Joseph I (Joseph Jacob Ignaz Johann Anton Eustachius; 26 July 1678 – 17 April 1711) was

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

and ruler of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

from 1705 until his death in 1711. He was the eldest son of

Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; ; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia, and List of Bohemian monarchs, Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Rom ...

from his third wife, Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg. Joseph was crowned

King of Hungary The King of Hungary () was the Monarchy, ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Magyarország apostoli királya'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 ...

at the age of nine in 1687 and was elected

King of the Romans King of the Romans (; ) was the title used by the king of East Francia following his election by the princes from the reign of Henry II (1002–1024) onward. The title originally referred to any German king between his election and coronatio ...

at the age of eleven in 1690. He succeeded to the thrones of

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

and the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

when his father died. Joseph continued the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

, begun by his father against

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

of France, in an attempt to make his younger brother

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

(later Emperor Charles VI)

King of Spain The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...

. In the process, however, owing to the victories won by his military commander, Prince

Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736), better known as Prince Eugene, was a distinguished Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty durin ...

, he did succeed in establishing Austrian hegemony over Italy. Joseph also had to contend with a protracted revolt in Hungary, fomented by Louis XIV. Neither conflict was resolved until the

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaty, peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vac ...

, after his death. His motto was ''Amore et Timore'' (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for "Through Love and Fear"). Like his father and grandfather, he was a composer.

Early life

Born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Joseph was educated strictly by Charles Theodore, Prince of Salm, and became a good linguist. Perhaps due to the influence of his formerly Protestant tutor he was a less devout Catholic than his parents and other relatives and developed into an adherent of the early

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a Europe, European Intellect, intellectual and Philosophy, philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained th ...

. He had two great enthusiasms: music and hunting. Although Joseph was the first son and child born of his parents' marriage, he was his father's third son and seventh child. Previously, Leopold had been married to Infanta Margaret Theresa of Spain, who had given him four children, one of whom survived infancy. He then married Claudia Felicitas of Austria, who gave him two short-lived daughters. Thus, Joseph had six half-siblings. In 1684, the six-year-old Archduke had his first portrait painted by Benjamin Block. At the age of nine, on 9 December 1687, he was crowned King of Hungary; and at the age of eleven, on 23 January 1690, King of the Romans.

Military service

In 1702, at the outbreak of the

, Joseph saw his only military service. He joined the Imperial General, Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden, in the Siege of Landau.

Holy Roman Emperor

Prior to his ascension, Joseph had surrounded himself with reform-hungry advisors and the young court of Vienna was ambitious in the elaboration of innovative plans. He was described as a "forward-looking ruler". The large number of privy councillors was reduced and attempts were made to make the bureaucracy more efficient. Measures were taken to modernize the central bodies and a certain success was achieved in stabilizing the chronically poor Habsburg finances. Joseph also endeavoured to strengthen his position in the Holy Roman Empire – as a means of strengthening Austria’s standing as a great power. When he sought to lay claim to imperial rights in Italy and gain territories for the Habsburgs, he even risked a military conflict with the Pope over the Duchy of Mantua. Joseph I was threatened with excommunication by Pope Clement XI on 16 June 1699.Joaquín Lorenzo Villanueva
Misapprehension of Patrick Curties and James Doyle concerning the oath which the bishops of Ireland take to the Roman Pontiff
(1825) page 64 In Hungary, Joseph had inherited the kuruc rebellion from his father Leopold I: once again, nobles in

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

(Siebenbürgen) had risen against Habsburg rule, even advancing for a time as far as Vienna. Although Joseph was compelled to take military action, he refrained – unlike his predecessors – from seeking to teach his subjects a lesson by executing the leaders. Instead, he agreed to a compromise peace, which in the long term facilitated the integration of

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

into the Habsburg domains. It was his good fortune to govern the Austrian dominions and to be head of the Empire, during the years in which his trusted general, Prince Eugene of Savoy, either acting alone in Italy or with the Duke of Marlborough in Germany and

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

, was beating the armies of Louis XIV of France. During the whole of his reign, Hungary was disturbed by the conflict with Francis Rákóczi II, who eventually took refuge in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. The emperor reversed many of the authoritarian measures of his father, thus helping to placate opponents. He began the attempts to settle the question of the Austrian inheritance by a

pragmatic sanction A pragmatic sanction is a sovereign's solemn decree on a matter of primary importance and has the force of fundamental law. In the late history of the Holy Roman Empire, it referred more specifically to an edict issued by the Emperor. When used ...

, which was continued by his brother Charles VI.

