Joseph attempts above all, however, to break…
January 1787 CE
He introduces two reforms in early 1787 instituting new administrative and judicial reform to create a much more centralized system.
The first decree abolishes many of the administrative structures that have existed since the rule of Emperor Charles V (1500–58), replaced them with a single General Council of Government under a minister-plenipotentiary.
In addition, Joseph II creates nine administrative circles (cercles), each controlled by an Intendant, to which much of the power of the states is devolved.
A second decree abolishes the ad hoc semi-feudal or ecclesiastical courts operated by the states and replaces them with a centralized system similar to that already in place in Austria.
A single Sovereign Council of Justice is established in Brussels, with two appeal courts in Brussels and Luxembourg, and around forty local district courts.
By threatening the independence of the states, the interests of the nobility and the position of the church, the reforms act as a force to unite these groups against the Austrian government.
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