Joseph Ii Of Austria: His Notable Achievements And Legacy

Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, born in Vienna, Austria, in 1741, was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I. He was an enlightened despot who sought to strengthen the Habsburg Empire with administrative, legal, economic, and ecclesiastical reforms. He was a supporter of religious tolerance, aiming to reduce the power of the church and relieve the peasantry of feudal burdens. He abolished serfdom, ended press censorship, and issued edicts promoting equality and education. However, his reckless foreign policies isolated Austria, and his attempts at reform were met with fierce opposition, ultimately leading to revolts in some parts of the empire.

Religious reforms

Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II was a proponent of enlightened absolutism and believed in secularizing, liberalizing, and modernizing reforms. He was a supporter of religious tolerance and wanted to reduce the power of the church.

Joseph II's religious reforms were some of the most aggressive of any state in Europe. He attempted to modernize the highly traditional Catholic Church and make it a tool of the state, independent of Rome. He struck vigorously at papal power and tried to make the Catholic Church in his territories submit to the lay state. He deprived clergymen of the tithe and ordered them to study in seminaries under government supervision. Bishops had to take a formal oath of loyalty to the crown. He also financed a large increase in bishoprics, parishes, and secular clergy by selling monastic lands.

Joseph ridiculed the contemplative monastic orders, considering them unproductive. He suppressed a third of the monasteries (over 700 were closed) and reduced the number of monks and nuns from 65,000 to 27,000. The Church's ecclesiastical tribunals were abolished, and marriage was defined as a civil contract outside the jurisdiction of the Church.

Joseph sharply cut the number of holy days to be observed and ordered a reduction in ornamentation in churches. He also forcibly simplified the manner in which Mass was celebrated. His Patent of Toleration in 1781 was a major shift away from the inquisitive religious policies of the Counter Reformation. It provided limited religious freedom of worship to major non-Catholic Christian sects, and this was followed by the Edict of Tolerance in 1782, which removed many restrictions on Jews.

Joseph's anticlerical and liberal innovations induced Pope Pius VI to pay him a visit in 1782. Joseph received the Pope politely but refused to be influenced. Joseph was very friendly to Freemasonry, as he found it highly compatible with his Enlightenment philosophy.

Joseph's religious reforms were unpopular and met with resistance. Opponents blamed them for revealing Protestant tendencies, and anti-clericalism emerged. Traditional Catholics were energized in opposition to the emperor, and his reforms caused unrest in all parts of his dominions.

Serfdom abolition

Joseph also issued decrees allowing peasants to appeal to the central government for redress against their feudal lords. This ensured that feudal courts, controlled by the lords, could not sabotage Joseph's reforms by issuing decisions against peasants who wanted to exercise their new rights.

In 1789, Joseph passed another decree stating that all land, regardless of ownership, would be taxed at a uniform rate of 12 2/9% of its appraised value. This was accompanied by a limit on dues and services paid by peasants to their lords, which were now to be commuted to a cash payment not exceeding 17 2/9% of the peasant's production.

Joseph's abolition of serfdom was not a total abolition of feudalism, and his reforms were largely reversed after his death in 1790. However, they did pave the way for the complete abolition of feudalism in 1848.

Education and equality

Joseph II was a proponent of enlightened absolutism like his brother Leopold II, and his commitment to secularizing, liberalizing, and modernizing reforms resulted in significant opposition. He was a disciple of the Enlightenment and believed in firm state control of ecclesiastical matters outside of the strictly religious sphere.

In the 1770s, Joseph supported his mother's expansion of elementary education. He also created scholarships for talented poor students and allowed the establishment of schools for Jews and other religious minorities. In 1784, he ordered that the country change its language of instruction from Latin to German, a highly controversial step in a multilingual empire.

Joseph's most radical measure in matters of equality was the Edict of Toleration in 1781, which gave Lutherans, Calvinists, and Orthodox Christians near equality with Roman Catholics and gave Jews the right to live and worship more freely. He also emancipated the Jews, endowing cultural life with new vitality.

In addition, Joseph abolished serfdom, although this did not last after his death. He issued decrees providing for peasant appeals to the central government for redress of grievances, ensuring that the feudal courts, controlled by the lords, could not sabotage these reforms. In 1789, he decreed that peasants must be paid in cash payments rather than labor obligations.

Joseph's reforms were not without opposition, however. His attempts to enforce equality and education were met with fierce opposition, and his speedy and broad implementation of his reforms led to problems for him and his empire. By 1790, rebellions had broken out in protest against his reforms in the Austrian Netherlands (the Brabant Revolution) and Hungary, and his other dominions were restive under the burdens of his war with the Ottomans.

Foreign policy

Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II's foreign policies were largely considered failures. He is ranked alongside Catherine the Great of Russia and Frederick the Great of Prussia as one of the three great Enlightenment monarchs. However, his reckless foreign policy badly isolated Austria.

Joseph's foreign policy decisions were often impulsive and lacked strategic planning. For instance, his attempt to exchange the Austrian Netherlands for Bavaria was undermined by Frederick II of Prussia. This decision was made without considering the reaction of other German princes, who viewed Joseph with suspicion and joined Frederick's side.

In another instance, Joseph's eagerness to enforce Austria's claim on Bavaria upon the death of the elector Maximilian III in 1777 led to the War of the Bavarian Succession. This war cost Joseph influence over the other German princes, who saw him as a potential threat to their lands.

Joseph also formed an alliance with Catherine II of Russia, which resulted in Austrian troops becoming engaged in a conflict with Turkey. This war stretched the empire's resources and opened the door for more domestic unrest.

Additionally, Joseph's participation in the Ottoman War was driven by his close ties with Russia rather than his usual acquisitiveness. However, the war yielded few significant gains for the monarchy.

Overall, Joseph's foreign policy decisions often lacked strategic foresight and had negative consequences for the empire, isolating Austria and leading to increased domestic unrest.

Censorship

Joseph's approach to censorship was two-fold. On the one hand, he eased official censorship, particularly in the realm of religion, as part of his broader church reforms. This was done to generate support for his religious policies, which included the Edict of Toleration in 1781, granting religious freedom to minority groups such as Protestants, Greek Orthodox, and Jews. Joseph's monastic reforms also led to the closure of about a third of Austrian monasteries, with their former members being ordered to learn secular skills.

On the other hand, Joseph also imposed censorship during his reign. In 1786, he issued secret instructions to the police to monitor public opinion at all levels of society, including writers and intellectuals who had initially supported his reforms. This shift towards increased censorship was a response to growing criticism of his policies, as well as the emergence of revolutionary unrest in Hungary and the Austrian Netherlands.

Joseph's complex approach to censorship, therefore, reflected his broader goals of imposing state control over the church and implementing far-reaching reforms, while also managing dissent and maintaining social order.

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