Vienna at the Time of Maria Theresa. The Panorama of the «Political Comments» from 1770/1771

Abstract

The contribution presents the main determinants of Vienna’s social, economic, cultural and religious life during the reign of Maria Theresa based on the «Political Comments» of the Aulic War Council. These «Political Comments» were compiled during the «conscription of souls» of 1770–71, a population census that constituted the preparatory steps to a new system of recruitment. They may be regarded as a kind of qualitative addition to the quantitative results of the conscription and provided the Empress and her co-regent Joseph II with a comprehensive scenario of the conditions in the Monarchy from a military perspective, which, in some cases, became the starting point for political measures. The report on Lower Austria, presented in October 1771, also contains some paragraphs on Vienna, which will serve as a starting point to introduce some of the main characteristics and developments of the Monarchy’s capital in the second half of the 18th century.