Joseph II

Reign 18 August 1765 – 20 February 1790 Coronation 3 April 1764 Frankfurt Cathedral Predecessor Francis I Successor Leopold II Archduke of Austria, King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia Reign 18 August 1765 – 20 February 1790 Predecessor Maria Theresa and Francis I Successor Leopold VII & II Co-ruler Maria Theresa (1765–1780) King of Galicia and Lodomeria Reign 5 August 1772 – 20 February 1790 Successor Leopold II Co-ruler Maria Theresa (1772–1780) Born 13 March 1741 Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, Holy Roman Empire Died 20 February 1790 (aged 48) Vienna, Archduchy of Austria Burial Imperial Crypt Spouses Isabella of Parma ​ ​(m. 1760; died 1763)​ Maria Josepha of Bavaria ​ ​(m. 1765; died 1767)​ Issue Archduchess Maria Theresa Archduchess Maria Christina Names Josephus Benedictus Joannes Antonius Michael Adamus House Habsburg-Lorraine Father Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor Mother Maria Theresa Religion Catholic Church Signature Joseph was a proponent of enlightened absolutism like his brother Leopold II; however, his commitment to secularizing, liberalizing and modernizing reforms resulted in significant opposition, which resulted in failure to fully implement his programs. Meanwhile, despite making some territorial gains, his reckless foreign policy badly isolated Austria. He has been ranked with Catherine the Great of Russia and Frederick the Great of Prussia as one of the three great Enlightenment monarchs. False but influential letters depict him as a somewhat more radical philosophe than he probably was. His policies are now known as Josephinism. He was a supporter of the arts, particularly of composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri. He died with no known surviving legitimate offspring and was succeeded by his younger brother Leopold II.