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Joseph
ruled as co-regent with his mother beginning in 1765. Like other
“enlightened” monarchs, he believed in the power of reason; however, the
measures he undertook once he became sole ruler in 1780 were much more
radical than those instituted by other monarchs. He encouraged religious
toleration of Protestants and Jews; he reduced the power of the Catholic
Church in Austria and brought it more firmly under his control; and, in his
most controversial measure, he abolished serfdom and decreed that peasants be
paid in cash for their labors. This cash proviso, however, infuriated the
nobles and was even rejected by the peasants, who preferred a barter economy.
Joseph’s power and health both waned in succeeding years, and his reforms
didn’t last long after his death in 1790.
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