LEOPOLD II. (1747-92). Holy Roman Em peror from 1790 to 1792. He was the third son of Emperor Francis I. and Maria Theresa of Aus tria, and was born in Vienna, :May 5, 1747, In 1765, on the death of his father, lie became Grand Duke of Tuscany, and ruled as one of the nu merous class of despotic but enlightened rulers of the eighteenth century. He abolished the In quisition. abrogated the death penalty, equalized the land tax, favored free trade. and founded schools and almshouses. In 1790, on the death of his brother, Joseph II,. who left no •ndrei], he became Emperor and ruler of the Austrian do minions. He found the affairs of his hereditary States in the utmost confusion. owing to the drastic reform policy of Joseph 11. (q.v.). As King of Hungary he bound himself to act. strictly in accordance with constitutional law. He re stored order in Belgium, which had risen in in surrection under his predecessor. Leopold's atti tude to the French Revolution in its early phases was marked by extreme moderation in spite of the efforts of the within the Empire to bring on war with France. Neither did he seem to ap preciate the clanger that threatened his sister, Marie Antoinette. and Louis XVI., her husband.
After the attempted flight of the royal family from France, however, lie entered into an agree ment with the King of Prussia at. Pillnitz (Jul•, 1791), guaranteeing the integrity of their re spective States, and expressing their dete•mina tion, in conn4ction with the other Powers. to re establish order in France, but forbidding at the same time any preparation for armed invasion of France on the part of the imiigri•s. Only when the war party in the French National As sembly had attained the upper hand did Leopold give up all hope of preserving peace with France. On February 7, 1792, he concluded an alliance with the of Prussia, but died March 1, before the actual declaration of war by France. In 1791 peace was arranged with Turkey at Sistova. His wife was Maria Louisa, daugh ter of Charles 111. of Spain. his eldest son, Francis, was the last of the Holy Roman Em perors. Consult: Sobel, Kaiser Leopold II. (Alunich. 18691 ; Wol f. Leopold II. and Maria Christina (Vienna, 1867) ; and Beer, Joseph II. and Kaunit: (Vienna, 1873).