She later developed edema. Neither the gallows nor the, In German: Maria Theresia von Gottes Gnaden Heilige Rmische Kaiserinwitwe, Knigin zu Ungarn, Bhmen, Dalmatien, Kroatien, Slavonien, Gallizien, Lodomerien, usw., Erzherzogin zu sterreich, Herzogin zu Burgund, zu Steyer, zu Krnten und zu Crain, Grofrstin zu Siebenbrgen, Markgrfin zu Mhren, Herzogin zu Braband, zu Limburg, zu Luxemburg und zu Geldern, zu Wrttemberg, zu Ober- und Nieder-Schlesien, zu Milan, zu Mantua, zu Parma, zu Piacenza, zu Guastala, zu Auschwitz und Zator, Frstin zu Schwaben, gefrstete Grfin zu Habsburg, zu Flandern, zu Tirol, zu Hennegau, zu Kyburg, zu Grz und zu Gradisca, Markgrfin des Heiligen Rmischen Reiches, zu Burgau, zu Ober- und Nieder-Lausitz, Grfin zu Namur, Frau auf der Windischen Mark und zu Mecheln, Herzoginwitwe zu Lothringen und Baar, Groherzoginwitwe zu Toskana, Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples and Sicily, Maximilian Francis, Archbishop-Elector of Cologne, Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbttel, Declaratory Rescript of the Illyrian Nation, Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria, Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria (17621770), Maria Theresa of Austria-Este, Queen of Sardinia, Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este (18171886), Maria Theresa of Austria-Este (18491919), Princess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (18671909), Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria (18621933), Archduchess Maria Johanna Gabriela of Austria, Albert Ernest I, Prince of Oettingen-Oettingen, "Pragmatic Sanction of Emperor Charles VI", "Making Maria Theresia 'King' Of Hungary", "An End to Witch Trials in Austria: Reconsidering the Enlightened State", "What made Austria's Maria Theresa a one-of-a-kind ruler", "A Habsburg to Be Reckoned With: Two Books on Maria Theresa", "Modern Re-strikes: Maria Theresa Taler in Silver", "300th Anniversary of Maria Theresa's Birth", "Maria Theresia: Eine Frau, die alles im Blick hat", "Illyrian privileges and the Romanians from the Banat", Maria Theresa, (17171780) Archduchess of Austria (17401780) Queen of Hungary and Bohemia (17401780), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maria_Theresa&oldid=1167803417, died in childhood likely from smallpox, no issue, 22nd Volunteer Cavalry Division 'Maria Theresa' (19431945), The Maria Theresa Room is the most elegant room in the, This page was last edited on 29 July 2023, at 23:55. Felbiger's first proposals were made law by December 1774. "[155] By 1776, the court was polarized: on one side was a small reform party (including Maria Theresa, Raab, Blanc, Gebler and Greiner); on the conservative side were Joseph and the rest of the court. She led the marriage negotiations along with the campaigns of her wars and the duties of state. [118], Throughout her reign, Maria Theresa made the promotion of education a priority. An enlarged central administrationfrom which the judiciary was separated in 1749and a repeatedly reorganized treasury required knowledgeable civil servants and judges; and their training was, to her mind, the sole purpose of higher education. Maria Theresa later unsuccessfully tried to recover Silesia during the Seven Years' War. She forbade the publication of Pope Clement XIII's Apostolicum pascendi bull, which was in favour of the Jesuits, and promptly confiscated their property when Pope Clement XIV suppressed the order. They exacted harsh terms: in the Treaty of Vienna (1731), Great Britain demanded that Austria abolish the Ostend Company in return for its recognition of the Pragmatic Sanction. [128] In 1769, the Constitutio Criminalis Theresiana was published, and this was a codification of the traditional criminal justice system since the Middle Ages. [147], Maria Theresa endeavoured to increase the living standards and quality of life of the people, since she could see a causal link between peasant living standards, productivity and state revenue. One of Maria Theresa's greatest accomplishments was her devotion of bringing back the Catholic Church. Ukraine Wildfires Women's World Cup Culture What made Austria's Maria Theresa a one-of-a-kind ruler Klaus Krmer ad 03/15/2017 Empress of Austria Maria Theresa paved the way for compulsory. