Joseph II

Profiles in Power

by Timothy C.W. Blanning

Joseph II (1741--90) -- son and eventual successor of Maria Theresa -- has conventionally been seen in the context of the "Enlightened Despot'' reformers. Today's turmoil in his former territories invites a rather different perspective, however, as Joseph grapples with the familiar and intractable problems of creating a viable unitary state out of his multi-national empire in Central Europe. Professor Blanning's brilliant short study, based on extensive archival research, offers a history of the Habsburg monarchy in the eighteenth century, as well as a revaluation of the emperor's complex personality and his ill-fated reform programme.

Genres: History

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Timothy Charles William Blanning, FBA is Emeritus Professor of Modern European History at the University of Cambridge, where he taught from 1992 until 2009. His work focuses on the history of Europe from the 17th century to the beginning of the First World War.

Reviews

[Peter Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Old fashioned but still somewhat interesting. There's a strong focus on the personality of Joseph, which you might expect. But twist the kaleidoscope and you can see how the personal character to which Blanning ascribes the changes initiated by Joseph are more likely the result of similar social change which resulted elsewhere in the things like the French Revolution, and the post 1806 changes in Prussia - in other words an enlightenment and fundamentally Hegelian view of the role of the state in national life, bringing (the beginning of) the end to the personal feudal rule of a monarch. For a someone with just a general interest in this period, it makes for an interesting introduction. So not perfect, but worth a couple of hundred pages.

[Duncan McLaren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably one of the best books about Joseph the second, really shows how the actions he took after Maria Teresa‘s death reflected so much of what he could not accomplish under her rule.

[Satya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good introduction.

There are also lots of other books on Joseph II that are very good. This should be the start rather than the end of the reading on such an interesting individual.

The line on the seizing of Silesia as a 'six-pointer' was very good: Prussia gained but the Habsburgs also lost. That is, the gain was not x but 2x.