Religious and ethnic policies

During the Rákóczi's rebellion (1703–1711) in the Kingdom of Hungary, Joseph's government was also faced with various religious and ethnic challenges. Significant portion of Hungarian nobility and people belonged to the Reformed Church (Calvinists). Hoping to gain full religious freedom and equality, Hungarian Calvinists were supportive for the Rákóczi's movement, thus forcing the imperial court in Vienna to reexamine some staunch pro-Catholic policies. In the same time, eastern and southern regions of the Kingdom were also inhabited by Eastern Orthodox Christians, mainly

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

and

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

. In order to secure their loyalty, Joseph issued (in 1706) official confirmation of religious liberties that were previously granted to Eastern Orthodox subjects by his father, late emperor Leopold I. In 1708, Joseph confirmed the establishment of the Metropolitanate of Krušedol. In 1710, Joseph extended his father's edict of

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them. ...

ry against the Romani ( Gypsies) in the Habsburg lands. Per Leopold, any Romani who entered the kingdom was to be declared an outlaw by

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

. If the same person returned to Bohemia a second time, they were to be "treated with all possible severity". Joseph ordered that in the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...

they were to have their right ears cut off; in the Margraviate of Moravia, the left ear was to be cut off; in Austria, they would be branded on the back with a

branding iron A branding iron is used for livestock branding, branding, pressing a heated metal shape against an object or livestock with the intention of leaving an identifying mark. History The history of branding is very much tied to the history of using ...

, representing the

gallows A gallows (or less precisely scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sa ...

. These mutilations were to enable the authorities to identify Romani who had been outlawed and returned. Joseph's edict specified "that all adult males were to be hanged without trial, whereas women and young males were to be flogged and banished forever." Officials who failed to enforce the edict could be fined 100 Reichsthaler. Helping Romani was punishable by a half-year's forced labor. "Mass killings" of Romani were reported as a result.David Crowe (2004): A History of the Gypsies of Eastern Europe and Russia (Palgrave Macmillan) p.XI p.36-37

Death

During the

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

epidemic of 1711, which killed Louis, Grand Dauphin and three siblings of the future Emperor Francis I, Joseph became infected. He died on 17 April in the

Hofburg The Hofburg () is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty in Austria. Located in the Innere Stadt, center of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century by Ottokar II of Bohemia and expanded several times afterwards. It also ser ...

palace. He had previously promised his wife to stop having affairs, should he survive. The Emperor was buried in the Imperial Crypt, resting place of the majority of the Habsburgs. His funeral took place on 20 April, in tomb no. 35 in Karl's Vault. His tomb was designed by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt, decorated with pictures of various battles from the War of Spanish Succession.

Josefstadt Josefstadt (; ; "Joseph-Town") is the eighth district of Vienna (). It is near the center of Vienna and was established as a district in 1850, but borders changed later. Josefstadt is a heavily populated urban area with many workers and resi ...

(the eighth district of

) is named for Joseph.

Marriage and lack of heirs

On 24 February 1699, he married Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg in Vienna. They had three children and their only son died of hydrocephalus before his first birthday. Joseph had a passion for love affairs (none of which resulted in illegitimate children) and he caught a sexually transmittable disease, probably

syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms depend on the stage it presents: primary, secondary, latent syphilis, latent or tertiary. The prim ...

, which he passed on to his wife while they were trying to produce a new heir. This incident rendered her sterile. Their father, who was still alive during these events, made Joseph and his brother Charles sign the Mutual Pact of Succession, under which Joseph's daughters would have precedence over Charles's daughters, in case neither fathered a son. This ruling, which made no provision for the accession of Charles's daughter

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...

, led to the War of Austrian Succession.

Issue

Ancestors

Male-line family tree

References

Sources

* * Herchenhahn, J. C. ''Geschichte der Regierung Kaiser Josephs I'' (1786–1789) * * * Krones von Marchiand, F. ''Grundriss der Oesterreichischen Geschichte'' (1882) * van Noorden,C. ''Europäische Geschichte im achtzehnten Jahrhundert'' (1870–1882). * Wagner, F. ''Historia Josephi Caesaris'' (1746)

External links

*
Joseph I.: ''"Regina coeli"''

( ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060509014835/http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761552898/Joseph_I_(Holy_Roman_Empire).html Archived2009-10-3

Regnal titles

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor 1678 births 1711 deaths 18th-century Holy Roman Emperors 18th-century archdukes of Austria 17th-century Kings of the Romans 18th-century monarchs of Bohemia 17th-century Hungarian monarchs 18th-century Hungarian monarchs Nobility from Vienna Dukes of Teschen Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor Grand masters of the Order of the Golden Fleece Knights of the Golden Fleece Deaths from smallpox Infectious disease deaths in Austria Burials at the Imperial Crypt Burials at St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna 17th-century House of Habsburg Sons of emperors Children of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor Habsburg monarchs of Bohemia Kings of Hungary Kings of Croatia