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. [85], In October 1767, Maria Theresa's sixteen-year-old daughter Josepha also showed signs of the disease. Under the terms of the pact, she agreed to renounce her claim to succession to the Spanish throne in return for a large dowry. Joseph himself often threatened to resign as co-regent and emperor, but he, too, was induced not to do so. Contemporaries thought her Latin to be quite good, but in all else, the Jesuits did not educate her well. She also advocated for the state church. Maria Theresa was born in 13th may 1717 in Vienna. The order was then expanded to all Jews of Bohemia and major cities of Moravia. Even though Francis Stephen was his favourite candidate for Maria Theresa's hand,[16] the Emperor considered other possibilities. [182] She centralised and modernised its institutions, and her reign was considered as the beginning of the era of "enlightened absolutism" in Austria, with a brand new approach toward governing: the measures undertaken by rulers became more modern and rational, and thoughts were given to the welfare of the state and the people. [129], Maria Theresa is credited, however, in ending the witch hunts in Zagreb, opposing the methods used against Magda Logomer (also called Herrucina), who was the last prosecuted witch in Zagreb following her intervention. Eventually, Charles VI left behind a weakened and impoverished state, particularly due to the War of the Polish Succession and the Russo-Turkish War (17351739). [122], After Maria Theresa recruited Gerard van Swieten from the Netherlands, he also employed a fellow Dutchman named Anton de Haen, who founded the Viennese Medicine School (Wiener Medizinische Schule). In addition to this, the Hofrechenskammer, or exchequer, was tasked with the handling of all financial accounts. She suffered from shortness of breath, fatigue, cough, distress, necrophobia and insomnia. The nobles also claimed that the system of forced labour had no connection with the peasants' poverty, which was a result of the peasants' own wastefulness and the increased royal taxes. In 1775, the Habsburg monarchy achieved its first balanced budget, and by 1780, the Habsburg state revenue had reached 50million florins. [105], In contrast to Maria Theresa's efforts to expel the Jews, she aimed to convert the Protestants (whom she regarded as heretics) to Roman Catholicism. [c] Francis Stephen was to receive the Grand Duchy of Tuscany upon the death of childless Grand Duke Gian Gastone de' Medici. It was time for Maria Theresa, then 23 years old, to succeed to the Habsburg throne. The dowager empresses, her aunt Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lneburg and grandmother Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg, were her godmothers. The 22million florins that Joseph inherited from his father was injected into the treasury. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. "[34], Maria Theresa found herself in a difficult situation. She gave her son absolute control over the military following the death of Leopold Joseph von Daun. [184] Vocelka even stated that "taken as a whole the reforms of Maria Theresa appear more absolutist and centralist than enlightened, even if one must admit that the influence of enlightened ideas is visible to a certain degree. Prussian ambassador's letter to Frederick II of Prussia[127], The centralization of the Habsburg government necessitated the creation of a unified legal system. Mother. She formed an alliance with France. Thus, in 1775, the Ottoman Empire ceded the northwestern part of Moldavia (subsequently known as Bukovina) to Austria. Subsequently, Maria Theresa sent Georg Adam, Prince of Starhemberg, to negotiate an agreement with France, and the result was the First Treaty of Versailles of 1 May 1756. [155] Joseph argued that it was difficult to find a middle way between the interests of the peasants and nobles; he suggested instead that the peasants negotiate with their landlords to reach an outcome. [13] Even though he had spent the last decades of his life securing Maria Theresa's inheritance, Charles never prepared his daughter for her future role as sovereign. [3] It was clear that Maria Theresa would outrank them,[3] even though their grandfather, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, had his sons sign the Mutual Pact of Succession, which gave precedence to the daughters of the elder brother. [96], Maria Theresa regarded both the Jews and Protestants as dangerous to the state and actively tried to suppress them. Subjects of her crown lands the Austrian. The Austrians suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Mollwitz in April 1741. [174], It is unlikely that Maria Theresa ever completely recovered from the smallpox attack in 1767, as 18th-century writers asserted. The second Maria Carolina was born feet first in 1748. The Turks reversed Austrian gains in Serbia, Wallachia and Bosnia. The naive courage with which Maria Theresa assumed her heritage (and made her husband co-regent) astounded Europes chancelleries. [100][102], In the third