The end of the Napoleonic Wars left the great powers of Europe shaken.
Judging from the destruction that had been wrought across the continent, it seemed to the powers that be that the Enlightenment had liberated the people, and led to disaster.
So, everybody got together in Vienna to have a Congress, and to try to put Europe “right” again.
By “right” I mean they wanted to go back to the old days of kings, queens, and nobles running the show. But this new yearning for the past pervaded the continent.
Romanticism arose at the same time, looking back at (imagined) golden age of Medieval Times.
Today we’ll talk about the Congress of Vienna, The Holy Alliance, and the Romantic movement across the arts.
Note from Among the Fray: Now that we have finished World History, we will be watching Crash Course’s European History series. An episode – in chronological order of course – will be posted with the morning news everyday. Enjoy!
Among the Fray 