Final answer:
The Congress of Vienna weakened France's political power and drew new European borders, mindful of maintaining a balance of power but ignoring national identities, which fueled future nationalist movements.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Congress of Vienna had significant repercussions for the European continent, redrawing borders to ensure a balance of power intended to prevent any single nation from becoming overly dominant, as France had under Napoleon. The accurate statements that best describe the effects of the Congress are: (a) The delegates suppress growing nationalism in France, weakening France's political power, and (d) There was a rivalry between Britain and Spain for control over French trade and politics.
Despite the delegates' intention to suppress nationalism, they could not contain the cultural identities and desires for self-determination among the various European peoples. The congress's redrawing of Europe's map did not give sufficient consideration to national identities, often leaving people of common cultural or ethnic backgrounds divided between different empires or under foreign domination. For instance, German dynastic powers like Prussia and Austria were more concerned with their own conservative interests than with unifying Germany under a nationalistic banner.
While the delegates did not divide France or make Russia the most powerful European nation, they did establish a conservative order by reinstating overthrown monarchs and sowing the seeds for future nationalist and liberal movements. The boundaries set at Vienna would greatly influence European politics and lead to tensions that contributed to later conflicts.