The victorious European states had convened the Congress of Vienna in November 1814 in an attempt to reestablish a balance of power and, where feasible, restore pre-Napoleonic dynasties.

Austrian emperor Francis I (the former Holy Roman Emperor Francis II) hosts the meeting; in attendance are Russia’s Emperor Alexander I, Prussia’s King Frederick William III, and several other lesser crowned heads.

The principal negotiators include Britain’s Viscount Castlereagh, Prussia’s Prince Karl August von Hardenburg, Russia’s Count Karl Robert Nesselrode, Austria’s Prince Klemens von Metternich and Metternich’s aide Friedrich von Gentz as secretary general of the congress.

The Prussian statesman Heinrich Friedrich Karl vom und zum Stein serves as an advisor to Alexander.