Maria Theresa of Austria

Maria Theresa
Holy Roman Empress; German Queen Queen of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia; Archduchess of Austria
Reign Consort	20 October 1740 - 29 November 1780 1745 - 1765
Predecessor	Charles VI
Successor	Joseph II
Consort to	Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
Issue
Archduchess Maria Anna Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen Archduchess Maria Elisabeth Archduke Charles Joseph Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor Archduchess Maria Johanna Gabriela Archduchess Maria Josepha Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples and Sicily Ferdinand, Duke of Modena Archduchess Maria Antonia (Marie Antoinette), Queen of France Archduke Maximilian Francis
Detail Titles and styles
HIM The Dowager Holy Roman Empress HIM The Holy Roman Empress HM The Queen HI&RH The Archduchess HI&RH Archduchess Maria Theresia of Austria
Royal house	House of Habsburg-Lorraine
Father	Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Mother	Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Born	13 May 1717 Vienna
Died	29 November 1780 (aged 63) Vienna
Burial	Imperial Crypt Vienna

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, (1756 - 1763), and later to the War of the Bavarian Succession. She became, formally, dowager empress after the death of her husband Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1765 and shared the direction of the Empire on the 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 Theresa at age eleven in 1728

Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina was born in Vienna, the oldest daughter of Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, a sister of the wife of unfortunate Tsarevich Alexis of Russia, 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 the so called Emperor Charles VII, died in 1745, Maria Theresa, because she was assimilated a female "unfit" for this over 500 years old "symbolic" Roman Popish title, obtained the dignity of Holy Roman Emperor for her husband, Francis I, a mere "Duke of Lorraine".

Although she was technically empress consort, aged 28, it is obvious that even then, this legal technicality on account of her gender, was not very important really, and there has always been a wide consensus that Maria Theresa was the de facto ruler of the Empire. Maria Theresa, daughter of Emperor Charles VI, had in fact already begun her rule, aged 23, on the death of her father in 1740 during the War of the Austrian Succession.

Reign

Early years

The coronation of Maria Theresa in St. Martin´s Cathedral.

Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis, in 1746

Maria Theresa with a mask, 1744

Maria Theresa, 1762, by Jean-Étienne Liotard

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.^[1]

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, later to be King of Sicily and Naples as Charles VI and then, in 1759, King Charles III of Spain.

After having been defeated in the First, (1742), and Second, (1744 - 1745), Silesian Wars, Maria Theresa began to modernize her realms with the assistance of Friedrich Wilhelm Graf von Haugwitz. 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.

"The world's most famous coin," the Maria Theresa thaler. The Latin inscription is M[ARIA] THERESIA D[EI] G[RATIA] R[OMANORVM] IMP[ERATRIX] HV[NGARIAE] BO[HEMIAE] REG[INA], or in English, "Maria Theresa, by the Grace of God, Empress of the Romans, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia." This particular coin was struck in Vienna in 1890, although production continued for many years after her death.

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 or real indifference 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 since 1765. 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. 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.^{[2] [3]} 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. ^{[2][3] [4]}

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, then only 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, eleven daughters all having the first name "Maria" in honor of the Virgin Mary.^[6] and 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

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.

Galleries

Maria Theresa

Children

Titles from birth to death

Austrian Royalty House of Habsburg-Lorraine Armorial of the Holy Roman Empire Maria Theresa & Francis I Children include    Joseph II    Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen    Marie Amalie, Duchess of Parma    Leopold II    Marie Caroline, Queen of Naples    Archduke Ferdinand    Marie Antoinette, Queen of France    Archduke Maximilian Grandchildren include    Francis IV, Duke of Modena    Archduke Ferdinand Karl Joseph II Leopold II Children include    Maria Theresia, Queen of Saxony    Francis II    Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany    Charles, Duke of Teschen    Archduke Alexander Leopold    Joseph, Palatine of Hungary    Archduke Johann    Archduke Rainer    Archduke Louis    Archduke Cardinal Rudolph Grandchildren include    Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany    Archduchess Maria Theresa    Albert, Duke of Teschen    Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska    Archduke Joseph Karl Francis II

• Her Imperial and Royal Highness Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria (13 May 1717–20 October 1740)
• Her Majesty The Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, Archduchess of Austria (20 October 1740–13 September 1745)
• Her Imperial Majesty The Holy Roman Empress (13 September 1745–18 August 1765)
• Her Imperial Majesty The Dowager Holy Roman Empress (18 August 1765–29 November 1780)

Maria Theresa was actually proclaimed King, rather than Queen, of Hungary upon her ascension to the Hungarian throne. Normally, however, she was styled Queen of Hungary.

Full style

Her title after the death of her husband:

Maria Theresa, by the Grace of God, Dowager Holy Roman Empress; Queen of Hungary, of Bohemia, of Dalmatia, of Croatia, of Slavonia, of Galicia, of Lodomeria, etc; Archduchess of Austria; Duchess of Burgundy, of Styria, of Carinthia and of Carniola; Grand Princess of Transylvania; Margravine of Moravia; Duchess of Brabant, of Limburg, of Luxemburg, of Guelders, of Württemberg, of Upper and Lower Silesia, of Milan, of Mantua, of Parma, of Piacenza, of Guastalla, of Auschwitz and of Zator; Princess of Swabia; Princely Countess of Habsburg, of Flanders, of Tyrol, of Hennegau, of Kyburg, of Gorizia and of Gradisca; Margravine of Burgau, of Upper and Lower Lusatia; Countess of Namur; Lady on the Wendish Mark and of Mechlin; Dowager Duchess of Lorraine and Bar, Dowager Grand Duchess of Tuscany.^[7]

Names in other languages

• Croatian: Marija Terezija
• Czech: Marie Teresie^[8]
• Dutch and German: Maria Theresia
• Finnish: Maria Teresia
• French: Marie Thérèse
• Greek: Μαρία Θηρεσία, Maria Theresia
• Hebrew: מריה תרזה‎
• Hungarian and Slovak: Mária Terézia
• Irish Máire Tóireasa
• Italian, Portuguese and Polish: Maria Teresa
• Latvian: Marija Terēzija
• Romanian: Maria Tereza
• Russian: Мария Терезия
• Serbian: Марија Терезија
• Slovene: Marija Terezija
• Spanish: María Teresa
• Swedish: Maria Teresia
• Ukrainian: Марія Тереза

Ancestry

Media portrayals

Marianne Faithfull portrayed Maria Theresa in the 2006 film Marie Antoinette.

Alma Kruger portrayed Maria Theresa in the 1938 film Marie Antoinette which starred Norma Shearer.

References

External links

• Media related to Maria Theresa of Austria at Wikimedia Commons
• Entry in aeiou.at
• Baroque Absolutism Country Studies - Austria
• Book by M. Goldsmith (1936) about Maria Theresia (eLibrary Austria Project - eLib at)

Titles