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Joseph II, born on March 13, 1741, in Vienna, Austria, was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 until his death in 1790. He was initially a co-ruler with his mother, Empress Maria Theresa, from 1765 to 1780, and then became the sole ruler of the Austrian Habsburg dominions from 1780 until his death. As a proponent of enlightened absolutism, Joseph II sought to introduce various reforms in administration, law, economics, and the church, but he faced significant opposition and was only partially successful in implementing his agenda.
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What You'll Learn
- Joseph II's rule began in 1765 as co-regent with his mother, Maria Theresa
- He became the sole ruler of Austria in 1780 after his mother's death
- Josephinism refers to the wide range of reforms Joseph II introduced
- He was deeply interested in the ideals of the Enlightenment
- Joseph II's foreign policy was reckless and isolated Austria
Joseph II's rule began in 1765 as co-regent with his mother, Maria Theresa
Joseph II's rule as Holy Roman Emperor began in 1765, when he became co-regent with his mother, Maria Theresa. Maria Theresa had been ruling the Austrian dominions of the House of Lorraine, styled Habsburg-Lorraine, but when her husband, Emperor Francis I, died in 1765, she made her eldest son, Joseph, co-ruler.
Maria Theresa was devastated by the death of her husband, and so she appointed her son as co-regent, although she kept most of the authority herself. This led to frequent clashes between the pair, as they had strong ideological differences. Joseph often threatened to resign as co-regent, and he was never truly free to follow his instincts until his mother's death in 1780.
During his time as co-regent, Joseph travelled extensively, meeting with Frederick the Great of Prussia in 1769 and 1770. He also continued his mother's work of reforming the legal system, abolishing censorship, and improving public education and health. He was a proponent of enlightened absolutism, and his commitment to secularising, liberalising, and modernising reforms resulted in significant opposition.
In 1780, Joseph II became the sole ruler of the Austrian Habsburg dominions. He was now able to push his own policies and programs, which he did quickly and throughout all his domains. He was particularly interested in church reform, introducing the Edict of Toleration in 1781, which gave Lutherans, Calvinists, and Orthodox Christians near equality with Roman Catholics, and gave Jews the right to enter various trades and to study at universities. He also closed many monasteries, seizing their property to support secular state schools and charitable institutions.
Joseph II's rule ended with his death in 1790.
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He became the sole ruler of Austria in 1780 after his mother's death
Joseph II was born on March 13, 1741, in Vienna, Austria. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor Francis I. After his father's death in 1765, Joseph became emperor and was made co-regent by his mother in the Austrian dominions. As co-regent, Joseph had little true power, and his mother maintained sovereign control in her hereditary dominions.
Joseph became the sole ruler of Austria in 1780 after his mother's death. He was now free to pursue his own policies and programs across his diverse domains. Deeply interested in the ideals of the Enlightenment, he believed that the rule of reason would produce the best possible results in the shortest time. He issued 6,000 edicts and 11,000 new laws designed to regulate and reorder every aspect of the empire.
Joseph's commitment to secularizing, liberalizing, and modernizing reforms was particularly evident in his religious policies. He began his reign with an Edict of Religious Toleration in 1781, fulfilling the Enlightenment ideal that religious persecution was beneath the moral dignity of a modern monarch. This edict gave Lutherans, Calvinists, and Orthodox Christians near equality with Roman Catholics, and it granted Jews the right to enter various trades and study at universities. Joseph also believed in religious liberty for everyone and held that service to God was the same as service to the state.
In addition to his religious reforms, Joseph introduced administrative, legal, and economic reforms. He united the administration of all the provinces in a central council at Vienna, of which he was the head. He abolished diets or paralyzed them by the provincial executive authorities, and he made German the official language in all the countries under his rule. Joseph also imposed the principle of complete equality of treatment for all offenders, ending brutal punishments and abolishing the death penalty in most instances. He ended censorship of the press and theater and allowed freedom of speech, although this was later revoked due to increasing criticism of his policies.
Joseph's reforms, known as Josephinism, elicited mixed responses. While he intended to improve the lives of his subjects, his programs often faced vehement opposition from all sectors of his empire. The landed nobility resisted his land reforms, and the Hungarian rural nobility was angered by the loss of their ancestral privileges. In the Austrian Netherlands and Hungary, there was resentment towards Joseph's attempts to subordinate regional governments to his personal rule in Vienna. Despite making some territorial gains, his reckless foreign policy isolated Austria.
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Josephinism refers to the wide range of reforms Joseph II introduced
Joseph II was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 until his death in 1790. Initially, he was a co-ruler with his mother, Maria Theresa, from 1765 to 1780, and then the sole ruler of the Austrian Habsburg dominions from 1780 to 1790.
Joseph's enlightened despotism and commitment to modernizing reforms resulted in significant opposition, which ultimately led to a failure to fully implement his programs. Josephinism made many enemies inside the empire, from disaffected ecclesiastical authorities to noblemen. By the later years of his reign, disaffection with his sometimes radical policies was high, especially in the Austrian Netherlands and Hungary, where there was already resentment over his attempts to do away with regional governments and subordinate them to his personal rule in Vienna.
