House of Habsburg Facts & Worksheets

Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor

• Following the death of his mother, Maria Theresa, Joseph II ruled as the sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy. Brother to several sovereigns, such as Marie Antoinette, Leopold II and Maria Carolina of Austria, Joseph II was the first ruler of the Habsburg-Lorraine line. 
• Ranked as one of the enlightened despots, along with Catherine the Great of Russia and Frederick the Great of Prussia, Joseph aligned himself with the ideal of a definite system for ‘the good of all’.
• In accordance with philosophy during the Age of Enlightenment, Joseph II promoted the spread of education, secularisation of church lands, compulsory use of the German language, emancipation of serfs, payment of peasants in cash and abolition of the death penalty.  
• While most were rejected by the nobility, clergy and even the peasants, Joseph II pursued his policies. 
• When the French Revolution broke out in 1789, Joseph sought to help his sister’s family. However, the plans to save Marie Antoinette and her family ultimately failed. 
• Unlike his mother, Joseph II employed religious toleration. Amidst the tight connection between the Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire, Joseph II made the churches in his territories independent of Rome. The number of monasteries, monks and nuns was reduced during his rule. He ordered the simplification of celebrating Mass and church ornamentation. 
• The Edict of Tolerance and the Secularization Decree in 1782 induced Pope Pius VI to visit him. While he received the pope with politeness, he was never influenced. 
• Austria initially strengthened its alliance with Russia in 1781 during his reign, but it later became futile, leading to the Austro-Turkish War in 1787.
• Also a supporter of the arts, particularly of Mozart and Salieri, Joseph II died of tuberculosis in 1790. His policies became known as Josephinism. 

Franz Joseph I of Austria

• Franz Joseph I reigned as Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and several nations within the Habsburg Empire from December 1848 until he died in 1916. The countries under his rule were first known as the Austrian Empire at the beginning of his reign. However, in 1867, a reorganisation took place, establishing the Austro-Hungarian Empire as a dual monarchy. 
• Franz Joseph I succeeded his uncle as emperor of Austria following the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. However, his reign was consistently troubled by growing nationalism. Militarily, he was challenged by the Crimean War, the Second Italian War of Independence and the Austro-Prussian War. As a result of the Austro-Prussian War, the North German Confederation was created, composed of 25 states with 4 constituent kingdoms, 6 grand duchies, 5 duchies, 7 principalities, 3 free Hanseatic cities and 1 imperial territory. 
• Only Austria and Liechtenstein did not join the confederation.
• The setbacks ultimately led to the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, which was pivotal when it restored a portion of the Kingdom of Hungary’s sovereignty and severed its direct subjugation to the Austrian Empire.
• In addition, Hungary was accorded the status of an equal partner with Austria, which effectively terminated the 18-year reign of military dictatorship and absolutism instituted by Emperor Franz Joseph. On 8 June, Franz Joseph was formally crowned King of Hungary, and on 28 July, he enacted legislation that formally established the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary over the Habsburg domains.
• By 1870, Franz Joseph I’s aim to unify Germany under the House of Habsburg faced several problems. One faction favoured his aim of a Greater Germany under the Habsburgs, while the other supported a Lesser Germany and opposed the inclusion of Austria because millions of non-Germans would be integrated into a German nation-state. 
• Architected by Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the unification of Germany created an empire dominated by the Prussians in 1871.
• By 1873, Franz Joseph I had joined the League of Three Emperors, along with Emperor Wilhelm I of Germany and Tsar Alexander II of Russia (later succeeded by Alexander III). Bismarck orchestrated the league to maintain peace in Europe. 
• On 28 July 1914, Franz Joseph I declared war against Serbia, setting the stage for the First World War. While a combination of militarism, imperialism and nationalism had been broiling for decades, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Franz Joseph I’s nephew and heir presumptive, triggered the war. Shortly after, Russia, Germany, the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan and the United States were at war. 
• Mid-war, Franz Joseph I died of pneumonia. He was succeeded by his grandnephew Charles I & IV, who only reigned until the collapse of the empire in 1918.

Other Habsburg Rulers

Austrian Habsburg

• Ferdinand I (1556–1564) was Charles V’s brother, who became Holy Roman Emperor and sovereign of Austria.
• Maximilian II (1564–1576) advocated religious tolerance but faced internal struggles.
• Rudolf II (1576–1612), a patron of the arts and sciences, struggled with the Protestant Reformation.
• Matthias (1612–1619) was a weak ruler; his reign saw tensions leading to the Thirty Years’ War.
• Ferdinand II (1619–1637) was a strong Catholic ruler whose policies helped ignite the Thirty Years’ War.
• Ferdinand III (1637–1657) ended the Thirty Years’ War with the Peace of Westphalia.
• Francis II (1792–1806) was the last Holy Roman Emperor who dissolved the empire after the Napoleonic Wars.

Spanish Habsburg

• Philip III (1598–1621) delegated power to favourites; Spain’s decline began.
• Philip IV (1621–1665) ruled during the Thirty Years’ War and lost Portugal in 1640.
• Charles II (1665–1700) was the last Spanish Habsburg. Physically weak and childless, his death led to the War of Spanish Succession.

Austrian and Spanish Habsburgs

• Following Charles V’s abdication, his hereditary domains were split between the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs. The Spanish imperial domains were granted to his son Philip II of Spain, while the Austrian lands, including Bohemia, Hungary and Croatia, were given to his brother Ferdinand I. 
• Under the Oñate Treaty signed on 6 June 1617, the Austrian and Spanish branches of the House of Habsburg were settled. Philip III of Spain agreed that Ferdinand II would be the uncontended king of Bohemia and Hungary. In return, Ferdinand II granted Philip III unchallenged rule over the Spanish Road, which included Habsburg territories through Alsace and the Free County of Burgundy, to the Spanish Netherlands. The final version of the treaty was negotiated by the Spanish ambassador to Vienna, Iñigo de Oñate. 

Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire and emergence of Habsburg-Lorraine

• The House of Habsburg-Lorraine originated from the 1736 marriage of Francis III, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Maria Theresa of Austria. 
• Joseph II was the first member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine to rule the Holy Roman Empire. Upon his death in 1790, his brother Leopold II succeeded him shortly. 
• By 1792, Francis II, Leopold’s son, was crowned emperor. Among his challenges were Napoleon’s rise and repeated defeat of the Austrians during the War of the First Coalition. With the threat of Napoleon ruling over all Austrian Habsburg dominions, Francis II dissolved the Holy Roman Empire and declared himself Emperor of Austria. 
• However, upon Napoleon’s final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the Congress of Vienna restored the European territories to their pre-Napoleonic Wars state. Old regimes were restored, and Austria recovered all its Italian, Slavic and German territories. 
• Furthermore, a Grand Alliance between Austria, Russia and Prussia was established. 
• Francis I of Austria was initially highly influenced by his Chancellor Klemens von Metternich, whom he later dismissed. Upon Francis I’s death in 1835, he was succeeded by his son Ferdinand I, who abdicated the throne during the Revolutions of 1848 in favour of 18-year-old Franz Joseph. Franz Joseph I was the last member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine to hold any significant political position in Europe.