, Austria resolved to accept 

 the ultimatum of the Prussian cabinet. Thus the convention 

 of Reichenbach was made, July 27, according to which Austria 

 concluded the peace of Sistova with the Porte, Aug. 4, 1791, 

 in w hicli place a congress had assembled in January of the same 

 year, consi-tin^ of Austrian and'Iurkish ministers, together 

 with those of the mediating powers Great Britain, Prussia, 

 and Holland. Negotiations were afterwards carried on at St 

 Petersburg, by the mediating powers, for a peace between 

 Russia and the Porte. The preliminaries, however, were set. 

 tied immediately by the grand vizier and prince Repnin, at <>a- 

 lacz, Aug. 11, 17H1, and the peace of Jassy was concluded Jan. 

 9, 1792. "22. In tle war of Russia with the Porte, from IS06 to 

 1812, after Alexander's return from Erfurt, a congress was 

 held at Jassy, in August, IS09, by Russian and Turkish minis- 

 ters ; but the demands of Russia induced the Porte to break off 

 all negotiations. The Porte, at last, however, determined to 

 ask for pence ; and a congress assembled at Bucharest, in De- 

 cember, isil, where, by the mediation of Great Britain and 

 Sweden, although the French emperor, in his treaties with 

 Austria and Prussia, in March, isii!, had stipulated for the in- 

 tegrity of the possessions of the Porte, peace was made. May 

 2S, 1S12, at the very moment when the armies of Napoleon 

 were preparing' to invade Russia. We ought also to mention 

 in this period the only congress held by a European and an 

 American power the congress at Ghent. After the war be- 

 tween Grent Britain and the United States, commencing in 

 I>'1", both powers sent ministers to Ghent The British com- 

 rnUsioiiers arrived in that city, in August, 1814 ; the American 

 commissioners were already assembled there. This congress 

 lasted until December, 1S14, on the 24th of which month DBHCP 

 was concluded (see Ghent, Peace of], after the mediation, pro- 



posed by Uiiswa, early in isis, and accepted by the Unitr-,1 

 States, who ii:i<i .-ei.t ministers to St Petersburg for the purpose 

 of treating with Great Britain, had been declined by the i-itii- 

 net of St James. (See Lyman's Diplomacy of the United States, 

 2d ed. vol. ii. p 50 et seq.) 



C. Congresses from the year 1S14. Since this year, as we 

 hiive s:at-ii at the beginning of this article, congresses have 

 been held hy governments to t;ike measures in opposition to 

 the wishes of the nations, and the demands of the sniiit ol lin- 

 age. Never, therefore, have monarchs agreed so well, mid 

 iii-teil -.. much in concert, as in this period, I ecniise they ha- :> 

 telt it necessary to make common cause aginst liberty; and 

 never were so many congresses held in the bame space nf time, 

 b< cause constant instances of insubordinat on have required con- 

 tinual consultation, and the uneasy state of the monarch- at 

 home has made them fond of assembling in congresses. In this 

 period, a most pernicious and unprecedented principle has been 

 established, that every monarch has a ritht to interfere in the 

 internal affairs of foreign nations ; so that Alexander nf Rus- 

 sia treated the concerns of Spain as il they were his own, leel. 

 ing that every despot was interested in preventing the progress 

 of liberal principles. This principle naturally gave rise to the 

 drott d'intertention armee. (See Intervention, armed.') This 

 obnoxious principle was promulgated tit the congress of 1.1,5- 

 bach.* During tlie war of the aHies against Napoleon, con- 

 gresses were held at Prague, in 1813, and at Chatillon (q. v.), 

 in February and March, 1S14. In the subsequent pence, it was 

 agreed that a general congress at Vienna should complete the 

 different stipulations then entered into. 1. Congress at Vienna 

 (see Vienna, Congress at). 2. Congress at Paris. The prin. 

 ciples and stipulations of the congress of Vienna were confirm- 

 ed in the conferences of the Austrian, British, Prussian, and 

 Russian ministers with the French minister, the duke de 

 Richelieu, at Paris, the coiuequence of which was the conclu- 

 sion of the treaty of Nov. 20, 1816, after the protocol of Nov. 3, 

 issued by the same plenipotentiaries, had tettled the territories 

 ot several German princes, with reference to the cessions made 

 by Frauce, and to the s>stem of defence of the German confe- 

 deration, and after the w ay in which the resolutions of the con. 

