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Joseph II

Biography

3:41

Joseph II's Reign of Austria

 

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Emperor Joseph II - There It Is

 

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Well Look At Them - Extended

 

2:43

Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, Brought To Life

 

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Joseph II - Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia, Margrave

Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor Francis I, and the brother of Marie Antoinette. He was thus the first ruler in the Austrian dominions of the House of Lorraine, styled Habsburg-Lorraine. 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 II.