Joseph's reforms included the Serfdom Patent of 1781, which aimed to abolish aspects of the traditional serfdom system of the Habsburg lands and establish basic civil liberties for the serfs. He also issued the Patent of Toleration in 1781 and the Edict of Tolerance in 1782, which granted religious freedom to non-Catholic Christians, including Lutherans, Calvinists, Serbian Orthodox, and Jews, living in Habsburg lands. In addition, Joseph abolished brutal punishments and the death penalty in most instances and imposed the principle of complete equality of treatment for all offenders. He ended censorship of the press and theatre, continued education and public health reforms, and made elementary education compulsory for all boys and girls.
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He was deeply interested in the ideals of the Enlightenment
Joseph II was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 until his death in 1790. Initially, he co-ruled with his mother, Maria Theresa, from 1765 until 1780, after which he became the sole ruler of the Austrian Habsburg dominions until his death.
Joseph II was deeply interested in the ideals of the Enlightenment. He was a proponent of enlightened absolutism, like his brother Leopold II, and believed that the rule of reason would produce the best possible results in the shortest time. He issued 6,000 edicts and 11,000 new laws designed to regulate and reorder every aspect of the empire. He intended to improve the lives of his subjects but strictly in accordance with his own criteria. This approach, known as Josephinism, was notable for its very wide range of reforms designed to modernize the empire in an era when France and Prussia were rapidly advancing.
Joseph's commitment to secularizing, liberalizing, and modernizing reforms resulted in significant opposition, which ultimately led to a failure to fully implement his programs. His attempts to modernize the highly traditional Catholic Church, for example, were probably the most unpopular of all his reforms. Calling himself the guardian of Catholicism, Joseph vigorously struck at papal power, trying to make the Catholic Church in his territories independent of Rome and a tool of the state. He deprived clergymen of the tithe and ordered them to study in seminaries under government supervision, while bishops had to take a formal oath of loyalty to the crown. He also ended censorship of the press and theatre and granted freedom of the press.
In addition to his religious reforms, Joseph introduced administrative, legal, economic, and ecclesiastical reforms. He established the principle of complete equality of treatment for all offenders, abolishing brutal punishments and the death penalty in most instances. He continued education and public health reforms initiated by his mother, making elementary education compulsory for all boys and girls and offering higher education to a select few. He also created scholarships for talented poor students and allowed the establishment of schools for Jews and other religious minorities.
In foreign policy, Joseph obtained some success even as co-regent with his mother. When a civil war occurred in Poland, he met with King Frederick the Great of Prussia, the third neighbour of Poland, to plan the partition of the country, with each neighbour taking a part of the land and the remaining part given a chance at independence.
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Joseph II's foreign policy was reckless and isolated Austria
Joseph II was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 until his death in 1790. From 1765 to 1780, he was a co-ruler with his mother, Maria Theresa, and from 1780 to 1790, he was the sole ruler of the Austrian Habsburg dominions.
Joseph II's foreign policy has been described as reckless and isolating for Austria. He was deeply interested in the ideals of the Enlightenment and was convinced that the rule of reason would produce the best possible results in the shortest time. This passion for change and his desire to force a new form of life on his subjects met with strong resistance, particularly in traditional countries like the Austrian Netherlands and Hungary.
One example of Joseph's reckless foreign policy moves was his attempt to abolish the Barrier Treaty, which prevented his Flemish subjects from navigating the Scheldt. When France opposed this, Joseph turned to Russia, planning to partition the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice. These plans were also abandoned due to opposition from neighbouring countries, especially France. Joseph's actions provoked the formation of the Fürstenbund, organized by Frederick II of Prussia.
Joseph's impatience and lack of tact, as well as his unnecessary military adventures, contributed to the perception of his foreign policy as reckless. His attempts to obtain Bavaria by exchanging it for the Austrian Netherlands further isolated him. The nobility throughout his empire, particularly in Bohemia, opposed his policies on taxes and his egalitarian and despotic attitudes. In the Austrian Netherlands and Hungary, Joseph's efforts to abolish regional governments and centralize power in Vienna were deeply resented.
By 1787, resistance to Joseph's rule was intensifying, and his foreign policy choices contributed to this growing unrest. His involvement in the war in 1788, where he was present on an unsuccessful campaign, further damaged his reputation. The people of the Austrian Netherlands rose in outright revolution, and there were reports of trouble in other regions, including Hungary and Galicia. Faced with these challenges, Joseph revoked many of his earlier reforms.
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Frequently asked questions
Joseph II became the ruler of Austria in 1780, after the death of his mother, Empress Maria Theresa.
Joseph II died on 20 February 1790 from tuberculosis.
Joseph II was succeeded by his brother, Leopold II.
Joseph II was deeply interested in the ideals of the Enlightenment and believed that the rule of reason would produce the best outcomes. He issued 6,000 edicts and 11,000 new laws to regulate and reorder his empire.
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