 gress of Vienna were to be ratified, and the accession of other 

 powers to it was to take place, had been agreed upon. Besides 

 this chief treaty, several other measures were determined upon 

 at t'lis congress; for instance, the convention ot Aug. 2, 1815, 

 relating to the guard- to be kept over Napoleon ; the definitive 

 treaty of Nov. 5, 1815, which placed the Ionian islands^ as a 

 confederacy, under the exclusive protection of Great Britain; 

 the treaty of neutrality i,f Switzerland, Nov. *0, 1S15, which 

 was al-o signed by France ; the treaty of alliance between the 

 four powers of the same date, by which they pledged them- 

 selves to assist each other in maintaining the new political sys- 

 tem, for wb,ich reason they were to occupy France.for some years, 

 with an army of 150,000 men. After the conclusion of the con- 

 gress at Paris, twelve mure particular treaties between differ, 

 ent powers were concluded in 1816, 1817, and 1818, concerning 

 partly the new settlement of the territorial relations, partly the 

 payments which France was obliged to make, the restoration of 

 Parma to theSpani.-h infanta, duchess ol Lucca, ;md the abolition 

 of the slave trade. S.For the completion of the work of the muu- 

 archs, it was still necessary to provide for a full reconciliation 

 with France, by the withdrawal of tlie army, composed of 'Bri- 

 tish, Austrian, Russian, Prussian, and other German troops. 

 It was determined upon at the congress of Aix-la-Chapelle 

 (q. v.), in October and November, isls, chiefly by the media- 

 tion of Wellington, after France hnd completed the payment 

 of certain sums, to which she had obliged herself. 'I he most 

 important consequence of this congress was the accession ot the 

 French sovereign to the alliance of the four great powers. 

 The five powers then published, at Aix-la Chapelle, the la- 

 mous declaration, of Nov. 15, 18^0, which, in the spirit of the 

 holy alliance (q. v.), pronounced the principles tiiat were to re- 

 gulate, in future, the politics of Europe, the aim of wliich was to 

 be a lasting peace, i'he work of Stourdza (a Russian civil 

 officer ; see Stourdza), Memoirs sur I'Etat actuel de I'Atle- 

 magne, published during the congress of A i x-la-Chapelle, excited 

 the suspicious of the monarch* against the liberal spirit in Ger- 

 many, which they had themselves inflamed by dlierent kinds 

 of promises and excitements ol the national feeling, when they 

 wished to avail themselves of its aid for the purpose of subdu- 

 ing Napoleon, but which they no dreaded in the tame degree, 

 as they were unwilling to fulfill their promises, and the just 

 demands of the nations and the age. Unfortunately, the rash 

 acts of two (Jerman youths (one of them, the celebrated Snud, 

 killed Kotzebue ; the other, Lohuing, attempted to kill a presi- 

 dent of the government of Nassau) afforded the German go- 

 vernments the occasion which they desired for the enforcement 

 of illiberal measures. These were determined upon at the 

 congress of Carlsbad (q. v.), which was assembled, partly for 



> The freq 

 J spirited 

 lee par li 



.er.cf and abuse nf congresses hare been satirized by the keen 

 Seranger in his poem La Marl du Hoi C/iriitojtlte, mi Xu yf- 

 , Kobleae if Haiti uux Trail Grandl JUlitt, Licnitm, Iti'l, of 

 mot refrain from quoting the fust verse: 

 Christuphe est mort, et du royauoie, 



Francois, Alexandra. Ouijlaume, 

 Pren.'z L.ussi pitie de nous. 

 Ge n'est point pays limitrophe, 

 Mais le mal tail lant de piogics ! 



Vile, un congrei, I 



Deux, trois congres ! 



Oualre congres '. 

 C'mq coagrel ! dix congres ! 

 Princes, veugez ce bon ( bristoptit, 

 P.oi digne de tout vos re grel. 



