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Maria Theresa (German: Maria Theresia, see also names in other languages; May 13, 1717 - November 29, 1780) was the Archduchess regnant of Austria, Queen regnant of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, and a Holy Roman Empress by marriage. Maria Theresa helped initiate financial and educational reforms, promoted commerce and the development of agriculture, and reorganized the army, all of which strengthened Austria's resources. Continued conflict with the Kingdom of Prussia led to the Seven Years' War and later to the War of the Bavarian Succession. She became dowager empress after the death of her husband Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor and accession of her son Joseph as emperor in 1765. Maria Theresa criticised many of Joseph's actions but agreed to the First Partition of Poland (1772). A key figure in the power politics of 18th century Europe, Maria Theresa brought unity to the Habsburg Monarchy and was considered one of its most capable rulers. Her 16 children also included Marie Antoinette, queen consort of France, and Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor. Succession Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina was born in Vienna, the oldest daughter of Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, whose sole male heir - his son Leopold Johann - died as an infant in 1716. In 1713 Charles issued the Pragmatic Sanction which guaranteed his daughter the right to succeed to the Austrian throne and inherit his united lands on his death. Charles spent years carefully negotiating with other rulers to remove potential politico-legal objections to a woman inheriting the Habsburg territories, even making strategic concessions of territory. Initially, many Northern European monarchs agreed to the Pragmatic Sanction when it was issued. One of the few not to sign was Frederick the Great of Prussia who, soon after Maria Theresa assumed the throne upon Charles' death on October 20, 1740, began the War of Austrian Succession. After Emperor Charles VII, who claimed the throne, died in 1745, Maria Theresa obtained the dignity of Holy Roman Emperor for her husband, Francis I. Though she was technically empress consort, Maria Theresa was the de facto ruler of the Empire. Maria Theresa had in fact already begun her rule in 1740 during the Austrian War of Succession. Reign Early years Maria Theresa's father had not given her any training in government, leaving her to learn for herself. Additionally, the army was weak and the treasury depleted as a result of two wars near the end of her father's reign. Maria Theresa was crowned Queen of Hungary in the St. Martin’s Cathedral in the then-Hungarian royal town and coronation place Pozsony (now Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia) on 25 June 1741. The War of the Austrian Succession began when Frederick II of Prussia invaded and occupied Silesia. While Bavaria and France also invaded Austria's western territories, it was "Frederick the Great" who became Maria Theresa's primary foe during her reign. Therefore, she focused her internal and external policies towards the defeat of Prussia, which would help her regain the lands which had been taken from Austria. In the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), France gave the Austrian Netherlands that it conquered back to Maria Theresa. In exchange, Maria Theresa ceded Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla to the Infante Philip of Spain. After having been defeated in the First and Second Silesian Wars, Maria Theresa began to modernize her realms with the assistance of Friedrich Wilhelm Graf von Haugwitz. Defeat, however, reduced her morale and effectiveness as a ruler.[citation needed] She increased the size of the army by 200% and increased taxes in order to guarantee a steady income for the government, and in particular for the military. She centralized the government by combining the Austrian and Bohemian chancellaries, formerly separate, into one administrative office. Before these changes, justice and administration had been overseen by the same officials- afterwards, she created a supreme court with the sole responsibility of upholding justice in her lands. These reforms strengthened the economy and the state in general. Maria Theresa, like the other Habsburgs, was a devout Roman Catholic. She was educated by Jesuits at Mariazell, and in later life lacked the religious cynicism of royal contemporaries such as Frederick II of Prussia. Her conservative outlook involved an intolerant view of other faiths. In 1741, she expelled the Jews from Prague. Her political distrust of Great Britain rested in part on her view of the established Church of England, whom she regarded as Protestant heretics. Maria Theresa dropped Great Britain as an ally on the advice of her state chancellor, Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz, and allied with Russia and France. She established the Theresian Military Academy (the first worldwide) in 1752 and an academy of engineering science in 1754. She also demanded that the University of Vienna be given money to make the medical faculty more efficient. When she felt her army was strong enough, she prepared an attack on Prussia in 1756. However, it was Frederick II who attacked first, invading Saxony, another ally of Austria, thus initiating the Seven Years' War. The war ended in 1763 when Maria Theresa signed the Treaty of Hubertusburg, recognizing Prussian ownership of most of Silesia. Her husband Francis died two years later. Maria Theresa's devotion to him was so great that she dressed in mourning until her own death 15 years later. During this time, she became more closeted from her people. Her focus changed from attempting to regain Silesia to maintaining the peace. She also recognized Joseph II, her eldest son, as coregent and Emperor. However, she allowed him only limited powers because she felt that he was too rash and arrogant. Influence on Medicine During the reign of Maria Theresa, infant mortality was a big problem in Austria. And, after calling in a renowned Dutch physician Gerard van Swieten to study the problem, she followed his recommendation and made a decree that