Quadruple Alliance

by The plenipotentiaries of the high powers who signed the treaty

{c|In the name of the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity.}

The purpose of the Alliance concluded at Vienna the 25th day of March 1815, having been happily attained by the re-establishment in France of the order of things which the last criminal attempt of Napoleon Buonaparté bad momentarily subverted; Their Majesties the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, the Emperor of all the Russias, and the King of Prussia, considering that the Repose of Europe is essentially interwoven with the confirmation of the order of things founded on the maintenance of the Royal Authority and of the Constitutional Charter, and wishing to employ ill their means to prevent the general tranquillity, (the object of the wishes of mankind ind the constant end of their efforts) from being again disturbed ; desirous moreover to draw closer the ties which unite Them for the common interests of Their People, have resolved to give to the principles solemnly laid in the Treaties of Chaumont of the 1st of March 1814, and of Vienna of the 25th of March 1815, the application the most analogous to the present state of affairs, and to fix Beforehand by a solemn Treaty the Principles which They propose to follow, in order to guaranty Europe from the dangers by which She may still be menaced; for which purpose the High Contracting Parties have named to discuss, settle and sign the conditions of this Treaty, namely; His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Right Honourable Robert Stewart Vise. Castlereagh, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Member of his Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, Colonel of the Londonderry Regiment of Militia, and His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; and the Most Illustrious and Most Noble Lord Arthur, Duke, Marquess and Earl of Wellington, Marquess of Douro Viscount Wellington of Talavera and of Wellington, and Baron Douro, of Wellesley, one of His said Majesty's Privy Councillors, Field Marshal of His Armies, Colonel of the Royal Regiment of Horse Guards, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Prince of Waterloo, Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo, and a Grandee of Spain of the First Class, Duke of Vittoria, Marquess of Torres Vedras, Earl of Vimeira in Portugal, Knight of the Most Illustrious Order of the Golden Fleece, of the Spanish Military Order of St. Ferdinand, Grand Cross of the Imperial Military Order of Maria Theresa, Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of St. George of Russia, Grand Cross of the Order of the Black Eagle of Prussia, Grand Cross of the Royal Portuguese Military Order of the Tower and Sword, Grand Cross of the Royal Swedish Military Order of the Sword, Grand Cross of the Orders of the Elephant of Denmark, of William of the Netherlands, of the Annunciation of Sardinia, of Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria, and of several others, and Commander in Chief of the British Armies in France and those of His Majesty the King of the Netherlands; and His Majesty the Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, the Sieur Clement Wenceslas Lothaire, Prince of Metternich-Winnebourgh-Ochsenhausen, Knight of the Golden Fleece, Grand Cross of the Royal Order of St. Stephen, Knight of the Orders of St. Andrew, of Saint Alexander Newsky, and of St. Anne of the First Class, Grand Cordon of the Legion of Honour, Knight of the Order of the Elephant, of the Supreme Order of the Annunciation, of the Black and of the Red Eagle, of the Seraphim, of St. Joseph of Tuscany, of St. Hubert, of the Golden Eagle of Wurtemberg, of Fidelity of Baden, of St. John of Jerusalem, and of several others, Chancellor of the Military Order of Maria-Theresa, Curator of the Academy of Fine Arts, Chamberlain and Privy Councillor of His Majesty the Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, His Minister of State, of Conferences and for Foreign Afiairs; and the Sieur John Philip Baron of Wessenberg, Grand Cross of the Royal Order of St. Stephen, Grand Cross of the Military and Religious Orders of St. Maurice and of St. Lazarus, Grand Cross of the Order of the Red Eagle of Prussia, of that of the Crown of Bavaria, of St. Joseph of Tuscany, and of Fidelity of Baden, Chamberlain and Privy Councillor of His Majesty the Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia; who, after having exchanged their Full Powers, found to be in good and due form, have agreed upon the following Articles:

ART. I. The High Contracting Parties reciprocally promise to maintain, in its force and vigour, the Treaty signed this day with His Most Christian Majesty,^[3] and to see that the stipulations of the said Treaty, as well as those of the particular Conventions which have reference thereto, shall be strictly and faithfully executed in their fullest extent.^[4]

