Absolutism Project
Part I: Chart - Natalya Morgan, Kenny Frias, Rashel Rosado
Monarch: ​Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II
Sovereign State​: Austria
Dates of Reign​: 1780-1790 (co-regent 1765-1780)
Enlightened Ideas:
1. Promoted Religious Freedom (Commire).
Joseph II was opposed to the power and
influence of the clergy; he believed that organized
religion would centralize his authority, but only if
he unreservedly controlled it. Since any Church
could serve his purpose as well as another, In
1781, Joseph issued a Patent of Toleration which
granted religious tolerance to Protestants and
Greek Orthodox subjects of the monarchy, paving
the way for laws protecting religious freedom.
This essentially put protestants on the same level
of power as catholics, undermining the dominant
position of the Catholic Church. The following
year, The Jews of Austria were additionally given
a measure of religious tolerance through an edict
of Toleration, bringing these religions to a
condition of near equality. Specifically, these
members of minority faiths were now legally
permitted to hold “private religious exercises” in
clandestine churches. It allowed Jewish children
to attend schools and universities and adults to
engage in certain professions as well as
eliminated previous restrictions, including forcing
the Jewish population to wear gold stars. This
greatly pleased the people as they were given
tacit acceptance of their religions rather than
Joseph's endorsement of their religions.
Absolutist Ideas:
2. ​Threats to Hungarian Culture (Maass).
In 1784, Joseph II notified the Hungarian
government that its official language, latin, was
ineffective for modern government and that, since
Hungarian was spoken by only a small
percentage of the population, German would be
used instead. He proclaimed that the superior
language, German, would be used immediately in
central offices, one year later in country offices,
and three years later in municipal offices. Only
German speakers would have been qualified for
government jobs and even membership in the
Hungarian Diet. In addition to these offenses to
Hungarian culture, Joseph refused to suit to a
coronation in Hungary for fear of having to swear
to follow laws he didn trult desire, so he had the
kingdom’s sacred crown transferred to Vienna.
Joseph received harsh criticism for these actions
shortly after.
3. The Abolishment of the Robot (Biesinger)
In 1783, Austrian peasants were required by law
to owe the noble owners of land a payment which
brought many struggles for the peasants. In order
to acquire the total amount owed by the
peasants, those who owned land were to be
assessed. However, this became a major
problem. Traditionally, nobles would hide a
fraction of their earnings in order to bypass
taxation. This began to go against Joseph as it
made him appear guilty because the
concealment of the noble’s earnings was still
legal. As the amount of enemies Joseph earned
began to increase because of this loophole,
Joseph signed a new law which obligated
everyone to have to pay land taxes without
exception. This led to the abolishment of the
robot, freeing peasants from the obligation of
having to pay nobles.
5. The Abolishment of Serfdom (“Encyclopedia
World Biography”).
Joseph II issued a decree in November 1781
authorizing any peasant to leave his village,
engage in any trade he desired, and marry
whomever he pleased, all without the permission
of his lord. Except for orphans, labor service for a
peasant's children was abolished. These new
freedoms were initially restricted to only the
Bohemian crown, but eventually expanded to
other Austrian lands and, in 1785, to Hungary.
Peasant appeals to the central government for
redress of grievances was made possible through
Joseph’s decrees.
4. ​Rehabilitated Official Censorship (“Joseph II”
Biography;​ Wagnleitner 62​).
Joseph II has exercised a plethora of famous
reforms, but these changes he made were often
met with fierce opposition. In an attempt to
muster support for his many ideas and reforms,
Joseph II in 1781 attempted to drastically ease
official censorship, which had been a highly
controversial characteristic of the previous
Theresian rule. After Joseph II attempted to
promote his many reforms and religious policies
by easing official censorship, he soon regretted
his choice; after various writers, nobels, seminary
students, and agents of Prussia King Fredrick
William began organizing famous protests
criticising Joseph, he began responding in ways
which considerably reduced the initial
liberalizations. Censorship was rehabilitated, and
Joseph further issued secret instructions to the
police to focus their efforts on keeping track of
public opinion at all levels of society in 1786. By
1789, police records were almost entirely filled
with information about agitators and possible
violence.
6. Broadened Church Reform (Szabo; Maass).

