Joseph II

“Enlightened Despotism” is often called enlightened absolutism. Absolutism is when the ruling monarch is considered sovereign and answerable only to God. The king is the sole ruler and all local nobility must be controlled by his will. A group of monarchs, including Joseph II and Catherine the Great, presented the ideology of enlightened absolutism. They were highly educated and proclaimed themselves as dedicated to serving the people in their kingdom. For a monarch to be “enlightened”, he had to uphold the freedoms of religion, speech, and press. These monarchs emphasized the importance of education, science, and the performance of the arts. The goals of the enlightened monarchs included sweeping reforms of government in hopes to provide the people with a greater level of equality.[1]

Joseph II was one such monarch. He ruled Austria jointly with his mother, Maria Theresa until her death in 1780. Joseph desired change on a grand scale and often butted heads with his Catholic, more conservative mother.[2] After her death, Joseph built reform programs that tended to alienate instead of unite; and his attempts were often misunderstood by those they were designed to help.

Austria was extremely diverse in culture and language. Joseph sought to unify his provinces by encouraging everyone within his realm to speak German. He used the arts as a means of promoting this national language. He even went so far as to keep those who did not speak German out of official positions.[3]

The Austrian nobility were not eager to adopt Joseph’s drastic changes in the relationship between noble lord and peasant poor. Serfdom became a thing of the past. A new level of religious tolerance was introduced. Joseph sought greater control over the Catholic Church, and he pushed the idea that all were equal. His changes were so numerous and drastic that the people of Austria were completely overwhelmed.[4]

Joseph II tried to answer the “reform calls of the philosophes.”[5] His desire was to use Philosophy to govern his empire. He believed, “her logical applications are going to transform Austria.”[6] Instead, he was encumbered with a great sense of failure. At his death, he believed himself, “unfortunate in everything that he undertook,”[7] and many of his reforms were later overturned.

Catherine the Great of Russia also sought reform in accordance with the ideas of the Enlightenment, but she differed from Joseph II in her methodology. She knew and understood the importance of the nobility.[8] Her desire to please the royal elite limited her ability to effect change. While she claimed to seek equality for all, her leadership actually punctuated the difference between landowner and peasant. Conditions for the poor grew progressively worse and serfdom spread throughout her kingdom leading to rebellion.[9]

By Shannon Merski

Catherine desired a new code of laws for Russia based on the principals of the Enlightenment. She called an assembly and gave specific instructions, but this new code never went into effect.[10]

Catherine did manage reforms in the areas of health care, education, and the economy. She promoted the arts, and was able to increase both the size and power of Russia.[11]

Catherine embraced the Enlightenment intellectually and aligned herself with its beliefs, but she did not fervently seek the radical changes of Joseph II. Both Joseph and Catherine sought an absolutist rule and were stymied in their attempts by the presence of the nobility. While Joseph tried to force their cooperation, Catherine sought it gently. Due to the nobles roadblock to change, both Joseph and Catherine failed to see a balancing of the inequalities between those who “have” and those who “have not.”

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[1] “Enlightened Despotism,” Dictionary.LaborLawTalk.com, http://encyclopedia.laborlawtalk.com/Enlightened_absolutism (October 12, 2005).

[2] Elizabeth Manning, “The Politics of Culture: Joseph II’s German Opera,” History Today 43 (Jan 1993) Available: Proquest; ADDRESS: http://proquest.umi.com/ (October 12, 2005).

[3] Ibid.

[4]Jackson J. Spielvogel, Western Civilization: A Bried History Volume II: Since 1500 (Thomson Wadsworth, 2005), pg 329.

[5] Ibid, pg 328.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid, pg 329.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Spielvogel, 329.

[10] G. Vernadsky, “A Source Book for Russian History,” Internet Modern History Sourcebook, Vol 2 (1972), Available; ADDRESS: http://www.fordhan.edu/halsall/mod/18catherine.html

[11]J.J. Parry, “Her Story: Empress of Russia,” Dawn. Anglesea 38 (2000), Available: ProQuest; ADDRESS: http://proquest.umi.com/ (October 11, 2005)