German-, Italian-, and French-speaking women who were only allowed to use their respective mother tongues with them. Instruction in reading and writing started at the age of three, and regular language classes a year later. As the children's grandmother, Empress Dowager Maria Theresa—who monitored their development closely—wanted, the family's life revolved around the strict observance of all Catholic rituals. The children listened to religious texts while getting ready in the morning, attended mass, studied the catechism, and prayed the rosary every day. It was also Maria Theresa who appointed the young archdukes' , Count who was helped by the , Major Marquess Federigo Manfredini, and tutors in all subjects. It was the shared aim of Grand Duke Leopold and Count Colloredo to teach the children to lead a simple life, be humble, dutiful, and devoted to the well-being of their subjects. In their learning, they were taught to be inquisitive and independent. There were some disagreements between the grand duke and the ajo, as the former wanted his children to lead as free and unrestricted lives as possible, while the latter expected them to be graceful, serious, and disciplined beyond their years. Archduke Joseph himself was only under Colloredo's guidance for two and a half years, and when he left in 1782, Major Manfredini was promoted to ajo. He allowed his charges more freedom. The preparatory stage of Joseph's education lasted until the age of nine, by when he had learned to speak and write in German, French, Italian, and Latin. He received the traditional education of Austrian archdukes, learning etiquette and conduite (the behaviour expected in high society), genealogy, geography, history, ethics, law, natural law, political science, and mathematics. Joseph had a preference for history, archaeology, and natural history, and was not as apt in mathematics. It was important for his parents that all of their children learned some form of manual labour, and Joseph was instructed in gardening, botany, and horticulture. He learned the binomial nomenclature and taxonomy of over six thousand plants. The teacher who had the greatest impact on the children was Count Sigismund Anton von Hohenwarth, an ex-Jesuite who later became prince-archbishop of Vienna. His pedagogical philosophy was based on Enlightenment ideas, and he taught the archdukes that a person's true vocation was to strive for the happiness of themselves and others, which could only be achieved in a society. He analysed with them examples