Joseph II of Austria

March 13 1741-Febuary 20
1790
 Early Life
Born 1741
Son of Maria Theresa and her
husband, Francis Stephen
Eldest son
Ate only boiled beef for many years
Educated by Christian Beck
Was a Catholic

 Early Reign
Educated by Voltaire and
Encyclopedists
Married Isabel of Parma
1761 became a member of the state
council
Virtually powerless until his mothers
death
Strongly Catholic
1764 crowned King of the Romans

 Maria Theresa
Guaranteed aristocracy,
independence, especially in Hungary
Established efficient system of tax
collection
Had government be involved in
education
Concerned with the welfare of
peasants
Supported suppression of Jesuits
Co-ruled with her son and her
chancellor Wenzel Anton Von Kauintz

 Centralization of Authority
Sought to extend territories
Sought to reduce Hungarian
autonomy

 Liberation of Peasants
1781 decreed the abolition of serfdom
in Bohemia, Moravia, and Austrian
Duchies
Devised a new system of taxation
based on physiocratic principles
Taxes on landlords
1781 issued a decree allowing
peasants to move, trade and wed
freely
Made it illegal to require labor from
peasant children
 Josephinism
Edictof Toleration
Decreased the number of the
monasteries
Tightened control of church discipline
and church property as well as
secularized clergy education
Forbade bishops to communicate
directly with the pope
Educated priests to run diocese


 Failures
Failed to satisfy the privileged class
Failed to lift blockade of Port of
Antwerp
Defeated by the Ottoman empire in
1787
Hungarians revoked his reforms
Joseph’s utilitarian monastic system
was ineffective without a proper
bureaucracy

Was Joseph II truly an
Enlightened ruler?
 Or was it a façade?

 Joseph II truly embodied Enlightened
Absolutism
Believed in ending censorship
(unsuccessful)
Tolerant
Freedom of speech and the press
Rationality (applied to his territories)
Humanitarian efforts
Fostered science and education

 Legacy
Most enlightened ruler
Failed because of:
 Lacked well trained disciplined bureaucracy
Poor health
Economic depression
Unfortunate war with the Turks




Some highlights of his reign

Public education system survived

His economic principles led to the growth
of industries of Austria and Bohemia
His religious tolerance led to two
Protestant denominations and the
assimilation of a larger Jewish minority
Improved parish ministry survived
Kept Austria stable until the end of WWI
 Bibliography
 Franz, Hermann. "Joseph II." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.
8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 16 Nov.
2009 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08508b.ht
 "Austria." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia
Britannica Online. 16 Nov. 2009 <
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/44183/Austria
>. ".
 LaU.S. Library of Congress First Eric Solstent. "The reforms of
Maria Teresa and Joseph the II." Baroque Absolutism and
Enlightened Despotism. 1994. Washington: GPO, Web. 17
Nov 2009. <http://countrystudies.us/austria/>.
 LaKARL MOLLERst, "Joseph II." The Enlightenment. Political
Reforms. 10/03/03. Christian Classics Ethereal Library at,
Web. 19 Nov 2009.
<http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/encyc/encyc06/htm/iii.lvii.cxx
v.htm>.
 Joseph II." the eighteenth century. 4th. 2. Chicago: 2007.
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