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How did Joseph II change the lives of peasants in 1781?
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Joseph II
Joseph II, Holy Roman emperor, detail of a painting by Pompeo Girolamo Batoni, 1769; in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
In November 1781, Joseph II issued a significant decree that fundamentally altered the status of peasants within his domains. While not a total abolition of serfdom, the reform granted peasants several essential personal liberties, allowing them to:
- Move away from their villages without seeking permission from their lord.
- Engage in any trade of their choosing.
- Marry whomever they wished without requiring the lord's consent.
- End the requirement for their children to perform labor service (except in the case of orphans).
To ensure these rights were upheld, Joseph II established mechanisms for peasants to appeal to the central government for the redress of grievances, preventing feudal courts controlled by local lords from sabotaging these new freedoms. Initially applied to the lands of the Bohemian crown, these reforms were extended to other Austrian territories over the following years.12