The firms Paris treaty was signed by the allies on 30 May 1814. The French were very lucky, because they got away with a lot of war crimes and this treaty was extremly benevolent for them. The borders of 1792 were renewed and France had to agree on termination of there claims on Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and Holland. The former French colonies of Santa Lucia, Tobago and Isle de France were given to Britain. There was to be no occupying army and no indemnity was levied. France even got permission to retrain art treasures looted from the cities of Europe during the Napoleonic conquests.
A number of secret articles followed the treaty. Holland was enlarged by the former Austrian Netherlands (Belgium), this was a proposal of the British. Prussia got territory in the Rhineland and she had to restore Austrian influence in Northern Italy. The French had to accept the independance of Switzerland. The settlement was not an act of benevolence by the Allies, it was more try to keep peace in Europe an enduring time by not weakening France.
On Sunday 19 March 1815, Louis XVIII left for Belgium and on the following night Napoleon Bonaparte entered Paris after having escaped from his prison and renewed the war against the Allies, which wolud last a hundred days and ended with the defeat at Waterloo. The first treaty was replaced by the second Paris treaty. This time France wolud not get away with what they did, especially because the French people supported Napoleon. The Bourbons regained the French throne, but the Allied armies occupied France.
The Essay on France and French culture
Despite the recent backlash against France and French culture in the past few years, as well as there being no shortage of jokes on television and on the radio at the expense at the France, the truth is that if it were not for the French and their involvement during the American Revolution, America would not have gained their independence from Great Britain. This assertion, despite the fact that ...
The borders were set back to to hose of 1790 and France had to pay 700 million francs reparation. The stolen art works were returned to the cities they had been stolen from. The main difference between the two treaties is that one wanted tp help France regain an important place in Europe and the other one wanted to limit Frances ability to become powerful in order tp keep peace. One can say that both wanted to achieve peace.
Challenging History – The Great Powers 1814-1914 by Eric Wilmot.
