Table Of ContentJOSEPH II:
AN IMPERIAL REFORMER FOR THE
AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS
JOSEPH II:
AN IMPERIAL REFORMER FOR
THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS
by
WALTER W. DAVIS
I I
MARTINUS NIJHOFF / THE HAGUE / 1974
I dedicate this book to my parents, the Rev.
J. Daryl and Mrs. Mary Ellen Davis, whose example,
prayers, and firm faith in God have always inspired me.
© [974 by Martinus Nijhojf, The Hague, Netherlands
All rights reserved, including the right to translate or to
reproduce this book or parts thereof in any form
ISBN 978-94-011-8505-9 ISBN 978-94-011-9241-5 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-011-9241-5
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • .• XI
Chapter Page
1. The Emperor's Legacy. Part one: The Political and Economic
Legacy . . . . . . . .. ............ I
(I) The Austrian Netherlands - geographic description; (3) The
Barrier Treaty and commerce, the Ostend Company, internal transit
system, the fishing industry, wartime commercial prosperity, internal
trade, provincial particularism, tariffs; (8) industry, government
subsidies, royal manufacturers, home textile industries, metallurgical
industries, mining, guilds, problems inhibiting industrialization; (II)
agriculture, reclamation and conservation; (13) political rights, the
Joyeuse Entree, the estates, the municipal corporations, approval of
subsidies; (16) fiscal affairs, sources of revenue, expenditures, bor
rowing, the government lottery, fiscal reforms; (20) judicial system,
Great Council of Malines, the Council of Brabant, the councils of
Hainaut, the Council of Flanders, the councils of Luxemburg, Na
mur, and Guelders, feudal courts; (22) administration - municipal,
provincial, the central government; Austrian administrators and
administrative bodies - the governor-general, the minister plenipo
tentiary, the Supreme Council of the Lowlands in Vienna; the ad
ministrative reorganization of 1757 in Vienna, the administrative
machinery in Brussels - the State and War Secretariat, the Council
of State, the Privy Council, the Finance Council and the treasurer
general, the Chamber of Accounts, subsidiary commissions - the
Commission of Administration and the Business of Subsidies, the
Commission for Charitable Lending Associations, the Monetary
Commission, the Water Commission, the Royal Commission of
Studies; influence of the nobility, governmental centralization.
VI T ABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Page
II. The Emperor's Legacy. Part Two: The Religious, Cultural,
and Intellectual Legacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 32
(32) Religious currents in Belgium in the eighteenth century, Jan
senism, Maria Theresa's independent stance toward Rome, dissolu
tion of the Jesuit Order, Maria Theresa's intolerance of religious
dissidents; (36) intellectual awakening in the latter half of the
century, the roles of Charles de Cobenzl and Charles of Lorraine,
relaxation of censorship, founding of the Imperial and Royal Academy
of Sciences and Letters, institution of public libraries, music and the
theater, Brussels' salons, patronage of the fine arts, architecture, the
French influence, the Flemish vs. Walloon language question; (43)
education, the role of the church, primary schools, secondary schools,
the University of Louvain, boarding schools, proposed educational
reforms at all levels, results; (48) attempted reforms in criminal
law, (58) evaluation of Maria Theresa's rule in the Netherlands.