decade of her reign, Maria Theresa issued edicts that offered some state protection to her Jewish subjects. [119], Maria Theresa doubled the state revenue from 20 to 40million florins between 1754 and 1764, though her attempt to tax clergy and nobility was only partially successful. [169] She even once argued, "What right have we to rob an innocent nation that it has hitherto been our boast to protect and support? [68], Frederick of Prussia's invasion of Saxony in August 1756 began a Third Silesian War and sparked the wider Seven Years' War. [27], Upon Gian Gastone's death on 9 July 1737, Francis Stephen ceded Lorraine and became Grand Duke of Tuscany. Felbiger's reforms were nevertheless pushed through, as a result of the consistent support of Maria Theresa and her minister Franz Sales Greiner. Little more than a year after her birth, Maria Theresa was joined by a sister, Maria Anna, and another one, named Maria Amalia, was born in 1724. Upon her accession, the War of the Austrian Succession (174048) erupted, challenging her inheritance of the Habsburg lands. The Triumphal Arch of the Lorraine was erected at the Porta Galla in celebration, where it remains today. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Church/Religious Wise - Maria Theresa banned the creation of new burial grounds without the prior permission of the government, thus deploring the wasteful and unhygienic burial customs. [145] The reform of the primary schools largely met Maria Theresa's aim of raising literacy standards, as evidenced by the higher proportions of children who attended school; this was particularly the case in the Archdiocese of Vienna, where school attendance increased from 40% in 1780 to a sensational 94% by 1807. -Created unified judicial code that we called Theresian and was foundation for many today's Central European laws. [79], Smallpox was a constant threat to members of the royal family. She did not know enough about matters of state and she was unaware of the weakness of her father's ministers. Although this law came into force in Austria and Bohemia, it was not valid in Hungary. The crypt that houses the sarcophagus is the official resting place of the Habsburg line, some 150 members of which were laid to rest there. It was assumed that she had caught the infection when she went with her mother to pray in the Imperial Crypt next to the unsealed tomb of Empress Maria Josepha (Joseph's wife). [a], Maria Theresa was a serious and reserved child who enjoyed singing and archery. However, Lombardy, the Austrian Netherlands and Hungary were almost completely untouched by this reform. [b] Maria Theresa developed a close relationship with Countess Marie Karoline von Fuchs-Mollard, who taught her etiquette. Believing that the emperor must possess enough land to maintain his standing as emperor,[162] Maria Theresa, who was used to being assisted in the administration of her vast realms, declared Joseph to be her new co-ruler on 17 September 1765. Maria Theresa, who had become close to Francis Stephen, was relieved. The central government was responsible for funding the army, although Haugwitz instituted taxation of the nobility, who had never before had to pay taxes. Corrections? "[14], She dismissed the possibility that other countries might try to seize her territories and immediately started ensuring the imperial dignity for herself;[14] since a woman could not be elected Holy Roman Empress, Maria Theresa wanted to secure the imperial office for her husband, but Francis Stephen did not possess enough land or rank within the Holy Roman Empire. She was the first daughter of them. Born and raised between Baroque and Rococo eras, she found it difficult to fit into the intellectual sphere of the Enlightenment, which is why she only slowly followed humanitarian reforms on the continent. (She was the last of the Catholic monarchs to close its establishments.) Maria Theresa abandoned all ornamentation, had her hair cut short, painted her rooms black and dressed in mourning for the rest of her life. [49][50], By July, attempts at conciliation had completely collapsed. She disliked Leopold's reserve and often blamed him for being cold. [105] In February 1780, after a number of Moravians publicly declared their faith, Joseph demanded a general freedom to worship. Updates? May 13, 2022 Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. [4] Her father was the only surviving male member of the House of Habsburg and hoped for a son who would prevent the extinction of his dynasty and succeed him. Maria Theresa blamed herself for her daughter's death for the rest of her life because, at the time, the concept of an extended incubation period was