Author : T C W Blanning
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317899660
Total Pages : 241 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (178 download)
Book Synopsis Joseph II by : T C W Blanning
Download or read book Joseph II written by T C W Blanning and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-11-26 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.