Restoration

This chapter studies how, in establishing Europe's boundaries, the Congress of Vienna ratified emancipation's division into the three regions of western, central, and eastern Europe. The Congress affected the status of Jews in western Europe only in bringing equality to the Jews in Belgium. In eastern Europe, the Congress brought territorial adjustments; the larger legal arrangements remained in place. In contrast, in central Europe, the Congress failed to bring unification and a uniform law for Jews. The German states became a mosaic of disparate laws. Many polities revived the ancien régime. Moreover, the dualism of “state” versus “local” or municipal rights began to emerge. Italy offered a similar profile of multiple states, disparate legal statuses, and in many states a resuscitated ancien régime.