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==The Decisions of the Congress==
The Congress made several important decisions, the big winners in the Congress were the four major powers, Britain, Prussia, Russia and Austria. As the greatest powers at the Congress they were able to use their influence to further their own interests. The great powers, or the ‘Big Four’ were all able to secure new territories for themselves and they all ‘enlarged their empires at the expense of lesser nations’.<ref> Schroeder, Paul W (1996). ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0198206542/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0198206542&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=35a536eb4cc9cbefc586481c4dcdde2d The Transformation of European Politics, 1763–1848]'', p. 518.</ref> The Big Four monarchies all benefited in the following ways.
Russian was given much of Poland and it was allowed to keep the Duchy of Finland, which it had seized from Sweden in 1809.<ref> Zamyoski, p. 156.</ref> Prussia received most of the wealthy German province of Saxony and also some Polish territories.
Great Britain was granted several colonies that it had taken from the French and others during the wars. It received modern day South Africa and Sri Lanka from the Netherland and various islands and ports in Africa and Asia from the French.<ref>Chapman, p. 145.</ref>
The Austrian Empire did particularly well at the Congress. It received much of Northern Italy and the Tyrol. Various Hapsburg princes related to the Austrian Emperor were granted small kingdoms in Italy. The various German states were formed into the German Confederation and this was under the leadership of Austria.<ref>Zamoyski, p. 171.</ref> The Congress agreed to restore many kings and princes who had been expelled by France during the wars, such as the Bourbon Kings in the Kingdom of Naples. France was to retain nearly all of its historic territory and many colonies and this was due to Talleyrand’s brilliant diplomacy and the wish to maintain a balance of power among the kingdoms of Europe, to prevent one power from dominating the other kingdoms.
==Outcome of the Congress==
The Congress sought to preserve the peace in Europe and to ensure that none of the major powers in Europe fought another major war. It redrew the map of Europe in order to establish a balance of power among the major powers in order to preserve the peace. In this regard he Congress, under the guiding hand of Metternich, broadly, achieved its aims. There were no major wars between European powers until the 1850s and this only occurred on the periphery of Europe in the Crimea. However, the Congress failed to take account of the countless ‘National Questions’ in Europe. This was the controversy over the right of a people such as the Poles to have their own nation. Many of the peoples of Europe were becoming increasingly nationalistic. They believed that they were destined to live in a nation state, which would guarantee their freedom and prosperity. Increasingly, Germans wanted to live in a German state, as did Italians and other nationalities, in the years after the Congress. The Congress of Vienna ignored the claims of the various nationalities. Metternich famously rejected any notion that the Italians should be granted a separate nation. The participants in the Congress, were suspicious of nationalism as they associated it revolution, but by failing to address the increasing demands of nationalists in Europe, they were actually fanning the flames of nationalism.<ref>Zamoyski, 234.</ref> This was to have a disastrous effect on Europe and the demand for nation states, resulted in major wars between powers in Italy, Germany and elsewhere, from the 1860s onwards.
