In Vienna year 1815 the leaders of Europe met and organized a system to avoid wars and keep power between each other.
Whenever a nation needed help to suffocate a revolution or an other form of disturbing movement, they received assistance from nearby countries. Whenever two kings were arguing they decided to have a conference to discuss the issue. This way the countries could avoid wars and revolutions, thereby keeping a firm grip on the power over Europe.
These ideas from Vienna were for instance used when Great Britain and France raced to conquer Africa between 1885 and 1895. They decided beforehand on so called “rules” which kept the two Great Powers aside and avoiding a war.
Next article in the series: Origins of WWI.