ART. II. The High Contracting Parties, having engaged in the war which is just terminated, for the purpose of maintaining inviolably the Arrangements settled at Paris last year,^[5] for the safety and interest of Europe, have judged it advisable to renew the said Engagements by the present Act, and to confirm them as mutually obligatory, subject to the Modifications contained in the Treaty signed this day with the Plenipotentiaries of his Most Christian Majesty,^[3] and particularly those by which Napoleon Buonaparte and his family, in pursuance of the Treaty of the 11th of April 1814, have been for ever excluded from Supreme Power in France, which exclusion the Contracting Powers bind themselves, by the present Act, to maintain in full vigour, and, should it be necessary, with the whole of their Forces.^[6] And as the same Revolutionary Principles which upheld the last criminal Usurpation, might again, under other forms, convulse France, and thereby endanger the repose of other States ; under these circumstances, the High Contracting Parties solemnly admitting it to be their Duty to redouble their watchfulnes for the tranquillity and interests of their People, engage, in case so unfortunate an event should again occur, to concert amongst themselves, and with his Most Christian Majesty, the measures which they may judge necessary to be pursued for the safety of their respective States, and for the general Tranquillity of Europe.

ART. III. The High Contracting Parties, in agreeing with his Most Christian Majesty that a line of military positions in France should be occupied by a corps of Allied troops during a certain number of years,^[7] had in view to secure, as far as lay in their power, the effect of the stipulations contained in Articles I. and II. of the present Treaty, and uniformly disposed to adopt every salutary measure calculated to secure the tranquillity of Europe by maintaining the order of things re-established in France, they engage, that in case the said body of troops should be attacked or menaced with an attack on the part of France, that the said Powers should be again obliged to place themselves on a war establishment against that Power, in order to maintain either of the said stipulations, or to secure and support the great interests to which they relate, each of the High Contracting Parties shall furnish, without delay, according to the stipulations of the Treaty of Chaumont, and especially in pursuance of the 7th and [[8th Articles of this Treaty, its full Contingent of Sixty Thousand Men, in addition to the forces left in France, or such part of the said Contingent as the exigency of the case may require should be put in motion.

ART. IV. If, unfortunately, the forces stipulated in the preceding Article should be found insufficient, the High Contracting Parties will concert together, without loss of time, as to the additional number of troops to be furnished by each for the support of the Common Cause; and they engage to employ in case of need, the whole of their forces, in order to bring the War to a speedy and successful termination, reserving to themselves the right to prescribe, by common consent, such Conditions of Peace as shall hold out to Europe a sufficient Guarantee against the recurrence of a similar calamity.

ART. V. The High Contracting Parties having agreed to the dispositions laid down in the preceding Articles, for the purpose of securing the effect of their Engagements during the period of the temporary occupation, declare, moreover, that even after the expiration of this measure, the said Engagements shall still remain in full force and vigour, for the purpose of carrying into effect such measures as may be deemed necessary for the maintenance of the stipulations contained in the Articles I. and II. of the present Act.

ART. VI. To facilitate and to secure the execution of the present Treaty, and to consolidate the connexions which at the present moment so closely unite the Four Sovereigns for the Happiness of the World, the High Contracting Parties have agreed to renew their meetings at fixed periods, either under the immediate auspices of the Sovereigns themselves, or by their respective ministers, for the purpose of consulting upon their common interests, and for the consideration of the measures which at each of those periods shall be considered the most salutary tor the repose and prosperity of Nations, and for the maintenance of the Peace of Europe.

ART. VII. The present Treaty shall be ratified, and the ratifications shall be exchanged within Two Months, or sooner, if possible.

In faith of which the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed it, and affixed thereto the seal of their arms.

Done at Paris, the 20th of November, 1815.

(Signed)	(Signed)
(L. S.) Castlereagh.	(L. S.) Metternich.
(L. S.) Wellington.	(L. S.) Wessenberg.

