The Treaty of Fontainebleu having been signed in April 1814 (but not by the British), there were more details to nut out as Napoleon made his way to his new home on the island of Elba.
This led to the Treaty of Paris, signed around 6 weeks later on 30 May 1814, officially ending France’s love-hate relationship with the Sixth Coalition during the Napoleonic Wars.
Picture it: Napoleon’s out, the Bourbon family is back in (cue awkward family reunion), and Europe is rearranging its furniture yet again.
This treaty, often called the 'First Peace of Paris’ (because yes, there’s a sequel), restored France’s borders to their pre-revolutionary state and shuffled territories back to their rightful owners like a game of European Monopoly.
Who crashed this party?
This historical cocktail of power players included Talleyrand representing France (trying to play nice), Lords Castlereagh, Aberdeen, and Cathcart for Great Britain (because of course), Counts Razumovsky and Nesselrode for Russia (talk about a tongue twister), Prince Metternich and Count Stadion for Austria (also known as the “Let’s Contain France” crew), and Baron Hardenberg and Wilhelm von Humboldt for Prussia (tagging along to make sure no one got too many hotels on their properties). Portugal and Sweden popped in as well, and Spain was fashionably late but got its signature in by July.
So, What’s the Damage?
The allies agreed to reduce France to her 1792 borders - basically sending her back to 'square one' and restored the independence of a few of France’s neighbours who were well over Napoleon’s shenanigans.
The treaty also threw together a rough draft of a final settlement that would be hashed out in more detail at the Congress of Vienna (cue yet another Europe-wide meeting - because who doesn’t love a junket?).
The allies wanted a lasting peace (because, let’s face it, they were tired of Napoleon crashing everyone’s party). So they didn’t impose anything too harsh - no 1814 version of 'you’re grounded for life.'
They just wanted to make sure that little Napoleon wouldn’t pop back up again. France’s June 1792 borders were confirmed, and she even got to keep a few goodies like Saarbrücken and parts of Savoy. Sure, she had to say goodbye to some colonies, but no one really likes long-distance relationships anyway.
Who Got What?
Britain: Kept some souvenirs from the war, namely Tobago, Saint Lucia, Seychelles, and Mauritius, because, why not? Oh, and they held onto Malta too, just because they could.
Spain: Got Santo Domingo back, which it had loaned to France during the 1795 Peace of Basel.
Sweden: Had to give Guadeloupe back to France, but got a nice little 24 million francs to console themselves (thanks, Britain!).
Switzerland: Finally got a shoutout and had its independence formally recognised.
Bourbon is back
The treaty officially recognised Louis XVIII as the King of France, restoring the House of Bourbon. This came with lots of proclamations and some good old-fashioned monarchy vibes.
Abolish the Slave Trade?
An uninspiring 'maybe' for this one.
In a classic 'we’ll get around to it' move, the treaty aimed to abolish the French slave trade within five years - but conveniently left out the whole 'slavery' part. (Baby steps, I guess?)
That trust thing - again
Despite all the back-patting and promises of peace, Europe still kept one eye on France. Just in case. The Netherlands, now happily freed from French rule, asked William I of Orange to be their new king, and in March 1815, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed. The Brits and friends were thrilled; they’d secretly decided to prop up a strong border nation to keep France in check.
Germany saw a little reshuffling too. Many states, consolidated by Napoleon, got to keep their new status, while Prussia pocketed some extra land near France. Italy, meanwhile, got its political jigsaw puzzle back and tried to piece itself together again.
There was also a requirement that France's 'conquered' treasures be returned to their nations of origin ('conquered' here also means 'looted' by invading French forces - and lest we feel he had a right, please know that he looted the Vatican and numerous churches as well. His revolution, if you'll recall, attempted to abolish the church.)
And So It Goes...
Even though this treaty was all about peace and love, the aftershocks of Napoleon’s reign still kept Europe on its toes. But for now, the First Peace of Paris put a pin in it.
As for the Second Peace of Paris? Well, you know what they say; if your first two treaties aren't honoured - should you even bother trying again?
(Psst: The answer is always yes, because tyranny must never be allowed to win.)
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