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It is difficult to discuss Joseph II without starting an argument, as the man was, and still is, highly controversial. A hero to some and a villain to others, yet nearly no one will see him as what he was, a mildly decent ruler who tried but came to power in the wrong era. Any attempts to see him as anything more is merely nationalism getting in the was of logical thinking. A serious flaw for any self respecting historian to nurture. Unfortunately his was an era where many nationalists passions originated.
Joseph was over all a forward thinking man and a supporter of the enlightened despot theory, though many have said that he was a little too much of a despot and not quite enlightened enough. He however viewed himself as a highly logical man, many have said that his theories that pure reason made a state well governed was similar to Communitarian views, it also set him apart from his contemporaries due to the absoluteness of his belief. His attempts at reason did however pit him against the rather unreasonable option before him, on one hand there was a rising feeling of Pan-Germanism, inspired by the rise in Italian nationalism, while on the other hand he had to deal with the large Hungarian population that resented his attempts to Germanify them. No where was this problem more evident than when he made German the official language of Austria, in place of the old Latin. This sparked outrage amongst Hungarians, as well as Croatians, Slovenians, Czechs and Slovakians, while also causing many nationalists to see it as an attempt to have Austria dominate Germany totally. This latter view was supported by the Prussians who feared Austria’s might, an unfortunate move that would later cost everyone dearly.
Joseph put a great deal of work into rationalizing and unifying his chaotic empire’s lands, a move which seemed to him perfectly logical, though in fact caused the Hungarians and Czechs, both of whom had enjoyed some independence. He even avoided many of the agreements that had been made with Hungarians when they entered the empire as he had not wanted to lose power. He angered many of his Italian subjects by attempting to regulate their affairs in the same was Austria was run, damaging their economies and prompting an increase in Italian nationalism. He was in fact unpopular with almost everyone in his empire, largely due to pointlessly petty laws based solely of the fact the Joseph had a particular opinion, such as a ban of gingerbread as the Emperor thought it was unhealthy.
His interference in the Church also made him unpopular, both at home and with the other catholic powers of Europe. His moves of tightening government control of the church were the opposite of Louis XVI’s moves of seperating the state and the church, and though the Pope disliked both the Austrian policies cost him more than the French, thus he supported the French to spite Austria.
Joseph had many dreams of grandeur for Austria, and securing British backing for Austrian colonial expansion was a prime example of this. Unfortunately he was blocked by the less the cooperative French controlled Gibraltar and the Spanish. Knowing that they needed a secure route out of the Mediterranean Joseph devised a plan to invade Morocco, which he hoped would get him Portuguese support, as they had lost Mazagan to the Moroccans a mere 29 years earlier. Joseph thus claimed to be engaging in a form of Reconquista, a move which made the idea of the war popular amongst the Spanish and Portuguese people many of whom felt the French had been to open to the Muslims of the Ottoman Empire. The Portuguese began serious discussions for the invasion, but the Spanish were held out by Louis XVI who dominated the weak Charles IV[2] , causing yet more resentment among the Spanish people already angry about concessions in North America and the Philippines Sale.
News of the invasion plan soon reached the Sultan Mohammed III, who feared that his nation could not withstand a full invasion by Austria and Portugal. The Sultan therefore turned to France for aid. With French help the Moroccans began to modernize, bringing in some European style tactics and industries. The French were however not willing to directly get involved in the war, however the Austrians were convinced that the Ottomans were. This helped to prevent the war from happening due to events on the border where a small number of Ottomans on the border were mistaken for a far larger number of troops due to poor book keeping due to linguistic difficulties and the fact that Joseph had demanded that book keeping be done in German, which many soldiers had a poor time with. That factor combined with Joseph falling ill in the start of 1789 lead to the cancellation of war plans.This resulted in Joseph resulting lack of activity for much of the 1790s, a mixture of ill health and a loss of ambition.
Due to Joseph’s poor choices the later Wars of Revolutions became much more violent and widespread that would have been without him, yet he also provide Austria with the organisation and reforms that allowed them to hold together during the Wars.
[1]St. Louis, named changed in the mid 1800s
[2]Charles III died slightly earlier in D-398
[*]This update was one of many preserved solely due to the back ups made by the expidition team, as no one was there to receive the transmission.
