I -
Emperor Charles V: Charles V was elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1519.
His coronation by Pope Clement VII in Bologna in 1530 was the last ceremony of
its kind to date. As the ruler of the lands around Austria, the Low Countries
and Spain, with new explorations claiming territory in the Americas, his was the
first empire upon which it was said that the sun never set. He was also a man
beset by enemies but had a level of determination up to the task, fighting
Protestant rebels in Germany, the French in northern Italy and the Turks in
Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean. In 1525 he won a great victory of France
at Pavia, after which the King of France and the Pope allied against him.
Charles later made peace with the Protestants, captured Tunis in North Africa,
reformed the law code, defeated a French attack on the Low Countries and sent
Magellan on his historic voyage of circumnavigation. In 1556 he abdicated and
retired to a life of prayer.
II -
Empress Maria Theresa: After
inheriting the throne of her father in 1740, Empress Maria Theresa was
immediately attacked by a large alliance of nations who meant to prevent her
succession including the great Frederick II of Prussia, the finest soldier in
Europe. Though she was only 23, she refused to give in or show weakness and put
up a spirited struggle, losing some territory but retaining her crown. She
restored the Austrian economy by taxing the nobility and lowering taxes on the
common people. She reformed the army, improved the legal system and made
education available to everyone. Under her rule, the peasants gained their
freedom and the right to own their own land. The Empress was a devout and pious
Catholic woman and gave refuge to the Society of Jesus when others (even her own
son) exiled them. In 1772 she gained territory for Austria in the first
partition of Poland, perhaps the only regrettable decision she ever
made.
III -
Emperor Joseph II: Elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1765,
Joseph II was an “Enlightened Despot” in every sense of the word. He was
ambitious, not very personally charming, autocratic and at the same time
extremely forward thinking. He was the first to grant (limited) freedom of
religion in the Hapsburg lands, freed the serfs and tried to enforce German as
the official common language of the empire. His dream was to make the Hapsburg
Empire the most powerful in Europe, leading to clashes with Prussia and the
Turks. Joseph II was a great patron of music, most famously commissioning work
from Mozart. He built the first truly public parks and housing for the poor.
Because of all he did to improve their lives the common folk adored him, hailing
him as the “People’s Emperor”. Unfortunately, he brought religion under state
control and so earned the wrath of the clergy and many nobles. Though he heard
mass every morning of his life he was suspected of being a skeptic.
IV -
Emperor Francis Joseph I: Not the most successful Hapsburg emperor in
history by any means, Francis Joseph was nevertheless a monarch who refused to
adjust his principles, a good and upright man who always sought to do his duty
to the best of his ability and to serve the best interests of his people. He
came to the throne in 1848, put down the revolutions and reestablished the House
of Hapsburg as the great stabilizing force in central Europe. His personal life
was beset by tragedy and the international situation for Austria (later
Austria-Hungary) declined after a series of diplomatic and military disasters.
Nonetheless, Francis Joseph held things together by his own integrity, work
ethic and devotion to duty. The country was also developing rapidly and the
prestige of the monarchy remained strong until the onset of the First World War
in 1914, a conflict the Emperor had deep concerns over and which he had to be
deceived into declaring.
V -
Emperor Charles I: Coming to the
throne in the midst of World War I in 1916, the new monarch already had a
reputation as a brave soldier, devoted husband and father and a sincere man of
God. He saw monarchy as a sacred duty and behaved accordingly. The Emperor
viewed the alliance with Germany as a prison, distrusted the Germans and devoted
himself to extricating Austria-Hungary from the First World War. He showed
himself willing to sacrifice considerable territories if only he could gain
peace but the Allies proved implacable. He agreed to reorganizing the Hapsburg
empire into a confederation of autonomous national states but was never allowed
the time to carry out such a plan. When the end came in 1918 he bowed to the
inevitable but refused to abdicate, viewing such a thing as a renunciation of
his responsibility to God. After being forced into exile he tried twice to
regain his Hungarian throne but was loathe to shed the blood of his own
people.
Not so favorites: Emperor Ferdinand I for not taking religion
more into account and his son Maximilian II for not making up his mind on which
faith he wanted to follow and, yes, Joseph II -who makes my best and worst lists
at the same time for his needless religious antagonism.
