The alliance was formed to instil thedivine right of kings and Christian values in European political life, as pursued by Alexander I under the influence of his spiritual adviser BaronessBarbara von Krüdener. It was written by EmperorAlexander I of Russia and edited byIoannis Kapodistrias andAlexandru Sturdza.[3] Under the treaty European rulers would agree to govern as "branches" of the Christian community and offer mutual service.[4] In the first draft, Emperor Alexander I made appeals to mysticism through a proposed unified Christian empire that was seen as disconcerting by the other monarchies. Following revision, a more pragmatic version of the alliance was adopted by Russia, Prussia, and Austria. The document was called "an apocalypse of diplomacy" by French diplomatDominique-Georges-Frédéric Dufour de Pradt.[3]
The agreement was at first secret, and mistrusted by liberals though liberalism was effectively restrained in this political culture until theRevolutions of 1848.[4] About three months after the Final Act of theCongress of Vienna, the monarchs ofCatholic (Austria),Protestant (Prussia), andOrthodox (Russia) confession promised to act on the basis of "justice, love, and peace", both in internal and foreign affairs, for "consolidating human institutions and remedying their imperfections". The Alliance was quickly rejected by theUnited Kingdom (thoughGeorge IV declared consent in his capacity asKing of Hanover), thePapal States, and theOttoman Empire.Lord Castlereagh, the British Foreign Secretary, called it "a piece of sublime mysticism and nonsense".[5] Nonetheless, Britain participated in theConcert of Europe.[6]
The last meetings had revealed the rising antagonism between Britain and France, especially onItalian unification, the right toself-determination, and theEastern Question. The Alliance is conventionally taken to have become defunct with Alexander's death in 1825. France ultimately went her separate way following theJuly Revolution of 1830, leaving the core of Austria, Prussia, and Russia as aCentral-Eastern European block which once again congregated to suppress theRevolutions of 1848. The Austro-Russian alliance finally broke up in theCrimean War. Though Russia had helped to suppress theHungarian Revolution of 1848, Austria did not take any action to support her ally, declared herself neutral, and even occupied theDanubian Principalities upon the Russian retreat in 1854. Thereafter, Austria remained isolated, which added to the loss of her leading role in the German states, culminating in her defeat during theAustro-Prussian War in 1866.
Nakhimovsky, Isaac (2024).The Holy Alliance: Liberalism and the Politics of Federation. Princeton University Press.ISBN978-0-691-25549-1.
Fischer-Galati, Stephen A. "The Nature and Immediate Origins of the Treaty of Holy Alliance."History 38.132 (1953): 27–39.JSTOR24403221.
Jarrett, Mark (2013).The Congress of Vienna and its Legacy: War and Great Power Diplomacy after Napoleon. London: I. B. Tauris & Company, Ltd.ISBN978-1780761169.
Knapton, E. J. "The Origins of the Treaty of Holy Alliance."History 26.102 (1941): 132–140.JSTOR24401918.
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