362 Chapter 19(1778). After a rebellion by Bohemian peasants in 1775,
another imperial decree converted the detested robot
into a money tax.
Joseph II carried this work to its logical conclusion—
the complete emancipation of the serfs—after the death
of his mother in 1780. His decree of 1781 (the Unter-
tanspatent) gave peasants in Austria, Bohemia, and Galicia
the right to appeal to the state in any disputes with their
lords. That same year he abolished serfdom in Austria.
Peasants obtained the right to marry, to move to the
city, and to learn a trade without permission. Then, be-
tween 1781 and 1785, Joseph extended this emancipa-
tion to his other domains. Joseph II had practical
reasons for his policy, such as asserting royal power
against the aristocracy and creating a more efficient
economy, but the ideas of the Enlightenment were an
important factor. As the Patent to Abolish Serfdom of
1781 stated in its preface, “reason and humanity alike
require this change.” That did not mean, however, that
Joseph was simply a gentle philosopher: He was both
despot and enlightened. He had autocratic instincts, and
those around him often commented on his domineer-
ing, uncompromising, irritable character.
Maria Theresa’s financial needs and Joseph II’s re-
forming zeal led to similar policies regarding the
Catholic Church. The financial crisis of 1763 con-
vinced the devout empress that she should challenge
some of the tax exemptions and privileges of the
church. She began by asking the church to make a
greater “voluntary contribution” to the treasury and to
limit future property donations to the church (which
became tax-exempt land), but the Vatican refused. This
led to imperial decrees restricting the church’s acquisi-
tion of land, beginning with a patent that applied to the
duchy of Milan in 1767. Thus, the financial crisis
brought the monarchy into conflict with the church
just as it had with the nobility, and this led to a variety
of reforms. In 1768 the first tax on the clergy was cre-
ated. In 1771 a decree established the maximum
amount of property that an individual could bring to
the church when joining a monastic order. In this strug-
gle, Joseph pressed his mother even harder than he did
against the aristocracy, and after her death, he acted
vigorously. Between 1781 and 1789, Joseph closed
more than seven hundred monasteries with thirty-six
thousand members. He seized the lands of the dis-
persed orders, thereby raising revenues for the state and
converting church properties into schools. In all mat-
ters, he tried to break the power of Rome over the
Catholic Church in Austria, a national religious policy
known as Josephinism.
Joseph II also earned recognition for enlightenment
by responding to two great concerns of the philo-
sophes: the toleration of religious minorities (see docu-
ment 19.1) and the Beccarian modernization of law
codes. In 1781 he issued the Edict of Toleration that ex-
tended the rights of full citizenship to Protestants and
Jews. Such minorities were allowed to enter businesses
and professions or to hold previously closed offices.
They obtained the right to hold religious services, al-
though regulations still restricted such details as the
right to have churches with steeples or bells. Joseph’s
policy was again a mixture of enlightened ideals and
practical politics. Emancipating the minorities brought
people of talent into state service and promoted eco-
nomic growth. Joseph admitted this in the Edict of Tol-
eration, saying that he granted it because he was
“convinced on the one hand of the perniciousness of all
restraints on conscience and, on the other, of the great
benefits to religion and the state from true Christian
tolerance.”DOCUMENT 19.1
Joseph II on Religious Toleration
To an Austrian Noble, December 1787:
Till now the Protestant religion has been opposed
in my states; its adherents have been treated like
foreigners; civil rights, possession of estates, titles,
and appointments, all were refused them.
I determined from the very commencement of
my reign to adorn my diadem with the love of my
people, to act in the administration of affairs ac-
cording to just, impartial, and liberal principles;
consequently, I granted toleration, and removed
the yoke which had oppressed the Protestants for
centuries.
Fanaticism shall in the future be known in my
states only by the contempt I have for it; nobody
shall any longer be exposed to hardships on ac-
count of his creed; no man shall be compelled in
the future to profess the religion of the state....
[M]y Empire shall not be the scene of abominable
intolerance.
“Letters of Joseph II.” In Harry J. Carroll, Jr., et al.,
eds., The Development of Civilization,vol. 2. Chicago:
Scott Foresman, 1969.