In 1813 - 1814 as Napoleon''s empire collapsed national boundaries were redrawn. Hundreds of German kingdoms, Italy''s papal states, Norway, Denmark, the Austrian Netherlands (present day Belgium), Spain and France''s overseas colonies and Poland were the focus of speculation. Napoleon returned to Paris in December 1812 following his defeat in Russia, the three subsequent years are discussed in detail in Zamoyski''s book. The foreign ministers of Britain (Castlereagh), Austria (Metternich) and France (Talleyrand) were driven to despair by the protracted negotiations. Vienna from 1814 to 1815 hosted the cutting of the King''s Cake, the subject of a contemporary French cartoon. Vienna was interrupted by the terrors of Napoleon''s Hundred Days, Napoleon escaped from Elba and returned to Paris in March 1815 , folowing the Battle of Waterloo (which he nearly won), June 1815, Napoleon was banished to St Helena.Henry Kissinger said the Congress of Vienna brought a century of peace to Europe. Zamoyski says it ignored the rights of minorities and small nations. Germans did not secure their separate state; Italy remained fragmented, ruled by foreigners; Poland was denied freedom. Vienna prolonged monarchical governments and legalised previous social hierarchies, directly leading to the wars of the 19th century. Peacemaking is as important as waging war but proves more tedious to comprehend.