Was Maria Theresa An Enlightened Despot?

Judging by the reform she made, it is doubtful whether Maria Theresa of Austria was either enlightened or a despot. Her reign had been dominated by the figure of Fredrick the Great who threatened her state with extinction within weeks of her accession. He also deprived the empress of her most valuable province and obliged her to institute reforms in order to preserve her state.

It is also evident that most of Maria Theresa's reforms were not her own. Although she showed a good judge of character and expertise in appointing her advisors, Hugwitz and Kaunitz, she was very easy to manipulate. Indeed, many of the reforms were done against the wishes of Maria Theresa herself, most noticeably the curbing of the power of the Church introduced by Joseph. These reforms were very reluctantly accepted by the Empress, as she was a devout Roman Catholic and did not want to interfere with the Church's power. All of the reforms introduced were very Enlightened although some had small elements of enlightened ideas.