During the reign of Joseph II, “Josephanism”

came to refer directly to steps taken against the
Catholic Church’s social, economic, political, and
cultural role in the monarchy. Joseph founded
national priestly training colleges, stripped
bishops of their authority, and restricted bishops’
communications with the Pope. The dissolution of
over 700 monasteries that were not involved with
valuable tasks such as teaching or hospital work
weakened the Church’s influence even further.
The money realized by the sale of the Church’s
property helped provide for the 36,000 monks
who were required to abandon their orders and
were given an annuity to return home, salaries for
clergymen, and funds for a total of 774 new
parishes. The clergy became eccleastical civil
servants under this new system of salaries,
looking after the needs of the state.
“Josephanism'' subjected the Roman Catholic
Church to provide service to the state. Joseph’s
fervent desire to apply reforms in the name of
generating a new, better life for his subjects was
met with bitter opposition, however.
Part II: Primary Sources
Names

Primary Source 1:
Title: ​Emperor Joseph II on the Structure and Political Condition of the Austrian Monarchy
and the Holy Roman Empire (1767/68)
Author: Joseph the ll
Date: 1767/68

Excerpt 1: “​Among which religious divisions still loom large.”

Explanation: ​Despite being very religious in his own beliefs, Joseph ll wanted to bridge the
gap and unite the people no matter their specific religious beliefs. He realized the “religious
divisions” that lingered among people and worked to fix it.

Excerpt 2: ​ “​Each confession, every community, every little individual has his own way of
seeing things according to his own little brand of politics, preferences or interests, and orients
his dealings only according to these things, and in no way towards the common good. They
recognize a head [emperor] only in name, and his authority and that of the laws only have
effect insofar as they are agreeable to them. Justice gives way to politics. Impunity can be
displayed without shame, provided that it is supported by force. In short, the empire consists
of various princes, whose interests are diametrically opposed, so that the common good is
never considered in the least.”

Explanation:​In this excerpt, Joseph ll makes his enlightened ideas more known. He is
criticizing the way that the Emperor has an affect or partial authority over everything including
people’s own thoughts or political opinions. He believes that people should have the freedom
to have opinions that won't be swayed or dictated by their leaders, this will lead to the
common good of the people. Also, he finds it absurd that even what is considered justice and
the basic morals of humanity can be measured by what the emperor perceives is just and
right, never being held in respect for the common good of the people.

Primary Source 2:
Title:​Letter to Austrian Chancellor on the Reform of Higher Education in the Austrian Empire
Author: ​Joseph II
Date: ​November 29th, 1781

Excerpt 1:​ ​Dear Count Blümegen! The importance of university studies has led me to wish to
simplify and perfect them as much as possible. Therefore, I have, first and foremost, selected
a director who is suitable for the university system and who, charged with this task alone, is
able, through his knowledge and industry, to bring about the desired goal.
Explanation: ​Joseph II sought to perfect education for the common people. He wished to
spread elementary schooling and switch the focus of higher education. He wanted higher
education to focus on policy oriented training for state officials rather than humanistic
disciplines. By doing so, the common people would have a better education and would be
ready for jobs needed by the state.

Excerpt 2:​ ​Since it would be impossible to create something perfect unless all the related
parts come together and offer assistance to each other, the entire normal school system [for
teacher training] will have to be subordinated to and incorporated in this University
Directorate, and thus Provost Felbinger will, with the cessation of his office and salary here,
henceforth be left only with his abbey in Hungary and the direction of the normal school
system there; here, however, the most qualified directors, whether they be Piarists or others,
secular or spiritual, shall be kept in the normal school system.

Explanation: ​Although Joseph II was an absolute ruler, he still valued when people would
work together. As he wished to perfect the education system, he believed that it couldn’t be
achieved unless there were people working hand in hand. His value for education allowed for
the common people to thrive as he developed an improved education system.

Primary Source 3:
Title: ​First daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II
Author: ​Unknown
Date: ​Before 1770

Caption/Description:
Maria Theresa, Joseph’s first born daughter was a very important figure in Joseph’s
life. Her death caused Joseph’s hatred for humanity to prosper. He became
desperately unhappy and kept busy with state affairs. Despite this, he passed many
laws that would both help the common people.

