Wresting Peace

In 1813, the much-maligned British Foreign Minister Robert Steward, Viscount Castlereagh, attempted to broker a peace deal between the key players in Europe in an attempt to stall the bloodshed of the Napoleonic Wars. Negotiating directly with his counterparts in Prussia (Prince Klemens von Metternich), Russia (Tsar Alexander I) and France (Grand Marshal Armand de Caulaincourt), Castlereagh had to balance national interests with a desire for peace. Overshadowed by the threat of a return by Napoleon, there was a huge amount at stake, not least the future of Europe. History conspired to overshadows the treaty they negotiated, but this in no way diminishes their epic achievement.

Suitable for ages 15 upwards

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Find out more about this period

• Campaign in North East France 1814 - Wikipedia 

Suggested reading

• Castlereagh: Enlightenment, War and Tyranny by John Bew
• Rites of Peace: The Fall of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna by Adam Zamoyski