... held in Vienna, however, all the important decisions would be made by the four great powers: England (represented by Castlereagh), Austria (Prince Metternich), Prussia (Count Hardenburg) and Russia (Tsar Alexander I). Vienna had three main aims. The first was to make sure that the French, who were primarily responsible for the wars, paid for what they had caused. Secondly, the great powers gained some compensation for what had happened in the wars. The third was to prevent further French aggression which may have threatened the peace and resulted in another war. A key issue from Vienna was trying to maintain a balance of power (maintaining no single power dominated the rest). This would ensure that all the powers remained on good terms. As Lord Acton said: "All power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely." In some ways the Congress of Vienna was unsuccessful because it ignored principles such as liberalism (liberal ...

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