Chapter 109:
19. EuropeanSummit 6
Ludwigvan Beethovens tributesong waslike an illustrationofthe fantasies that intellectualswho did notknow thedark andshadyaspects of international politics and thenationalsystem had about Napoleon.
Their clear, livelyexpectations, hopes andthoughtswouldbethoroughly consumed forNapoleonand Frances national interest. In theprocess, Napoleoncouldbe adevil, amartyr, or a truemythicalhero.
Napoleon did notfeel anyguiltaboutusingtheirminds. Werethey notusingNapoleonand France to realize their own utopiaanyway? Funny enough, it was a conversation with Talleyrandthat came to Napoleonsmind, ashebecame the hero of the desperateEroica.
Talleyrand wasa traitor who hadbetrayedhis country, but also aperson who hada contradictory loyaltytohis country.
AmonEuropeancouncil is only acurtain to make people believe thatthe Empire is takingpeaceand coexistence in Europe very seriously.
Peopleusually referred to FranoisCarnot, whomade thefamous deration, as thefirstperson toeupwith theidea of union.
Itwas saidthat he, who was originally an advanced reformer, spoke to Napoleon about hisideasfirst. But thetruthwas different.
Thiswas the work of Talleyrand-Prigord, a conspirator trappedina cage who wasimingthat thenationalinterestwas above any other value. And of course, his ideas werenot led by goodwill andnobleintentions.
Themore pawns youhave in chess, the better. Bringthem into the Great Warascoteral to take advantage of their safetyand sovereignty. Usetheirideals as ajustification anduse themasconsumable items.
Then whatwas the goal of Talleyrand-Prigord, whofirstproposedthis union?
Itwas neithertotransform the image of theFrench Empire nortomake Napoleon an Enlightenment monarch. At atime when the British and Frenchforces wereatodds, itwas meant to put forward acausetouniteotherpowers on Frances side.
Thus, it wastosolidifyits justifiable superiority in the GreatWar that would surely break outer, and to obtainnumerousallies.
Infact, Napoleonand France didnot do anything special. Theyjust wishedfor peace in Europe andonly increasedfalsepromisesand pledgesaboumon values. Nevertheless, European intellectuals werepraisingNapoleonvery enthusiastically.
They lookedasifthey hadfoundtheirfuture prophetand savior. The baseofthe influence of intellectuals and experts engagedinculture, art, andmediaonthe overallsociety wasvery wide and deep, especially for thepeople who enviedthem.
The cause of theBritish-Frenchdispute, whichwas now threatening peace on theEuropeancontinent, was, strictly speaking, Frances fault forinfringing on British property rights first.
Nevertheless, Europeanliteracyand public opinion protected Franceand criticizedBritain. This waswhat captivated the literacy ss. Beingable to move public opinion.
Britain, whichwas spurring preparations forwar, must be at aloss by now. It was truly a perfectpolitical move. Britainwas alreadyreborn as an axisofevil that was threatening peace in Europe.
Honestly, isnt the territoryofthe Empire wide enough? Now YourMajesty shouldpursue honor rather than conquest.
Thatwas Talleyrandsst advice. Atthat time, Napoleon wasable to seethe nervousness, vignce, and anxiety thatcouldnot be hidden, contained in Talleyrands smile.
Napoleon knewwell that Talleyrandhad criticizedNabots unreasonableconquestwars in thepast. Ofcourse, he didnot knowthat theownerofhis bodyhad changed.
That was whyhewas showinganxiety even though theEmperor wasdifferent frombefore. He wasafraid thatNapoleonwouldrun rampantagain.
And thatwas why I was able to ept Talleyrandstrue words without doubt.
Napoleon strokedhis bluecloakembroideredwith an eagle, the symbol of theFrench Emperor. In an unexpectedworld, he was in theunwantedpositionofEmperor, a prisoner like Talleyrand.
With the heart of a snake, he could do anything forFranceswealth and power. Atthe sametime, hewas anatural politician who skillfully usedhypocrisy and deception.
He didnot consider goodorevil. Heonly moved forward thinking about the futureand national interests of hiscountry. Looking forward to tomorrowsevents, Napoleon lookedfor asleepthat never came.
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Usually, there was no distinction between banquets symbolizing friendshipand harmonyand negotiations to coordinate diplomaticdisputesinces where treaties or agreementsbetween European countrieswere established.
