Question

The delegates to the Congress of Vienna formed the Kingdom of the Netherlands by uniting the Austrian Netherlands and the Dutch Republic. They gave independence to Switzerland. They also formed a German confederation by uniting 39 German states.Which sentence best describes the effect of the delegates' actions on European geopolitics?

Answer 1

I got this right on my test.

France was effectively contained by strong neighboring powers.

Answer 2

The delegates of the Congress of Vienna were interested in creating a balance of power in European politics.

The Austrian Netherlands and the Dutch Republic had been separate political entities since the period of the wars of religion more than a century before Napoleon's time and the Congress of Vienna. The reason the Congress of Vienna wanted to put those territories together was to create a stronger buffer state on the north of France, to keep France from too easily pressing outside its own borders once again. Similarly, the creation of the German Confederation was to create a region of territories aligned with one another for self defense.