Western Civilization II / Unit 8 WC2 0725 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Balance of Power and the Holy Alliance
Captions available
The idea
The Congress System, or Concert of Europe, made the five powers a conservative network. The Holy Alliance, led by Alexander I, pledged Russia, Austria, Prussia and Bourbon France to put down revolution anywhere: Metternich's bastion against democracy, the witness says.
In practice
War for dynasties, not territory.
Where people slip
A century of unusual peace, the anchor says, broken from eighteen fifty-three.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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