It was thetraditionnd aristocratic European negotiation methods to dance withmusicwhileenjoyingluxurious foodand colorful pce parties, andtosecretlybut warily express ones own opinions.
Evenwhen Napoleon signedanagreement withthe RussianTsar in thecity of Druskininkaiafterwinning theBattle of Hrodna, the party venue and thenegotiatingvenuewere mixed andindistinguishable.
However, thegreatevents hereatthe Rohan Pce in Strasbourg wereheld in separate ces, differing from the past tradition.
The party wascontinuing in themain hall of the Rohan Pceasitdid the daybefore. However, theactual protagonists of thetalkswere filling their seats in aconference room of the detached pce.
January 1st, 1818. The expressions of European monarchs and attendants, whostoodina position that would create a new history for theEuropeancontinent, were solemn.
Then We willstartthe first European summit now.
Theireyes lookedaround in asolemn atmospherewherethe brightnessand splendor of the party could notbefound.
Theyre just readingthe room.
And thiswas alsoa characteristic of organizations formed by an ideal justification. Themembers pretendedtowant to find autopia, butavoided takingthe leadand riskingtheirown sacrifice.
In the end, theywouldonly move for thebenefit of individuals andgroups. Andthat wastrue forNapoleonhimself as well. Thekey was howsophisticated it waspackaged.
Even withina small society, there areconstantdisputesamongpeople, so what about ahuge setofcountries? I knowthat its impossibletohave a world withnoquarrel at all.
Heraised ahot topic. Feeling thatthe monarchs attentionwas focusedonhim, Napoleon continued.
The willofthe French Empireistoachieve it even if it is witha limited scope. At least in Europe, we wanttosolveproblemsbetween countrieswith dialogue andgoodwill, not guns and cannons. Of course, thisisnot something that one country can do alone. Wedesperatelyneed thenoblecooperationofthe guests.
Napoleons remarksopened the door to the talks, and the Minister of theAdministrationFranois Carnot, the author of theCarnot Deration, exined thespecifsfor the European Council.
We haventnamedthe councilyet, so well call it the Union. Members of the Union are, of course, countries thatattendedthe Strasbourgtalks. Countries belongingtothe Union willbeprotected fromexternalenemies as a whole.
Carnot made military alliances andmutual defensesystems thefirstpir of the Union. Members of theUnionadvocated the principleofjointly responding to external threatswhilerefraining from bloody internal disputes.
My country approves.
We will worktogether.
Some countriesexpressed disapproval, butthe small states of theConfederation of theRhine, especiallythe bishopricsand the free cities, agreed as if it wentwithout saying.
From thepointofview of thesmallcountries of the Confederation of the Rhine, France, Austria, Prussia, as well as Denmark, Bavaria, and Saxonylook like threatening predators targetingthem. They will not miss the opportunity to be guaranteed safety withinthe Union.
In the past, small andmedium-sized countries of theHoly Roman Empirewere protectedbythe Habsburg Empire, but now that empire haddisappeared.
In fact, thesmallcountries of the Confederation of the Rhine, whichwere only as big as city-states, had to protectthemselves andtheirneighbors in simrsituations, but their influence wasminimal in thehuge te ledbythe great powers.
Theyattendedthe Strasbourgtalksontheirown willtoprotect their sovereignty from neighboring powers, not under any Frenchpressure.
Inotherwords, there is no needtooverdo it or to givethem benefits to persuade them. They wipprove theUnionontheirown.
Rather, they would be well-behavedmembers of theCouncil andwouldactivelyfollow the French-led order. Andthe number of peoplerepresenting thematthe talks was notsmall.
With the activesympathyofpro-France countries, the atmosphere of the talks seemedtobeloosening under the leadership of France. Then, someone asked forthe right to speak.
I wouldlike to saya word to the FrenchEmperor, the organizer of this conference, and to theEuropeanmonarchsgatheredhere.
Themost importanttarget of vignce of theFrench ForeignMinistry, the Austrian Empires Foreign Minister Klemensvon Metternich[1], steppedup.
Please speak.
Thank you, Minister of the Administration. Wefullyacknowledgethe value and necessityofthe European Union imedbythe French Empire. Of course, our perspective is alittle different from the other countries But lets discussthister.
