ABSTRACT
Britain emerged from the long wars against revolutionary and Napoleonic France both victorious and with a much-enhanced influence in Europe. The alliance system fashioned by Viscount Castlereagh put Britain on to the centre of the diplomatic stage for the first time at least since 1713. Castlereagh's foreign policy met with harsh criticism both inside and outside Parliament; even Cabinet ministers were uneasy at Britain's apparent commitment to European diplomacy. Castlereagh argued that the Congress System's strategy of regular meetings would give the powers an opportunity first to identify and then to understand mutual interests and problems meetings. The System also strengthened the Quadruple Alliance and thus, Castlereagh argued, the peace of Europe. Early Greek successes in their campaign for independence had been reversed by 1825 when Mehemet Ali, nominally a vassal of the Turkish Sultan but in reality ruler of Egypt, accepted the Sultan's invitation to suppress the rebellion. British trade routes beyond Europe were both secured and extended.
