Publisher's Synopsis
Joseph II was son, co-regent and successor of Maria Theresa as ruler of the Habsburg monarch and Holy Roman Empire in his own right from 1765.;This book seeks to analyze the constraints under which Joseph II operated, his attempts to overcome them and the reasons for his failure. A constant theme is his attempt to construct a modern state and the baleful effects this misguided exercise had on the Habsburg monarchy, the Holy Roman Empire and Europe. His reign is placed in its widest international context, with special attention given to the relationship of the Habsburg monarch and the Holy Roman Empire, the impact of the French Revolution on central Europe and the general development of the European states-system in this period.;The book examines full geographical, socio-economic and cultural perspectives, to provide a history of the Habsburg monarchy, as well as a study of Joseph himself, his complex personality and his ill-fated reform programme.;"Profiles in Power" series are not biographies, though they contain much biographical material. They aim to be succinct and interpretive essays, analyzing the major features of the career within the context of its own time.
