PREFACE THE purpose of this book is the presentation of the history of Europe since the downfall of Napoleon. Needless to say, only the broader lines of the evolution of so crowded a century can be traced in a single volume. I have, moreover, omitted many subjects, frequently described, in order to give a fuller treatment to those which, in my opinion, are more important. I have endeavored to explain the internal development of the various nations, and their external relations in so far as these have been vital or deeply formative. I have also attempted to preserve a reasonable balance between the different periods of the century and to avoid the danger of over-emphasis. The great tendencies of the century, the transference of power from oligarchies to democracies, the building up of nations like Germany and Italy and the Balkan states which was the product of long trains of causes, of sharp, decisive events, and of the potent activity of commanding personalities, the gradual expansion of Europe and its insistent and growing pressure upon the world outside, shown in so many ways and so strikingly in this age of imperialism and world-politics, the increasing consciousness in our day of the urgency of economic and social problems, all these and other tendencies will, I trust, emerge from the following pages, with clearness and in just proportion. The problem of arranging material covering so many different countries and presenting such varieties of circumstance and condition is one of the greatest difficulty. It arises from the fact that Europe is only a geographical expression. The author is not writing the history of a single people but of a dozen different peoples, which, having much in common, are nevertheless very dissimilar in character, in problems, in stages of development, and in mental outlook. If he adopts the chronological order (and events certainly occurred in chronological sequence), if he attempts to keep the histories of a dozen different countries moving along together as they did in fact, he must pass continually from one to the other and his narrative inevitably becomes jerky, spasmodic, and confused. If on the other hand he takes each nation in turn, recounting its history from starting point to point of conclusion, he gains the great advantage of continuity, which begets understanding, but he writes a dozen histories, not one. He therefore compromises, perforce, with his intractable problem and works out a method of presentation of whose vulnerability he is probably quite as acutely conscious as any reader could be. My method has been to bring down more or less together the histories of those countries which have so intimately and significantly interacted upon each other, Austria, Prussia, France, and Italy, that the evolution of one cannot be, even approximately, understood apart from a knowledge of the current evolution of the others. I then return to my starting point, 1815, and trace the histories of England, Russia, Turkey and the lesser states separately, gaining the advantage of being able to show their continuous development. I hope that this method has at least the merit of rendering clearness of exposition possible. My narrative is based to some extent upon an examination of the sources, although, considering the vast extent of the original material available, this has been necessarily comparatively limited. It is based chiefly, as probably any synthetic work covering so large a field must be, on the elaborate general histories of different periods or countries, on biographies, and on the special monographic literature. These are indicated in the bibliography at the end of the volume which I have attempted to make critical and descriptive rather than extensive. It has been impossible for me to employ footnotes freely and consequently I am restricted to a general recognition of my great and constant indebtedness to the authorities used, a recognition which I wish to make as explicit and as grateful as it must be brief and comprehensive. C. D. H. NORTHAMPTON, MASSACHUSETTS, CONTENTS The Overthrow of Napoleon-The Great Coalition-The Problem of the Government of France-Treaty of Paris-Congress of Vienna-The Great Powers-The Division of the Spoils-Prin- ciple of Legitimacy-Demands of Russia-Demands of Prussia The Fate of Poland and Saxony-Russian Acquisitions- Austrian Acquisitions—English Acquisitions-The Future of Italy-Italy a "Geographical Expression "-Criticism of the Congress-The Indignation of the Germans-Defiance of the Principle of Nationality-Denunciation of the Slave Trade- The "Hundred Days "-Second Treaty of Paris-The Holy Alli- ance-The Allies Promise Aid to Each Other-Unusual Charac- ter of the Alliance-Quadruple Alliance-Precautions Against France The Concert of Powers-Quadruple Alliance and Met- ternich-Alexander I-Francis I of Austria-Metternich-His Lack of Unity in the Austrian Empire-Racial Differences-Not a German Empire-Policy of Francis I and Metternich-Austria a Land of the Old Régime-Local Government-The Police System The System of Espionage—Application of the Met- ternich System in Other Countries-Germany a Loose Confedera- tion-Varieties of States-The Diet-Its Powers not Defined- Germany not a Nation-The International Character of the Con- federation-Dissatisfaction of the Germans with This System- Why the Problem of German Unity was so Difficult-The States- right_Feeling-Dualism the Outcome of German Evolution— The Demand for Constitutional Government-Metternich's Suc- cessful Opposition-Various Forms of Government in the Dif- ferent German States-Popular Sovereignty Nowhere Recog- nized-Constitutions Granted in Certain States-The King of Prussia Becomes Reactionary-Indignation of the Liberals- Ferment in the Universities-The Wartburg Festival-The Mur- der of Kotzebue The Holy Alliance Converted into an Engine of Oppression-The Carlsbad Decrees-Provision Concerning Constitutional Government-Control of the Universities-Pro- hibition of Student Societies-The Censorship of the Press- |