The years 1814/15 mark a threefold historical watershed: the downfall of the Napoleonic Empire, the restoration of dethroned dynasties and the emergence of a new European order at the Congress of Vienna. A whole set of political and social problems posed by the French Revolution, which clearly went beyond national experiences, returned with a European agenda. Existing research has considered 1814/15 as the beginning of many eras such as those of ‘Restoration’, ‘reaction’ or ‘reform’. Foregoing such large-scale narratives, this special issue focuses on the historical actors themselves, and their ambivalent and conflicting experiences of these tumultuous years. A complex interplay of rapidly changing and conflicting political discourses, socio-political practices and social structures shaped these post-revolutionary experiences. Analysing Northern, Western and Southern European as well as Atlantic constellations of influence and perception, the contributors highlight the merits of an inductive and transnational approach towards European history that transcends traditional national accounts.