why did the big power attend to the Congress of Viena in 1815 ? give one reason
Answers
Because they dont want a new country to become world power and even they didnt want an end on monarchical rule as they all were king.
Mark brainly
INTRODUCTION
The Congress of Berlin was not the start of the "Scramble for Africa," but it laid down the rules that governed the European conquest of Africa for the next fifteen years. It was unusual because international conferences were usually held to sort out the aftermath of a war, but almost never to settle problems before they led to war. But all of the major powers had reasons to attend, especially France, Britain and the new powerhouse, Germany. Although there were many issues at stake, the most important one was the future of the Congo River basin.
THE CONGO DISPUTE
The main dispute among Europeans was over navigation and commercial rights in the Congo River basin. The first Europeans to claim the area were the Portuguese who explored the mouth of the river in the 15th century. Although ocean-going ships could sail inland for about 120 miles along the Lower Congo River, a series of gorges and waterfalls blocked the way to the Upper Congo River, which was navigable for hundreds of miles.
The Portuguese claims went unchallenged for several centuries until French naval officer Pierre-Paul-François de Brazza-Savorgnan (known simply as Savorgnan de Brazza) began to explore the area. From 1875-1878, he followed the Ogoué River (located north of the Congo) upstream in search of an alternate route to the Upper Congo River that avoided Portuguese territory. Although he failed on his first attempts, he tried again in 1879-1882 and succeeded in reaching the Congo River by following the Ogoué River and proceeding overland to the Lefini River, a tributary of the Congo. During this expedition, he signed a treaty on September 10, 1880 with the chief of the Batéké people who lived on the north side of the Upper Congo River. The treaty granted France a protectorate over the Batéké land which included a stretch of the north bank of the Upper Congo River at Ntambo (known as Stanley Pool during the colonial period and Malebo Pool since independence). This claim was important because from there, the Congo River was navigable for more than one thousand miles. If someone could establish a port at Ntambo, and find a way to equip it with steamboats, they would have access to much of central Africa.
Before Savorgnan de Brazza left, he placed the new post under the command of an African sergeant from Senegal named Malamine and two other Senegalese soldiers, then returned to the coast by following the Congo itself. Along the way, Savorgnan de Brazza met Henry M. Stanley, an American explorer who had been employed by King Leopold of Belgium to lead an expedition from the Atlantic Coast to Ntambo. Stanley was enraged to learn that the French expedition had beaten him to the Upper Congo, and when he arrived at Ntambo he tried to intimidate Malamine and his soldiers into leaving. The Senegalese refused and remained at their posts until 1883 when Savorgnan de Brazza returned with a larger force to organize the colony that became the French Congo.
The British had no direct claim on the Congo basin, nor did they have any particular need for one. Their empire was based in Asia and their main interest in Africa was to safeguard their communication with India. On the other hand, the British had close relations with the Portuguese, so they acquired commercial rights in Portugal's colonies in exchange for protecting their claims against encroachment by other Europeans.
On February 26, 1884 Britain and Portugal signed a treaty that reserved navigation rights on the Congo River to Britain alone, in exchange for Britain's support for Portuguese control of the mouth of the river. The treaty angered all of the other major European powers, and in particular, prevented the French from taking advantage of Savorgnan de Brazza's treaties. Although international protest forced the Portuguese and British to abandon their treaty on June 26, the issue remained unresolved. It became one of the reasons to call the Congress of Berlin.