III. The Emperor: His Motivations, Character, and Intellectual
Heritage. .. ................... 59
(59) Character of Joseph II, contrast with Maria Theresa, Joseph
and Maria Theresa's similarity of purpose; (63) education of
Joseph II, his cultural and intellectual interests, the intellectual
milieu of Vienna - anticurial sentiments; (69) origins of "state
ecclesiasticism," Jansenism in France and the Austrian Lowlands,
"Febronianism," anticurialism in the hereditary lands, Jansenist
currents from Bohemia, early anticurialism in Vienna, traditional
political reasons for opposing Rome, anticurial currents from the
Italian states, state ecclesiasticism in Tuscany and Lombardy, the
role of Kaunitz, Muratori and his influence, Maguald Ziegelbauer,
the Societas incognitorum in terris austriacis, anti-Jesuit currents and
the suppression of the order, Jansenism in university circles, Gerhard
Van Swieten and censorship, Kaunitz and state restriction or regula
tion of church authority, anticurialism in Viennese court circles,
the philosophers and the church - Hobbes, Pufendorf, Thomasius,
Leibniz, Wolff: (96) French "philosophism," Joseph II's visit to
France (1777) and his impressions, other currents of "enlighten
ment"; (100) Freemasonry and its influence, the Illuminati, Austrian
freemasonry and Joseph's attitudes toward it; (102) Sonnenfels and
populationist theories, Joseph's attitude toward Cameralism and
agrarian theories, comparison of Maria Theresa's economic policies
with Joseph's, the general welfare as a determinant of Imperial
policies in every sphere - religious, economic, educational, judicial,
social; (II I) utilitarianism and Joseph II.
TABLE OF CONTENTS VII
Chapter Page
IV. The Emperor, the Lowlands, and the Nations II4
(114) Joseph II assumes authority in the Belgian provinces, his
visit of 1781; (120) the Scheidt question and the barrier fortresses,
Dutch resistance and French perfidy, the Bavarian exchange schemes,
the Fiirstenbund, the Treaty of Fontainebleau (Nov. 8, 1785) and its
results.
V. The Economic Reformer. 134
(134) Joseph II's utilitarian economic views, Joseph requires an
inventory of the government's assets and expenses (January II,
1781), his inability to undertake immediate reforms; (137) Belgian
neutrality during hostilities involving neighboring states brings
commercial prosperity, Imperial measures to stimulate or maintain
commerce, privately financed commercial ventures, endeavors to
establish trade with the United States of America; (146) liberalization
of traffic in grains; (148) tariffs and protectionism, customs admin
istration; (150) internal traffic; (152) liberalization of marketing
regulations and regulation of the guilds; (154) government encour
agement of industries; (159) government encouragement of agri
culture, conservation measures; (162) concluding remarks.
VI. The General Welfare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 163
(163) Joseph II's concern for the public welfare, police regulations,
assistance to the indigent, workhouses for the indolent, gambling
prohibitions; (165) measures in behalf of public health; (166) state
censorship policies; (173) welfare programs, care of orphans,
medical care, insane asylums; (175) regulation of charitable, religious
brotherhoods, supervision and regulation of freemasonry; (176)
medical training and the establishment of hospitals, - difficulties in
implementing the Emperor's programs; (179) attempted educational
reforms, the elementary schools, certification of teachers, secondary
schools, attempt to streamline educational administration; (185)
resistance to Joseph's innovations by the University of Louvain,
failure of government efforts to renovate legal studies, the furor over
the general seminaries, estimate of the Emperor's educational
innovations.
VIn T ABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Page
VII. The Religious Reformer r89
(189) Joseph II's views concerning the role of religion within the
state: his sympathy for some Febronian principles, political Jan
senism, and those opposed to the Jesuits; (193) Joseph and religious
toleration, religious minorities in Belgium, policies undertaken in
behalf of Protestants and Jews, episcopal protests; (199) Imperial
measures designed to insure the independence of the Belgian church
from Rome, episcopal complaints; (200) Pius VI's visit to Vienna;
(202) suppression of "useless" or "unnecessary" religious houses
and plans to reorganize the parishes, protests, the case of the Bol
landisls; (212) further restriction of papal prerogatives in Belgium
and governmental regulation of clerical activities; (217) replacement
of the episcopal seminaries by two government-supervised general
seminaries, protests and opposition.
VIII. The Political Reformer 220
(220) The Austrian regime's desire for administrative centralization,
supervision of public officials, secret agents, Joseph II considers
fusing the Belgian Privy Council and the Secretariat of State and
War; (223) question of the church's right to grant asylum, the
abolition of torture, other judicial measures, study commission
considers revamping the entire legal system, Joseph II determines
to institute a new system of justice; (228) the revolutionary admin
istrative and judicial diplomas (Jan. I, 1787), description of the
"new order," opposition, Joseph's distress.
