Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord was a French diplomat who worked under Louis XVI, Napoleon, Louis XVIII, and Louis-Philippe. Known for his diplomatic skills, he represented France at major international conferences including the Congress of Vienna.
Diplomacy: The practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of states or groups. It involves discussions designed to produce agreements between nations.
Congress of Vienna: As mentioned above, this was an international conference aimed at reorganizing Europe after Napoleon's defeat.
Balance-of-power principle: A concept in international relations that suggests national security is enhanced when military capability is distributed so that no one state is strong enough to dominate all others.