1815

1815 was a pivotal year in European history, marking the end of the Napoleonic era and a major realignment of the continent. After his return from Elba, Napoleon Bonaparte again ruled France during a brief period known as the Hundred Days, but his final defeat came at the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815 near Mont-Saint-Jean, Belgium. Following the defeat, Napoleon abdicated and was subsequently exiled to Saint Helena.

The diplomatic settlement of the era was driven by the Congress of Vienna, which carried forward in 1815 and produced a new European order intended to restore stability and balance of power. France was restored to a Bourbon monarchy under Louis XVIII, and the Netherlands was expanded into the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. The German Confederation was created to replace the dissolved Holy Roman Empire, and borders and spheres of influence were redrawn across the continent to contain future French expansion and to preserve conservative governance.

In the same year, Mount Tambora in the Dutch East Indies erupted in April 1815, producing a volcanic winter that led to climate anomalies worldwide and the so-called Year Without a Summer in 1816. The United States, still adjusting to the aftereffects of the War of 1812, saw the Battle of New Orleans in January 1815, a decisive American victory fought after the Treaty of Ghent had been signed but before news reached combatants.

Culturally, 1815 saw the publication of Jane Austen’s novel Emma, adding a notable literary work to the year’s record. The postwar settlements culminated in the Second Peace of Paris, solidifying France’s boundaries and the broader European settlement that shaped 19th-century politics.