Since the 1950s, the concept of the 'Atlantic Revolution' has been a vehicle to avoid looking at the phenomenon of the revolutions of the late eighteenth century only according to national boundaries. And yet some elements of this broad revolutionary phenomenon remained and remain under the radar. For example, the various oppositional movements against the policies of Emperor Joseph II (1780-1790), described as enlightened despotism, have until now been viewed largely as unconnected phenomena that had no need for comparison.
At least to the latter attitude, this book wishes to put an end. In the footsteps of a colloquium held in Budapest on October 16, 2019, the authors of this volume have tried to draw lessons from a confrontation of the opposition movements in Hungary and the Southern Netherlands. They do so in a wide variety of fields and regularly look at other revolutionary movements in Europe as well.