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Putting Transylvania on the Map: Cartography and Enlightened Absolutism in the Habsburg Monarchy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2012

Madalina-Valeria Veres
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Extract

After touring Transylvania in 1773, Joseph II, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and co-regent of the Habsburg monarchy, wrote to Empress Maria Theresa complaining about the state of the province's economy and its administrative corruption. Such problems required urgent reform of the sort that could be carried out only by a strong, centralized government acting in the spirit of Enlightened Absolutism. However, success in these endeavors required something more. In Joseph II's words: “We have to remember that the best intentions fail often and the lack of knowledge of local realities makes such a real difference in governance, that what is often considered the best and wisest decisions, cannot be applied locally efficiently; the total ignorance of Your Majesty's advisers at the court and the Transylvanian Chancellery is a real hindrance and harm for the administration.”

Type
Articles
Information
Austrian History Yearbook , Volume 43 , April 2012 , pp. 141 - 164
Copyright
Copyright © Center for Austrian Studies, University of Minnesota 2012

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References

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