Hanover, Kingdom of

The Congress of Vienna, led by Prince Klemens von Metternich, formally opens in Austria on November 21 to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars, and the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, with the European powers agreeing upon the redrawing of national borders following the victory over France; it will last until June 9, 1815.

The Treaty of Chaumont in 1814 has reaffirmed decisions that had been made already and that will  be ratified by this more important Congress.

They include the establishment of a confederated Germany, the division of Italy into independent states, the restoration of the Bourbon kings of Spain, and the enlargement of the Netherlands to include what in 1830 will become modern Belgium.

The Treaty of Chaumont became the cornerstone of the European Alliance that formed the balance of power for decades.

Other partial settlements had already occurred at the Treaty of Paris between France and the Sixth Coalition, and the Treaty of Kiel that covered issues raised regarding Scandinavia.

The Treaty of Paris had determined that a "general congress" should be held in Vienna and that invitations would be issued to "all the Powers engaged on either side in the present war".

The opening had been scheduled for July 1814.

The Congress functions through formal meetings such as working groups and official diplomatic functions; however, a large portion of the Congress is conducted informally at salons, banquets, and balls.

The Four Great Powers had previously formed the core of the Sixth Coalition.

On the verge of Napoleon's defeat they had outlined their common position in the Treaty of Chaumont (March 1814), and negotiated the Treaty of Paris (1814) with the Bourbons during their restoration.

Virtually every state in Europe has a delegation in Vienna—more than two hundred states and princely houses are represented at the Congress.

In addition, there are representatives of cities, corporations, religious organizations (for instance, abbeys) and special interest groups—e.g., a delegation representing German publishers, demanding a copyright law and freedom of the press.

The Congress is noted for its lavish entertainment: according to a famous joke it does not move, but dances.

Spain, Portugal, and Sweden had not been part of the Chaumont agreement, but had joined the Treaty of Paris.

Other prominent states include Denmark, The Netherlands, Switzerland, the Papal States, the Republic of Genoa, Bavaria, Württemberg, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and Hanover, at this time in a personal union with the British crown (King George III had refused to recognize the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 and had maintained a separate diplomatic staff as Elector of Hanover to conduct the affairs of the family estate, the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, until the results of the Congress were concluded, establishing the Kingdom of Hanover.)

France, the "fifth" power, is represented by its foreign minister, Talleyrand, as well as the Minister Plenipotentiary the Duke of Dalberg.

Talleyrand had already negotiated the Treaty of Paris (1814) for Louis XVIII of France; the king, however, distrusts him and is also secretly negotiating with Metternich, by mail.

Prussia is represented by Prince Karl August von Hardenberg, the Chancellor, and the diplomat and scholar Wilhelm von Humboldt.

King Frederick William III of Prussia is also in Vienna, playing his role behind the scenes.

Tsar Alexander I controls the Russian delegation that is formally led by the foreign minister, Count Karl Robert Nesselrode.

The tsar has two main goals, to gain control of Poland and to promote the peaceful coexistence of European nations.

He will succeed in forming the Holy Alliance in 1815, based on monarchism and anti-secularism, and formed to combat any threat of revolution or republicanism.

The United Kingdom is represented first by its Foreign Secretary, Viscount Castlereagh (and will later be represented by by the Duke of Wellington, after Castlereagh's return to England in February 1815).

In the last weeks it will be headed by the Earl of Clancarty, after Wellington leaves to face Napoleon during the Hundred Days.

Austria is represented by Prince Metternich, the Foreign Minister, and by his deputy, Baron Johann von Wessenberg.

As the Congress's sessions are in Vienna, Emperor Francis is kept closely informed.

Friedrich Stromeyer, a German chemist investigating a sample of zinc carbonate, cadmia (now called calamine) that is yellow instead of the usual white, finds and describes a new metal in 1817.

In the same year, Karl Samuel Leberecht Hermann and J. C. H. Roloff find the same new metal in a specimen of zinc oxide, used at this time in medicine.

These researchers are examining both zinc compounds because their purity as pharmaceuticals is suspect.

The yellow color is due to the new element, which receives the name cadmium after the ore in which it is found.

A historical debate still remains as to who actually discovered the pure form of the element first.

George III, at the height of his popularity but already virtually blind with cataracts and in pain from rheumatism, had become dangerously ill in late 1810.

In his view, the malady had been triggered by the stress he had suffered at the death of his youngest and favorite daughter, Princess Amelia.

He had accepted the need for the Regency Act of 1811, and the Prince of Wales has acted as Regent for the past decade.

George III had become permanently insane by the end of 1811 and now lives in seclusion at Windsor Castle.

Following the British victory in the Napoleonic Wars, the subsequent Congress of Vienna had led to significant territorial gains for Hanover, which had been upgraded from an electorate to a kingdom.

Meanwhile, George's health has deteriorated.

He suffers from dementia and has become completely blind and increasingly deaf.

He was incapable of knowing or understanding either that he was declared King of Hanover in 1814, or that his wife died in 1818.

Over Christmas 1819, he had spoken nonsense for 58 hours, and for the last few weeks of his life is unable to walk.

He dies at Windsor Castle at 8:38 PM on January 29, 1820, six days after the death, from pneumonia, of his fourth son, the Duke of Kent.

His favorite son, Frederick, Duke of York, is with him.