Note from the Ministers of the United Cabinets to the Duke of Richelieu

NOTE from the Ministers of the United Cabinets, to the Duke de Richelieu, communicating a Copy of the preceding Treaty of Alliance; dated Paris 20th November 1815.^[2]

The Undersigned Ministers of the United Cabinets have the honour to communicate to his Excellency the Duke de Richelieu the New Treaty of Alliance which they have just signed, in the name and by command of Their august Sovereigns; the object of which has been, to give to the Principles established by those of Chaumont, and Vienna the application the most conformable to existing circumstances, and to unite the destinies of France with the common interest of Europe.

The Allied Cabinets consider the stability of the order of things, happily re-established this Country, as one of the essential bases of a solid and durable tranquillity. It is towards this end that their united efforts have been constantly directed; it is their sincere desire to maintain and to consolidate the result of these efforts, which has dictated all the stipulations of the New Treaty. His Most Christian Majesty will perceive in this Act the solicitude with which they have concerted measures the most proper to remove every thing which might in future endanger the interior repose of France, and prepared remedies against the dangers with which the Royal Authority, the basis of public order, might yet be menaced. The principles and the intentions of the Allied Sovereigns in this respect are invariable; of this the engagements which they have just contracted furnish the most unequivocal proofs; but the lively interest which they take in the satisfaction of his Most Christian Majesty, as well as in the tranquillity and prosperity of his Kingdom, makes them hope that the fatal chances suppose! in these engagements, will never be realized.

The Allied Cabinets find the first guarantee of this hope in the clear principles; magnanimous sentiments, and personal virtues of his Most Christian Majesty. His Majesty acknowledges with them, that in a State torn during a quarter of a century by Revolutionary Convulsions, it is not by force alone, that calm can be restored to the mind, confidence to the heart, and equilibrium to the different parts of the social body; but that Wisdom should be united with Vigour, and Moderation with Firmness, for producing these happy changes.

Far from fearing that his Most Christian Majesty will ever lend an ear to imprudent or impassioned councils, tending to renew discontents and alarms, to excite hatred and divisions, the Allied Cabinets are entirely relieved from that anxiety by the wise as well as generous disposition which the King has evinced at every period of his reign, and especially at that of his return after the last criminal attempt. They know that his Majesty will oppose to all the enemies of the public good, and of the tranquillity of his Kingdom, under whatever form they may present themselves, his adherence to the Constitutional Laws, promulgated under his own Auspices, his well-understood intention, to be the Father of all his subjects, to efface from remembrance the evils which they have suffered, and to preserve of times past only the good which Providence has brought forth even from the bosom of public calamity. It is thus only that the views formed by the Allied Cabinets for the preservation of the Constitutional authority of his Most Christian Majesty, for the happiness of his Country, and for the maintenance of the Peace of the World, will be crowned with a complete success, and that France, established1 upon her ancient basis, will resume the eminent place to which she is called in the European System.

The Undersigned have the honour to renew to his Excellency the Duke de Richelieu the assurances of their high consideration.

(Signed)	(Signed)
Metternich.	Castlereagh.
Hardenberg.	Capo D'Istria.

Notes

1. Hansard, 269
2. Hansard 273
3. Treaty of Paris: Definitive Treaty of 1815, (Hertslet, p. 737).
4. Treaty of Paris (1815): Convention—Pecuniary Indemnity, Convention—Military Line, Convention—Private Claims upon France, Convention—Claims of British Subjects (Hertslet, p. 373).
5. Treaty of Paris (1814) (Hertslet, p. 373).
6. Prince Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was proclaimed President of the French Republic, 20th December, 1848, and Emperor of the French, by the title of Napoleon III, on the 2nd December, 1852. These titles were recognized by all the Powers of Europe (Hertslet, p. 373).
7. Treaty of Paris (1815) Convention—Military Line (Hertslet, p. 374)

References

• Hansard, The parliamentary debates from the year 1803 to the present, Volume XXXII, 2 Feb 1816, pp. 269–274
• Hertslet, Edward. The map of Europe by treaty; showing the various political and territorial changes which have taken place since the general peace of 1814, London, Butterworths, 1875. pp. 372–376