Autocracy or the Negotiation of Power? Prince Leopold III. Friedrich Franz of Anhalt-Dessau (1758-1817) and his practice of government

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Prince Leopold III Friedrich Franz (1758-1817) is particularly famous for his so called “garden kingdom” of Wörlitz. In historical research he is known as an advocate of enlightenment and of substantial political reform at the end of the eighteenth century. His reputation as an enlightened reformer was mainly created by statements of contemporary authors like Winckelmann, Goethe or Basedow. The daily practice of his political rule, however, was not yet part of any detailed research. His practice of government is therefore part of this research project. The “Kabinettsprotokolle” of prince Franz are a unique source of getting deep insights in his specific way of government. They contain all petitions addressed to the ruler and his responses and decisions (approximately 105.000 entries) and therefore open a detailed insight in the governing practice of an autocrat ruler in the time between the Seven-Years-War and the collapse of the Napoleonic Empire.The research project should analyze the “Kabinettsprotokolle” for the first time and should enable us to reconsider the view of Leopold Friedrich Franz as an enlightened reformer of his territory. His governmental practice could be understood as a kind of negotiation of power between himself, his office-holders and his subjects. It will be part of the investigation to compare the ruling practice within Anhalt-Dessau with other territories of the Holy Roman Empire to identify rather typical as well as particular elements of negotiating power.After two and a half year of work more decesions and responses of the Prince are yet registered than in any other investigation about petitioning in German territories of the Holy Roman Empire. The investigation of the “Kabinettsprotokolle“ and the cataloguing of the decisions and responses has been more time spending, however, than expected at the time of our first application. If we will get a prolongation of funding for a further year we could complete the cataloguing of the decisions and responses of Prince Franz and we could present the results of the investigation in a monograph ready for print.