General Notes

Joseph I (1678-1711), Holy Roman emperor (1705-11). The eldest son of Emperor
Leopold I, Joseph was crowned king of Hungary in 1687 and succeeded to the
imperial throne and that of Bohemia when his father died. He continued the War
of the Spanish Succession, begun by Leopold, against Louis XIV of France, in a
fruitless attempt to make his brother Charles (later Charles VI, Holy Roman
emperor) king of Spain; in the process, however, owing to the victories won by
his military commander, Prince Eugene of Savoy, he did succeed in establishing
Austrian hegemony over Italy. Joseph also had to contend with a protracted
revolt in Hungary, fomented by Louis XIV. Neither conflict was resolved until
after his death.