First of all, itseemsnecessary to exinthe standards of theinternalmembers of theUnionand their individualspeakingrights. When discussinganimportant agenda forthe Union, thebiggest countriesdominating thecontinent and thesmallcountries of the Confederation of the Rhine will not exercise equal influenceand executive power, will they?
Thistime, the monarchs and leaders of small states of theConfederation of theRhineshowed unpleasantsigns.
Metternich. Youre starting to act.
Carnotnced at them and replied.
Of course. Member countries belongingtothe Union willbedivided into ranks based on variousstandards set by theForeign Ministry of theEmpire, includingtheirsize, poption, and economic power. Dependingontheirranks, the members of the Union will exercise different powers.
Infact, this wasa given. Itdid not make sense for a city-statewith a poptionof50,000 and Francewith more than45 million citizens to speak on an equal footing.
However, revealing thispart first andsaying it in aroughtone wasonly a tantact of blurring the water of theconference hall.
The Foreign Ministry of the FrenchEmpire Hmm, inthe end, the ranks of the membercountries willbedivided ordingtothe intentionsand tendenciesofthe French Foreign Ministry, so canwetrustand ept thempletely?
Metternich raisedhis headand shoutedatrepresentatives of other countries.
It seems difficulttotrustthe objectivity of sucha rating, which is to evaluate member statesbydividingthem into severalranks. The Union is a consultative body established to protectand promotmon European values. Then of course, it is right to discussand set theranksofthe member statestogether, dont you think so?
Therepresentatives became noisy. Itwas nothingbad fromtheirpointofview. This oneremark shook numerous pro-Francecountries.
I cantagreewith that at all. Aboveall, it soundseven more suspicioustosay thatafterattending the meeting and ignoring theintentions of thehost country (France). Think about whose concessions andgood faith preceded theformation of thisallianceinthe first ce.
Of course, therewere countriesthat didnot agree withMetternich. Pnd, among them, wasanextreme pro-France country. WhenJzef I condemned Metternich, sparks erupted betweenAustrianand Polish officials.
These twocountries had jointly responded to theinvasionofthe OttomanEmpire and hadachieveda feat thatwouldremain in the history of the Christianworld, but their friendship had long beenbroken becauseofAustrias contribution to Pnds historical pain(the partitionofPnd).[2]
The atmosphere in the conference hallfroze, and therepresentatives of somecountries wondered if theyattendedfor nothing. French foreign officials were perplexed as if they had notexpectedthis situation.
It wasnot goodfor France to be dragged by other countries from the beginningofthe talks. It wasnot Napoleonscetointervene, buthestilltriedtostep up himself. However, someone elseopened his mouth first andcleared thesituation. It wasCarnot, theMinisterofthe Administration.
Any organizationneedsa leadertooversee it. Althoughithas not been announced yet, there willbealso a chairman in the Union. No, to be exact, it will be achair country thatwill y the role of chairman. Of course, there is no countryotherthan theFrench Empire to take thisce. If you have any objections to this, please raise your hand.
Noone raised a hand. The chaotic situation at theconference hall alsocalmed down. France, whichwas acontinentalhegemonyand led theformation of thisconference itself, was well qualified to be this chair country.
Franceistrying to holdthe Union and to make it adictatorship! became Franceisjust tryingtoy therole of a chair country. Thenuance waspletely different. This wasCarnotsbrilliant response, notallowingany usation.
Austrias ForeignMinistershould pay attentiontowordsand expressions withconsideration andrespect forneighboringmember states.
I will keepthat in mind.
Metternichraised bothhandsasifheacknowledged it. It wasa gesture meaningthat he would notstandout anymore. Napoleon, whowas watching the scene, narrowedhis eyesslightly. Austriawas unlikely to easily hand overthe initiativetoFrance.
The reason whyMetternich waspraised both in the other world andinthis onewas becauseofhis skillful speech anddiplomatic wayofnot making enemies. Metternich madeAustrias influence stand outwithin the memberstates in justa fewwords.
Countriesthat would notlike thecalctionmethod and results of the ranking would remember Austriabeingdissatisfied withFrance.
Napoleonturned to Franz I. He was sitting rtivelyclosetoFriedrich WilhelmIII, theKing of Prussia, with an expressionless face.
Perhaps it is necessarytobuilda wall in advance.
Napoleon, who neededa quick endtothe talks for various reasons, intended to put away the annoyancerightaway.