Sovereign Nation-States in Europe After the Congress of Vienna (1815)

The Congress of Vienna (1814–15) redrew Europe's map after Napoleon. The entities recognized as sovereign nation-states—possessing defined territories, permanent populations, governments, and capacity for international relations—were fewer than today.

The Seven Generally Recognized Nation-States (1815)

1. France – Restored Bourbon monarchy, reduced to 1790 borders
2. Great Britain (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland) – Global empire, unitary parliament
3. Portugal – Constitutional monarchy (after 1820 liberal revolution)
4. Spain – Ferdinand VII restored, absolute rule resumed
5. Sweden – Including Norway (personal union 1814–1905)
6. Russian Empire – Autocratic, vast multi-ethnic territory
7. Prussia – Leading German state; kingdom within Holy Roman Empire's successor, the German Confederation

Important Nuances

• Austria (Austrian Empire) was a multinational empire, not a nation-state—Germans, Hungarians, Czechs, Poles, Italians, Croats, etc.
• Ottoman Empire controlled Balkans, Anatolia, Levant—similarly multi-ethnic.
• German Confederation (39 states) was a loose association; no unified German nation-state until 1871.
• Italy was fragmented into kingdoms, duchies, and Austrian Lombardy-Venetia; unification completed 1871.
• Netherlands (United Kingdom of the Netherlands, 1815–30) included Belgium; not a nation-state in the ethnic sense.

Why This List Matters

These seven embodied the Westphalian ideal of sovereignty most clearly in 1815. The century following saw nationalism transform empires into the nation-states dominating modern Europe.