In this study, Éva Balázs, one of the foremost living authorities on eighteenth-century Central Europe, examines a crucial period in the coexistence of the Austrian hereditary provinces and Hungary. In a Europe torn by wars and revolutions, both partners in this ambivalent relationship are shown to have collaborated in bringing about those reforms in the Habsburg monarchy that later inspired movements for reform around East-Central Europe. A great wealth of hitherto unexplored archival material from several countries is distilled into a uniquely lively picture of the age.