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Europe: Conflict and the Blanace of Power
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War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714)
King William of England Addresses Parliament on the French Question, marking one of the first times a monarch used balance of power as a legitimate cause to wage war. Along with the Grand Alliance, William III managed to check Louis XIV's ambition to unite the kingdoms of Frane and Spain which was crucial as such a unision would have undermined the balance of power in Europe. -
Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815)
The Continental Shaving Shop, a caricature by James Bisset is an excellent analogy for the influence and fear Napoleon wielded in Europe in 1806. All the Monarchs are at his mercy in his barber shop, with clean shaves depicting their impotency, and the cuts and gashes deoting the ruthlessness of Napoleon's campaigns that disturbed the balance of power and plunged Europe into a series oflong wars. -
Crimean War (1853-1856)
Turkey In Danger, a Punch Magazine cartoon appealing to public support for Crimean War. The Russian Bear is strangling the Turkey cock by his aggression in Moldavia and Wallachia. Britain and France, tranditional enemies, set aside their differences and rush to the aid of Ottoman Empire to uphold the balance of power by stopping Russia from getting to the strategic Dardenelles Strait. -
Bismarck at the Proclamation of the German Empire
Bismarck championed balance of power. In this Anton von Werner painting of proclamation of the German Empie (1871) the role of the army is clear with the overwhelming number of soldiers present. Kaiser Wilhelm I is also a crucal figure, but it is Bismarck who stands out in the middle. Despite beating two major powers he managed to keep balance of powers, and even build an Alliance System. -
Paris Peace Conferece (1919)
Leader of the Geman Delegation's Letter to the Conference President details the grievances of the Germans regarding the unfair treatment they recieve. With demands such as ceding German territory, giving up colonies, huge reparation sums, and accepting blame for war, balance of power was upset by weakening a state, so much so that it lead to feelings of revanchism and nationalism in post-war Germany. -
Munich Pact
The Munich Pact signed by Germany, Italy, France and Britain was a plan for the occupation of Sudetenlan in Czechoslovakia by Germany. France and Britai tried to appease Germany by givng in to her demands, by allowing it to take over an ally's territory, an ally not even invited to the conference. Such balatant disregard for the skewed balance of power situation that would result from such an agreement, lead to World War II.
