Joseph II Abolishes Serfdom in Habsburg Lands
1781
In a single edict, Joseph freed millions of peasants from personal bondage across his scattered realms. Landlords raged; reformers cheered. The reform was sweeping, rushed, and largely reversed by Joseph's heirs - but serfdom as a legal institution had cracked. The idea, once in the air, could not be recalled.
In context
Also in 1781 (4 other events on record)
- Cornwallis Surrenders at Yorktown · North America · War
- Kant's Critique of Pure Reason · Europe · Culture
- Herschel Discovers Uranus · Europe · Science
- Articles of Confederation Ratified · North America · Politics
Before and after in Europe
Before and after in Politics
Era
Enlightenment (1651–1800), one of 696 events from that era on Saeculum.