How did Maria Theresa’s relationship with Joseph II affect her later years?

The relationship between Maria Theresa and her son, Joseph II, was a source of significant distress during her later years as a widow. Following the death of her husband, Francis I, in 1765, Joseph became co-regent, but Maria Theresa retained the majority of governing authority, leading to frequent and intense clashes between the two strong-willed leaders.123

Her later years were clouded by several points of contention:

• Ideological Differences: Maria Theresa was deeply concerned by Joseph’s interest in the Enlightenment and his admiration for Frederick the Great, whom she viewed as an adversary.1
• Foreign Policy: Joseph’s aggressive foreign enterprises caused her constant trepidation. Notably, she was pressured by Joseph and her chancellor, Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz, into the first partition of Poland in 1772, an act she publicly lamented as immoral.1
• Political Tension: The friction between them was so severe that it included mutual threats of abdication.1

Despite these conflicts, Maria Theresa’s own pragmatic reforms ultimately laid the groundwork for the enlightened despotism that characterized Joseph’s subsequent reign.1