[*]
Joseph II: A Man of Controversy
(Centreville[1] 1935)
(Centreville[1] 1935)
It is difficult to discuss Joseph II without starting an argument, as the man was, and still is, highly controversial. A hero to some and a villain to others, yet nearly no one will see him as what he was, a mildly decent ruler who tried but came to power in the wrong era. Any attempts to see him as anything more is merely nationalism getting in the was of logical thinking. A serious flaw for any self respecting historian to nurture. Unfortunately his was an era where many nationalists passions originated.
Joseph was over all a forward thinking man and a supporter of the enlightened despot theory, though many have said that he was a little too much of a despot and not quite enlightened enough. He however viewed himself as a highly logical man, many have said that his theories that pure reason made a state well governed was similar to Communitarian views, it also set him apart from his contemporaries due to the absoluteness of his belief. His attempts at reason did however pit him against the rather unreasonable option before him, on one hand there was a rising feeling of Pan-Germanism, inspired by the rise in Italian nationalism, while on the other hand he had to deal with the large Hungarian population that resented his attempts to Germanify them. No where was this problem more evident than when he made German the official language of Austria, in place of the old Latin. This sparked outrage amongst Hungarians, as well as Croatians, Slovenians, Czechs and Slovakians, while also causing many nationalists to see it as an attempt to have Austria dominate Germany totally. This latter view was supported by the Prussians who feared Austria’s might, an unfortunate move that would later cost everyone dearly.
Joseph put a great deal of work into rationalizing and unifying his chaotic empire’s lands, a move which seemed to him perfectly logical, though in fact caused the Hungarians and Czechs, both of whom had enjoyed some independence. He even avoided many of the agreements that had been made with Hungarians when they entered the empire as he had not wanted to lose power. He angered many of his Italian subjects by attempting to regulate their affairs in the same was Austria was run, damaging their economies and prompting an increase in Italian nationalism. He was in fact unpopular with almost everyone in his empire, largely due to pointlessly petty laws based solely of the fact the Joseph had a particular opinion, such as a ban of gingerbread as the Emperor thought it was unhealthy.
His interference in the Church also made him unpopular, both at home and with the other catholic powers of Europe. His moves of tightening government control of the church were the opposite of Louis XVI’s moves of seperating the state and the church, and though the Pope disliked both the Austrian policies cost him more than the French, thus he supported the French to spite Austria.
Joseph had many dreams of grandeur for Austria, and securing British backing for Austrian colonial expansion was a prime example of this. Unfortunately he was blocked by the less the cooperative French controlled Gibraltar and the Spanish. Knowing that they needed a secure route out of the Mediterranean Joseph devised a plan to invade Morocco, which he hoped would get him Portuguese support, as they had lost Mazagan to the Moroccans a mere 29 years earlier. Joseph thus claimed to be engaging in a form of Reconquista, a move which made the idea of the war popular amongst the Spanish and Portuguese people many of whom felt the French had been to open to the Muslims of the Ottoman Empire. The Portuguese began serious discussions for the invasion, but the Spanish were held out by Louis XVI who dominated the weak Charles IV[2] , causing yet more resentment among the Spanish people already angry about concessions in North America and the Philippines Sale.
News of the invasion plan soon reached the Sultan Mohammed III, who feared that his nation could not withstand a full invasion by Austria and Portugal. The Sultan therefore turned to France for aid. With French help the Moroccans began to modernize, bringing in some European style tactics and industries. The French were however not willing to directly get involved in the war, however the Austrians were convinced that the Ottomans were. This helped to prevent the war from happening due to events on the border where a small number of Ottomans on the border were mistaken for a far larger number of troops due to poor book keeping due to linguistic difficulties and the fact that Joseph had demanded that book keeping be done in German, which many soldiers had a poor time with. That factor combined with Joseph falling ill in the start of 1789 lead to the cancellation of war plans.This resulted in Joseph resulting lack of activity for much of the 1790s, a mixture of ill health and a loss of ambition.
Due to Joseph’s poor choices the later Wars of Revolutions became much more violent and widespread that would have been without him, yet he also provide Austria with the organisation and reforms that allowed them to hold together during the Wars.
[1]St. Louis, named changed in the mid 1800s
[2]Charles III died slightly earlier in D-398
[*]This update was one of many preserved solely due to the back ups made by the expidition team, as no one was there to receive the transmission.
