The Great Powers In Europe

The time period between 1815 and 1914 was a time of uncertainty among the Great Powers in Europe. The center of the insecurity among the countries in Europe was the steady and fearful decline of the Ottoman empire. Due to this factor, conflicts among the Great Powers was caused by the fear of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire due to the fact that the fall of the Ottomans would unleash chaos upon Europe that has not been seen since the Napoleonic wars, and the since the establishment of the Status Quo at the Congress of Vienna. Tensions and hostilities felt among the Great powers gradually increased over time due to these three events the acknowledgment of the eastern question, the Greeks war for independence, and the lastly the Great Eastern …show more content…
These guidelines are known as the Status Quo also known as the congress system (or concept of Europe), which was establishing at the Congress of Vienna. The objective of the Congress system was to preserve the conservatism of the Great Powers government and prevent the spread of revolutionary uprisings. Another purpose of the congress system was to not only restore old boundaries but to adjust the great powers so that they would balance each other out so that one country is not stronger than the other thus, in theory keeping peace. During this time frame, the Ottoman empire was becoming noticeably weak. The possibility of the Ottoman empire collapsing lead to the great powers to consider what would become of the remains of the empire? Well, one of the reasons that the congress system was establish was to preserve the boundaries while also keep the playing field even for the rest of the great powers. The great possibility of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire eventually led to the eastern …show more content…
At the Congress of Vienna, the eastern question was ignored, and with good reason. The allies were sufficiently occupied in restoring the balance of power in Western Europe and were by no means anxious to encourage any movement on the part of discontented nationalities holland. In other words, the eastern question is simply a scenario that would likely happen due to the territorial conclusions of the political decline of the Ottoman Empire. The eastern question would also upset the balance of powers thus, affecting the status quo. Therefore, the future of the ottoman empire became a point of interest for all great powers in Europe; each power made sure that the empire does not collapse due to the fact the great powers did not have a plan if the Ottoman empire were to collapsed. Russia was known for attempting to gain territory while not letting the Empire collapse. During this time the countries of Europe were worrying about restoring peace and stopping revolutions. The Great powers operated under the logic that as long as the borders do not change to the point where a great power would have an advantage over another then there would be peace. However, if the Ottoman empire were to fall then what was to become of it? This question led to tensions among the great powers.
As result, neglecting the Eastern Question was the downfall, since