Primary Source 4:
Title: ​The Patent of Tolerance 1781
Author: ​Joseph II
Date: ​January 1st 1781

Caption/Description:
The Patent of Tolerance, written in 1781, was a law that granted equal civil rights to
Protestants and Greek Othordox. Along with equal civil rights, Joseph granted
religious tolerance to those religious groups. A year later, he passed the Edict of
Tolerance which added Jews to the group of religions that were tolerated.
Part III-Works​ ​Cited
Secondary Sources/Database Sources:
Biesinger, Joseph A. “Joseph II.” ​Germany​, Facts On File, 2006. ​Modern World History​,

online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=17225&itemid=WE53&articleId=267170.

Accessed 15 Mar. 2021.

Biography.com Editors. “Joseph II.” ​Biography.com,​ A&E Networks Television, 1 July 2020,

www.biography.com/political-figure/joseph-ii.

"Joseph II (1741–1790)." ​Encyclopedia of European Social History,​ edited by Peter N. Stearns,

vol. 6: Biographies/Contributors, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2001, pp. 167-169. ​Gale In

Context: World History,​

link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3460500402/WHIC?u=pcti_main&sid=WHIC&xid=72541b7

6. Accessed 17 Mar. 2021.

"Joseph, II." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, Gale, 1998. Gale In Context: World

History,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631003452/WHIC?u=pcti_main&sid=WHIC&xid=3526bbb4.

Accessed 12 Mar. 2021.

"Joseph, II." ​Historic World Leaders​, edited by Anne Commire, Gale, 1994. ​Gale In Context:

World History​,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1616000320/WHIC?u=pcti_main&sid=WHIC&xid=8b8b3047.

Accessed 14 Mar. 2021.

MAASS, F. "Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor." ​New Catholic Encyclopedia,​ 2nd ed., vol. 7,

Gale, 2003, pp. 1041-1042. ​Gale In Context: World History,​

 link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3407706094/WHIC?u=pcti_main&sid=WHIC&xid=05c2b0a

e. Accessed 17 Mar. 2021.

Roman, Eric. “Joseph II.” ​Austria-Hungary,​ Facts On File, 2003. ​Modern World History,​

online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=17225&itemid=WE53&articleId=253208.

Accessed 15 Mar. 2021.

Schreyvogl , Friedrich. “Joseph II.” ​Encyclopædia Britannica​, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 10

Mar. 2021, www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-II.

SZABO, FRANZ A. J. "Josephinism." ​Europe, 1450 to 1789:​ ​Encyclopedia of the Early Modern

World​, edited by Jonathan Dewald, vol. 3, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004, pp. 380-381.

Gale In Context: World History​,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3404900582/WHIC?u=pcti_main&sid=WHIC&xid=4058042

b. Accessed 16 Mar. 2021.

Zöllner , Erich. “Early Reign of Joseph II, 1780–85.” ​Encyclopædia Britannica,​ Encyclopædia

Britannica, Inc., 15 Mar. 2021,

www.britannica.com/place/Austria/Early-reign-of-Joseph-II-1780-85.

Primary Sources:

Joseph, II. “1782 Edict of Tolerance.” ​Wikipedia​, Wikimedia Foundation, 3 Feb. 2021,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1782_Edict_of_Tolerance.

II, Joseph. “Emperor Joseph II, Letter to Austrian Chancellor and Bohemian Governor Heinrich

Cajetan Count Von Blümegen on the Reform of Higher Education in the Austrian Empire

(November 29, 1781).” ​GHDI - Document - Page​,

germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/docpage.cfm?docpage_id=4208.
II, Joseph. “Emperor Joseph II on the Structure and Political Condition of the Austrian Monarchy

and the Holy Roman Empire (1767/68).” ​GHDI - Document,​

germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_id=3519.

Unknown. “Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria (1762–1770).” ​Wikipedia,​ Wikimedia

Foundation, 19 Jan. 2021,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archduchess_Maria_Theresa_of_Austria_(1762%E2%80%931770

Part 4:One Slide Slideshow:

Joseph ll Slide