Sentence:  The gathering, an unprecedented convocation of rulers, influential diplomats and their entourages, was meant to be a grand ending and a grand beginning—the movers and shakers were looking to <WSD>close the book on</WSD> the strife and upheavals of the Napoleonic Wars and begin a new chapter of world peace. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To finish; to bring to an end.