IX. Reaction and Revolution
(236) Opposition to administrative and judicial reorganization
mounts, weakness of the governors-general, disaffection becomes
widespread, the governors-general suspend the decrees of Jan. I, 1787;
(240) reaction of the Emperor, recall of the governors-general and
the minister plenipotentiary, appointment of General Murray as
military governor, convocation of delegates from the Belgian estates
in Vienna, Joseph refuses to bargain and stipulates "indispensable
preliminaries" to any concessions; (243) Murray attempts to im
plement the royal will but capitulates to the Brussels citizenry
(Sept. 21, 1787), Joseph's diplomatic woes and involvement in war
against the Turks preclude a decisive response; (245) General
d'Alton assumes Murray's command and Count Trauttmansdorff
is appointed minister plenipotentiary - neither is given overall
T ABLE OF CONTENTS IX
Chapter Page
authority but order is temporarily restored; (246) trouble at the
general seminary at Louvain, clerical opposition, discontent among
the peasants and the urban workers, dissatisfaction among segments
of the nobility, reasons for the general unrest; (250) temporary
pacification of the country, return of the governors-general, con
tinued incidents and refusal of subsidies by some of the provincial
estates (Nov. 1788), abrogation of the Joyeuse Entree; (252) the
religious issue, determined opposition of Archbishop Frankenberg
and the Belgian episcopacy; (254) news of events in France and
their impact; (254) revolution in Liege and its influence upon Bel
gium; (257) mobilization of a patriots' army under Jean Andre Van
der Mersch, Jean Fram,ois Vonck and the Pro aris et fods society,
establishment of revolutionary headquarters in Liege and the
United Provinces, Henri Van der Noot's search for foreign assis
tance, alliance of the Vonckists with Van der Noot's partisans, the
"Manifesto of the People of Brabant" (Oct. 24, 1789), patriot
victories at Turnhout and Ghent, general rebellion, departure of
the governors-general; (260) wrangling between D'Alton and Trautt
mansdorff, the latter belatedly receives full powers, the collapse
of the Imperial regime and the withdrawal to Luxemburg, Van
der Noot and his partisans enter Brussels in triumph, disappoint
ment of the Vonckists, bewilderment of the Emperor.
X. The End of a Dream .
(265) The disillusioned Emperor; the disillusioned Vonckists;
(266) declaration of Belgian independence, institution of the United
Belgian States; (268) the new government, political struggle between
the Vonckists and the statists, attitudes of the nations, Prussia lends
token support to the revolutionary government, humiliation of
Van der Mersch and failure of Vonck to seize the initiative, pro
French factions, Van der Noot's partisans suppress their rivals by
mob action, flight of the democrats; (272) death of Joseph II, failure
of his programs and the reasons; (277) accession of Leopold II to
the Habsburg throne, assessment of him, his appeal to the Belgian
estates, rejection of his overtures, the changing situation, the Con
vention of Reichenbach (July 27, 1790), the Austrian restoration,
repudiation of Joseph II's reforms; (282) final assessment of Joseph
II's reign in the Austrian Netherlands.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX ...• 322
PREFACE
It has been said that never has a monarch so narrowly missed "greatness"
as did the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II. An idealistic, sincere, and
hardworking monarch whose ultilitarian bent, humanitarian instincts, and
ambitious programs of reform in every area of public concern have prompted
historians to term him an "enlightened despot," "revolutionary Emperor,"
"philosopher on a throne," and a ruler ahead of his time, Joseph has also
been condemned for being insensitive to the phobias and follies of his
subjects, essentially unrealistic, almost utopian, in establishing his goals,
and dogmatic and overly precipitous in trying to achieve them. Efforts to
analyze and explain the actions of this complex and controversial personality
have involved a number of savants in investigations of "Josephinism" (or
as I prefer to call it, "Josephism"), dealing in great detail with the motiva
tions, substance, and influence of his innovations. The roots of Josephism
run deep, but can be observed emerging here and there from the intellectual
and political soil that nourished them, before joining the central trunk of the
system formulated during the latter years of Maria Theresa's reign to grow
to an ephemeral and stunted maturity under Joseph II. The harsh winds of
opposition denuded many of its branches before they could bear fruit, the
storms of revolution and warfare removed entire limbs, and Metternichian
conservatism permitted only an imbalanced, sometimes grotesque develop
ment; yet nineteenth-century liberals were able to graft onto the battered
tree which began to produce a variety of fruit, seldom, if ever, fullgrown.
