Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor

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 Hapsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa (with whom he co-ruled in a number of territories from 1765 until her death in 1780) 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. Joseph was a proponent of enlightened absolutism, and sought to reform education, the law, and culture (he was a patron of Wolfgang Mozart, for example). He also followed a policy of religious tolerance. However, his commitment to modernizing reforms subsequently engendered significant opposition (most notably from his mother during their co-rule), which eventually culminated in an ultimate failure to fully implement his programs. Revolts took place in Hungary and Belgium. Moreover, Joseph was expansionist, and frequently followed policies specifically designed to cause conflict with his neighbors. While Austria gained territory at the expense of the Kingdom of Poland during the First and Third Partitions of Poland, but was unable to realize his goal of annexing Bavaria. The Austro-Turkish War, concurrent with the Russian-Turkish War, was costly to Austria.

Joseph died in February, 1790 after a long period of illness, watching in his last days as his reforms came to naught.

Joseph II in "The More it Changes"
In 1773, several villages in the Polish territory Joseph II had acquired in 1772 were set upon by Sabbatean hadimacks. Many in the village of Kolimija had hoped that the strength Joseph had at his command would keep the the hadimacks at bay, but this proved not to be the case.