autopsies would be mandatory for all hospital deaths in city of Graz--Austria's second largest city. This law--still in effect today--combined with the relatively stable population Graz, has resulted in one of the most important and complete autopsy records in the world. Some modern researchers have credited the Graz autopsy records with helping to make breakthroughs in their research. One such physician, Broda Otto Barnes, claimed that these records helped him discover that hypothyroidism--not diet and cholesterol--was the cause of heart disease and heart attacks. And furthermore that hypothyroidism is strongly linked to certain forms of cancer: lung cancer, prostate cancer and cancer in children. Civil reforms In the 1760s, smallpox claimed several victims in the imperial family. Maria Theresa was infected and received last rites in 1767, although she recovered. Afterward, Maria Theresa became a strong supporter of inoculation (a predecessor immunisation method to smallpox vaccination), setting a strong example by requiring all of her children to be inoculated. In the later years of her reign, Maria Theresa focused on reforming laws along the lines of enlightened absolutism, especially to strengthen the economy of the Habsburg territories, especially after the loss of Silesia. In 1771, she and Joseph II issued the Robot Patent, a reform that regulated a serf's labor payments in her lands, which provided some relief. Other important reforms included outlawing witch-burning and torture, and, for the first time in Austrian history, taking capital punishment off the penal code, as it was replaced with forced labor. It was later reintroduced, but the progressive nature of these reforms remains noted. In 1772 Maria Theresa founded the Imperial and Royal Academy of Science and Literature in Brussels. Mandatory education was introduced in 1774; the goal was to form an educated class from which civil servants could be recruited. Another innovation of Maria Theresa's was the decency police which was to patrol everywhere, especially Vienna, and apprehend anyone suspected of doing something that could be deemed indecent (possibly due to her husband's supposed infidelity). Arrested prostitutes, for example, would be sent into villages in the eastern parts of the realm, leading some contemporary writers to note that these villages had 'exceptionally beautiful women' living there. Marriage Maria Theresa had quite a few arranged marriages. One was to the son of a monarch of Eastern Europe but he died after a while in Austria. So Maria regarded herself a widow at the age of five because her betrothed was dead. She was eventually married to Francis of Lorraine, Duke of Lorraine in 1736 at the age of 19. He tended to leave day to day administration to Maria Theresa.[5] Unlike many monarchs of her time, she married for love. She had 16 children with him. Their eleven daughters all had the first name "Maria" in honor of the Virgin Mary. They also had five sons. The youngest daughter was Maria Antonia, better known under her French name, Marie Antoinette, who would be promised in marriage to the future King Louis XVI of France. After her husband's death, Joseph II, succeeded in the elective monarchy of the Holy Roman Empire, maintaining the imperial Crown in the Habsburg line, in accordance with tradition. Maria Theresa then made Joseph II co-regent of her Austrian dominions, but she actually kept most of the power to herself, which led to tension between her and her son. It was not until her death that Joseph could fully exercise his powers. Issue Name Birth Death Notes Archduchess Maria Elisabeth of Austria February 5, 1737 June 6, 1740 died in childhood. Archduchess Maria Anna October 6, 1738 November 19, 1789 died unmarried, no issue. Archduchess Maria Karolina of Austria January 12, 1740 January 25, 1741 died in childhood. Joseph II March 13, 1741 February 20, 1790 married 1) Infanta Isabel of Spain (1741-1763), married 2) Princess Marie Josepha of Bavaria (1739-1767) - second cousin, had issue from his first marriage (two daughters, who died young) Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria May 13, 1742 June 24, 1798 married second-cousin Prince Albert of Saxony, Duke of Teschen (1739-1822) , had issue (one stillborn daughter) Archduchess Maria Elisabeth of Austria August 13, 1743 September 22, 1808 died unmarried, no issue Archduke Charles Joseph of Austria February 1, 1745 January 18, 1761 died of smallpox, no issue Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria February 26, 1746 June 9, 1804 married Ferdinand, Duke of Parma (1751-1802), had issue. Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II May 5, 1747 March 1, 1792 married Infanta Maria Louisa of Spain (1745-1792), had issue. Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1765 (abdicated 1790), Holy Roman Emperor from 1790, Archduke of Austria, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia from 1790. Archduchess Maria Carolina September 17, 1748 September 17, 1748 stillborn Archduchess Maria Johanna Gabriela of Austria February 4, 1750 December 23, 1762 died of smallpox, no issue Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria March 19, 1751 October 15, 1767 died of smallpox, no issue Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria August 13, 1752 September 7, 1814 married King Ferdinand IV of Naples and Sicily (1751-1825); had issue Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, Duke of Breisgau June 1, 1754 December 24, 1806 married Maria Beatrice d'Este, heiress of Breisgau and of Modena, had issue (Austria-Este). Duke of Breisgau from 1803. Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria November 2, 1755 October 16, 1793 married Louis XVI of France (1754-1793) and became the famous Queen Marie Antoinette, had issue Archduke Maximilian Franz of Austria December 8, 1756 July 27, 1801 Archbishop-Elector of Cologne, 1784. died unmarried, no issue Death Maria Theresa died in Vienna in 1780 at the age of 63, the only female to rule during the 650-year-long Habsburg dynasty. She is buried in tomb number 56 in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna. Her son Joseph II succeeded her. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
William B.
