Sometimes history hands us the unhappy combination of a juvenile and selfish mind full of arrogance in a position of power. Woe betide the fool who challenges the worth of such an individual. Witness Marie Antoinette’s brother in action.
Joseph considered the reputations of some of his peers in the “running an empire” business, and was not happy when he compared his own to theirs. What did they do to be considered “Great?” Catherine in Russia. Great Scot, the woman wasn’t even Russian! And she got the job by murdering her dim-witted husband. (Not that anyone in Russia got terribly upset over that.)
There was Frederick, in Prussia. Yes, he had many battlefield victories. But was he the only man who could do those things? No! Joseph was convinced that the time was ripe for someone else to be the next “Great.” Someone like…himself.
Battlefield victories. That was the sort of thing that made an emperor’s reputation. His mother was appalled. It was bad enough that he was thinking like Frederick, but he was thinking like Frederick without actually possessing the capacity to win the battles he was so anxious to start. This was exactly the sort of thing she didn’t want Austria involved in.
Joseph’s brother-in-law, Maximilian, elector of Bavaria, died without a male heir. Joseph may have had no use for his wife while she was alive, but now the marriage itself would come in handy for laying claim to choice parcels of Bavarian real estate.
Joseph’s claims rested on rather dubious legal grounds, to put it mildly. Maximilian was a Wittelsbach, and there were others with much stronger claims. Legally speaking, the strongest claim was that of the Elector Palatine, Charles Theodore. Charles had no great plans for empire building. He was quite happy to simply hold onto what he already had.
What he really wanted was to protect his Rhenish provinces from Prussia or France. Extending his rule into Bavaria seemed like a recipe for loosing it all. He most certainly did not wish to fight Austria over the claims Joseph was making. If Joseph wanted this or that piece of Bavaria, and he was willing to promise not to get nasty about it, in writing, naturally, then, why not? A Convention was drawn up. Upon signing, the deed would be done and Joseph would get his Bavarian goodies.
Frederick watched this with interest. And distaste. That Joseph fellow was just snapping his fingers at Bavaria and saying “I want that.” And he was getting it! Where was the sport in that? Joseph, unfortunately, couldn’t wait for the actual documents to be actually drawn up and signed, all nice and legal. He decided to move a few soldiers into the claimed areas before he he had any legal right to do so. That was all Frederick needed.
Wither Joseph bothered with reading up on the historical precedent of what he was doing before he did it is not known. There was a precedent. Joseph was doing exactly what Frederick had done to Silesia thirty-seven years before. Only now, thanks to Joseph’s greed, it was Frederick who rose up in righteous indignation to denounce Austria as a bald-faced aggressor.
I do not imagine for a moment that men like Frederick and Joseph gave a thought to things like irony. I am equally sure that Maria considered it with deep and bitter regret. Frederick sent representatives to France to play off ancient fears of Hapsburg aggression. The Franco-Austrian alliance, an alliance sealed with the marriage of Maria Antoinette to the Dauphin, did not obligate France to support Austria no matter what, it was only to maintain the status quo.
Austria’s actions were threatening that very thing. Indeed, the peace of Europe. Frederick mobilized his army. Joseph began marching an army of 80,000 men into Bohemia and Morovia. Frederick handed Joseph an ultimatum. Back off on all of this, or there would be war. For Joseph, it seemed a golden opportunity. Frederick was sixty-six years old. How hard would it be to beat an old man like that?
Joseph saw a chance to defeat the greatest military leader of the age. His mother saw nothing but disaster. In a letter to Joseph, she wrote;
“We have to face nothing less than the overthrow of our House and of the Monarchy, even with complete revolution in Europe. No sacrifice is to great to ward off this disaster. I am prepared for anything that will achieve this end, even the humiliation of my name. Let them call me a coward, a weakling, a dotard, if they like; nothing shall prevent me from extricating Europe from this perilous situation; there is no better way for me to spend the remainder of my unhappy days. I confess by all means that the sacrifice will cost me much, but it is called for and I shall face it steadfastly.”
She continued in this vein, page after page of her thoughts on what the most likely outcome of her son’s actions would be. To make sure he understood, she read it aloud to him; and to Kaunitz as well, whom she had summoned for the occasion. They listened respectfully, then rejected what she had said in it’s entirety.
“There is nothing we can do!” They cried, Events have taken on a life of their own. We are but helpless pawns.” This was, of course, not true. Joseph and Kaunitz had started events moving in the direction they were moving and neither had any intention of stopping it.
Joseph moved as he did because he believed that no one really wanted war. That he could act as he did with no consequences. Oh sure, there would be protests, but in the end, every one would look the other way. That would be the easy and safe thing to do. Let Joseph have what he wants, and nobody, at least nobody that mattered, got hurt.
Joseph really did not believe that Frederick would fight. He would ride around, waving his sword and blustering, then claim he had done enough and go home. Mom begged to differ. She knew Frederick much, much better than her son. Frederick would fight. More to the point, Frederick, even in his advanced age, would mop the floor with her boy. Where would Austria be then? Who would come to her aid?
The short answer was…no one.
— Mr. Al
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