The Restoration

The restoration was characterized by simultaneous attempts from former powers to return to the status quo and attempts by formerly weak or subjugated countries to establish a new power or independence. The Congress of Vienna, which sought to restore Europe to its former state, included all the countries that had been extremely powerful before - Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia were the members of the quadruple alliance, and even France, which had been responsible for the Napoleonic Wars, was later admitted. However, just as the major powers sought to maintain order, those who had not emerged as powerful were frequently in opposition to the Restoration. While Leopold of Belgium wanted to prevent a conflict, he had been put on his throne by the quadruple alliance. In Italy and Spain, however, revolts against the restoration were common, even though the rulers who had been put in power by the Restoration forces were in support of the Restoration. Likewise, Greece, Serbia, and Latin America were all hotbeds of revolution during this period.