Kaunitz and Enlightened Absolutism 1753-1780

by Franz A. J. Szabo

Overview

This is the first major archivally-based study of the political career of Wenzel Anton Kaunitz, State Chancellor of the Habsburg Monarchy from 1753 to 1792. Author of the diplomatic revolution of 1756 and a brilliant foreign minister of the Austrian Empire, Kaunitz was virtually the third head of state under Maria Theresia and Joseph II. He emerges from this study as the key figure in the development of enlightened absolutism in the Habsburg monarchy and the guiding spirit behind the modernization of the state.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521466905
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	03/31/1994
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 8.98(h) x 0.91(d)

Table of Contents

1. Introduction; 2. Chancellor of State; 3. The structure of government; 4. The financial crises of the monarchy; 5. The transformation of society; 6. Church and state; 7. The military albatross; 8. The problem of Hungary; 9. Conclusion; Bibliography.

Editorial Reviews

"...fills a major gap in our understanding of Kaunitz the enlightened reformer. The volume is thoroughly researched, combining extensive archival research with a plenitude of published primary and secondary material....on the whole, the rather detailed narration is carefully and accurately written." Charles Ingrao, Slavic Review

"[A] major contribution from the Canadian historian Franz Szabo. Many years in the making, it turns out to have been well worth waiting for....his study is based on an impressive amount of archival work. His linguistic skills have also allowed him to draw on an exceptionally wide range of printed sources and secondary literature." Tim Blanning, Times Literary Supplement

"...excellent study of Kaunitz's ministry..." John P. Spielman, Central European History

From the Publisher