Fatuska János – Fülöp Éva Mária – ifj. Gyuszi László (szerk.): Annales Tataienses II. A mezőváros, mint uradalmi központ. Mecénás Közalapítvány. Tata, 2001.

Fatuska János: Tata II. József igazgatási reformjaiban

diverted the emperor's attention from the supervision of the reform's executional process. That was the cause that made it possible for the counties to go on with their wait-and-see policy. After the death of Joseph II. the county administration restored the former state of things. Joseph II. was the most of-vision Habsburg sovereign. During his ten-year reign he issued thousands of decrees that demanded reforms touching upon his subjects' private lives and the high offices of the state as well. The emperor - remaining true to his principles and also to himself - was from first to last attempting the impossible. He was an enlightened and an absolutistic sovereign at the same time and due to this duality his whole system was sentenced to failure. He did not want to keep up the inherited feudal system since he was radically enlightened. However, he could not ignore the anti-monarchic democracy appearing in enlightenment and the extention of equality before the law to the political sphere, which was otherwise his own conviction. His contradictory personality prevented him from executing and strengthening his planned reforms. His good intention is indisputable. Without doubt he was the one from the Habsburgs who possessed the most information about the conditions of his countries. It was owing partly to the huge amount of reports that had been demanded by him. These data had been reported by the central government authorities or derived from other sources. On the other hand it was owing to his wish to travel a lot, so that he could be informed about as many cases on the spot as it was possible. Joseph II. was on ambivalent terms with his top level officials who he should have relied on during the execution of his reform ideas. The staff members, working for the Royal Chancellery and for the central government authorities, who otherwise were playing an important role in carrying out the reforms, were mostly well-qualified and had outstanding experience as leaders and politicians. They attempted to draw the emperor's purposes near to the Hungarian reality because they were thinking of the ideas as if these thoughts had been necessary and attainable. Not only had the relationship between the emperor and his officials in Hungary been demoralized by the vain efforts but also these efforts had foreshadowed the failure of the most reforms. 82