Not all have observed Josephism from the same vantage point; never
theless, scholars such as Ferdinand Maass, Fritz Valjavec, and Eduard
Winter have done much to explain and clarify its inspiration, characteristics,
and influence. The ideology and its manifestations are so complex and diverse
that simplistic explanations are sterile and inadequate: to treat even a small
segment of it - the motivations of Joseph II - could easily become a frus
trating task defying full and certain analysis. Confronted by this staggering
problem, I at first sought to ignore it, only to discover that one can not
understand Joseph's programs apart from the man. It is for this reason, that
I have presented a fairly comprehensive summary of the myriad currents
XII PREFACE
and considerations that must have activated him. To do less would be
dereliction of the historian's duty. Therefore, I do not apologize for what
appears to be a rather lengthy Chapter Three; for whole volumes have been
written on this subject which is far from being exhausted. Indeed, I suspect
that the tools of pychoanalysis could uncover much concerning Joseph's
childhood and adolescence - his grooming for the throne as a not unloved
but, in many respects, neglected member of the royal family in the hothouse
atmosphere of the court - which would go far toward explaining his emo
tional makeup and the personality quirks that colored his reforms and, to
a significant degree, explain his failures. But this is a means of investigation
in which there are others far more competent than I; therefore I am content
simply to sketch outstanding character traits and suggest motivations of
which I am reasonably certain.
The "Revolutionary Emperor's" reforms for the Austrian Netherlands
were much the same as for the monarchy as a whole, although local condi
tions, customs, and "constitutions" minimized the need for some and
delayed the implementation of others, while coincidentally helping to shape
the opposition to them. To explain why this land - the only one to carry out
a successful rebellion against the Austrian regime - reacted as it did to the
"enlightened absolutism" of Joseph II, it has been necessary to present a
fairly comprehensive treatment of the situation that he inherited. Conse
quently, the broad picture of the entire period of Habsburg hegemony has
been portrayed (and some inkling given of how events in the Belgian prov
inces were shaped by policies and circumstances affecting the entire mon
archy), but the primary emphasis has been placed upon the relatively short
but crucial ten-year period from 1780 to 1790 when Joseph ruled without
any inhibiting restraints.
Not until now has a detailed and comprehensive account of Joseph's
reign in the Austrian Lowlands been written. Hanns Schlitter's Die Regierung
Josephs II. und den osterreichischen Niederlanden (Wien: Adolf Holzhausen,
1900) is strictly a political history and deals only with the years 1780 to 1787.
Heinrich Benedikt's Als Belgien osterreichisch war (Wien & Munchen:
Verlag Herold, 1965) provides an interesting, popular summary, based on
secondary sources, of the entire era of Austrian rule in the Belgian provinces,
but does not emphasize the key innovator - Joseph II. Again, Henri Pirenne's
a
Histoire de Belgique des origines nos jours (Bruxelles: La Renaissance du
Livre, 1948-1953), t. III presents some admirable insights and provides a
sound short rendition of the subject at hand but is not intended to be a
study in depth and is essentially "anti-Joseph." Aside from these, there are
a number of monographs - some of them quite good - concerning economic,
