The outbreak of the French Revolution of…
February 1790 CE
The outbreak of the French Revolution of 1789 had led to Joseph II seeking to help the family of his estranged sister Queen Marie Antoinette of France and her husband King Louis XVI of France.
Joseph, who keeps an eye on the development of the revolution, had become actively involved in the planning of a rescue attempt, but these plans fail either due to Marie Antoinette's refusal to leave her children behind in favor of a faster carriage or Louis XVI's reluctance to become a fugitive King.
Joseph has been left entirely alone in his illness.
His minister Kaunitz has refused to visit his sick-room and has not seen him for two years.
His brother Leopold remains at Florence.
Worn out and brokenhearted, Joseph had at last recognized that his servants cannot, or will not, carry out his plans.
He had formally withdrawn almost all his reforms in Hungary on January 30, 1790, and he dies twenty-one days later.
He is buried in tomb number 42 in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna.
He had asked that his epitaph read: "Here lies Joseph II, who failed in all he undertook."
Joseph is succeeded by his brother, who assumes the throne as Leopold II.