In the east of Europe the Poles struggled in vain against the fate which once more partitioned them between Russia, Austria, and Prussia.

The Germans of Holstein, Schleswig, and Lauenburg submitted uneasily to the Danish rule; and only under the stress of demonstrations by the allies did the Norwegians accept the union with Sweden.
It should be carefully noted that these were the very cases which caused most of the political troubles in the following period.

In fact, most of the political occurrences on the Continent in the years 1815 to 1870--the revolts, revolutions, and wars, that give a special character to the history of the century--resulted directly from the bad or imperfect arrangements of the Congress of Vienna and of the so-called Holy Alliance of the monarchs who sought to perpetuate them.

The effect of this widespread discontent was not felt at once.

The peoples were too exhausted by the terrific strain of the Napoleonic wars to do much for a generation or more, save in times of popular excitement.