The Attempts of the Habsburgs to operate in Transylvania a Welfare Policy (1688-1790)
Journal Title: Codrul Cosminului - Year 2014, Vol 20, Issue 2
Abstract
According to the interests of their dynasty and monarchy, the Habsburgs tried to promote a social policy in Transylvania, leading – among other things – to increase the living standards of Principality’s population, and in particular the welfare of the disadvantaged social groups, which constitute the majority of the population. The promotion of a policy to enhance the welfare of the population, a policy which was also new to Transylvania, had to contribute to the prestige of the Habsburgs among the country’s population and, there-fore, to the strength of Vienna Court’s domination in Transylvania. Another consequence of this policy should have been the increasing number of inhabitants of the Principality, thanks to the improvement of their living conditions, this fact concurring to the financial, economic and military strength of the Habsburg state. As the Habsburgs policy of the growth of Transylvania’s population welfare had multiple components, this article exam-ines the following issues: the public health care improvement and the population’s proper-feeding insurance (if possible), the Transylvanian subjects’ protection against the abuses of state officials, the protection of the civil administration in the territories belonging to the three privileged nation, and of the Habsburgs troops stationed in the Principality, the pro-tection of the peasants (serfs) against the ruling nobility’s excesses, and not lastly, the support for the establishment of orphanages. To achieve an effective policy to promote the growth of population welfare Transylvania, the Viennese Court had to be informed about the real situation of the inhabitants of the Principality. To succeed in promoting an effec-tive policy to increase the welfare of the population of Transylvania, the Viennese Court had to be informed about the real situation of the inhabitants of the Principality. A meth-od used to this purpose was, inter alia, the establishment of direct contacts between the Habsburg Monarchy, the Emperor Joseph II in particular, with the population of Transylva-nia, and especially with the disadvantaged social categories.
Authors and Affiliations
Marinel Ovidiu Koch – Tufiş
Keywords
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