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Josef II, Holy Roman Emperor

Joseph II
Anton von Maron 006.png
Emperor Joseph II
(by Anton von Maron, 1775)
King of the Romans
Reign 27 March 1764 – 20 February 1790
Coronation 3 April 1764, Frankfurt
Predecessor Francis I
Successor Leopold II
Holy Roman Emperor
Reign 18 August 1765 – 20 February 1790
Predecessor Francis I
Successor Leopold II
Archduke of Austria
Reign 18 August 1765 – 20 February 1790
Predecessor Francis I Stephen
Successor Leopold VII
Co-monarch Maria Theresa
Reign 29 November 1780 – 20 February 1790
Predecessor Maria Theresa
Successor Leopold II
Born 13 March 1741
Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria
Died 20 February 1790(1790-02-20) (aged 48)
Vienna, Austria
Burial Imperial Crypt, Vienna
Spouse
Issue
House Habsburg-Lorraine
Father Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
Mother Maria Theresa of Austria
Religion Roman Catholicism

Joseph II (Joseph Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I, and was the brother of Marie Antoinette. He was thus the first ruler in the Austrian dominions of the House of Lorraine, styled Habsburg-Lorraine (von Habsburg-Lothringen in German). Joseph was a proponent of enlightened absolutism; however, his commitment to modernizing reforms subsequently engendered significant opposition, which eventually culminated in an ultimate failure to fully implement his programmes. He has been ranked, with Catherine the Great of Russia and Frederick the Great of Prussia, as one of the three great Enlightenment monarchs. His policies are now known as Josephinism. He died with no sons and was succeeded by his younger brother, Leopold.

Joseph was born in the midst of the early upheavals of the War of the Austrian Succession. His real education was given to him through the writings of Voltaire and the Encyclopédistes, and by the example of his contemporary (and sometimes rival) King Frederick II of Prussia. His useful training was conferred by government officials, who were directed to instruct him in the mechanical details of the administration of the numerous states composing the Austrian dominions and the Holy Roman Empire.


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