largely unknown and it was believed that Josepha had caught smallpox from the body of the late empress. Francis Stephen was inclined to consider such an arrangement, but the Queen and her advisers were not, fearing that any violation of the Pragmatic Sanction would invalidate the entire document. [156] Joseph's biographer Derek Beales calls this change of course "puzzling". [86] Maria Theresa's losses to smallpox, especially in the epidemic of 1767, were decisive in her sponsoring trials to prevent the illness through inoculation, and subsequently insisting on members of the imperial family receiving inoculation. [166] Sometimes, she openly admired his talents and achievements, but she was also not hesitant to rebuke him. [73] Frederick himself was startled by Lobositz; he eventually re-grouped for another attack in June 1757. Maria Theresa of Austria (13 May 1717 - 29 November 1780) was the only female head of the Habsburg Dynasty. [33] Maria Theresa did secure recognition from King Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia, who had not accepted the Pragmatic Sanction during her father's lifetime, in November 1740. Although she could not reign as Holy Roman empress in her own right, she was groomed from an early age to preserve Habsburg territory and influence. [141][140] The curriculum focused on social responsibility, social discipline, work ethic and the use of reason rather than mere rote learning. Maria Theresa kept up a fortnightly correspondence with Maria Antonia, now called Marie Antoinette, in which she often reproached her for laziness and frivolity and scolded her for failing to conceive a child. [130][131], She was particularly concerned with the sexual morality of her subjects. Podewils wrote detailed descriptions of Maria Theresa's physical appearance and how she spent her days. [175], Maria Theresa fell ill on 24 November 1780. Hungarian and Croat light hussars led by Count Hadik raided Berlin in 1757. Maria Theresa herself decided to focus on domestic reforms and refrain from undertaking any further military operations. She delivered her last child, Maximilian Francis, during the Seven Years' War, aged 39. [91] Overall, the ecclesiastical policies of Maria Theresa were enacted to ensure the primacy of State control in Church-State relations. Maria Luisa of Spain. [138] The need for the reform became evident after the census of 17701771, which revealed the widespread illiteracy of the populace. She was barred from horse riding by her father, but she would later learn the basics for the sake of her Hungarian coronation ceremony. [44] France drew up a plan to partition Austria between Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Spain: Bohemia and Upper Austria would be ceded to Bavaria, whose Elector would become emperor, whereas Moravia and Upper Silesia would be granted to the Electorate of Saxony, Lower Silesia and Glatz to Prussia, and the entire Austrian Lombardy to Spain. ACCOMPLISHMENTS She limited the amount of work the nobles could force the peasants to do. The oath of fealty to Maria Theresa was taken on the same day in the Ritterstube of the Hofburg. Moreover, she had entered into a treaty with Russia, a newcomer to European rivalries. Maria Theresa is interred next to her husband in an ornate double sarcophagus beneath Viennas Capuchin monastery. Maria Theresa promulgated institutional, financial, medical and educational reforms, with the assistance of Wenzel Anton of Kaunitz-Rietberg, Friedrich Wilhelm von Haugwitz and Gerard van Swieten. During this period, there was no rest for Maria Theresa during pregnancies or around the births; the war and child-bearing were carried on simultaneously. By 26 November, she asked for the last rites, and on 28 November, the doctor told her that the time had come. [125][87], In 1770, she enacted a strict regulation of the sale of poisons, and apothecaries were obliged to keep a poison register recording the quantity and circumstances of every sale. Francis Stephen urged Maria Theresa to reach a rapprochement with Prussia, as did Great Britain. She is most unusually ambitious and hopes to make the House of Austria more renowned than it has ever been. Not without much hesitation and regret, she issued a decree that removed them from all the institutions of the monarchy, and carried it out thoroughly. These include: She has appeared as the main figure in a number of films and series such as the 1951 Maria Theresa and Maria Theresia, an Austria-Czech television miniseries from 2017. [42], Four of Maria Theresa's children died before reaching adolescence. Ironically, for this purpose, she was aided by Gerard van Swieten who was considered to be an "enlightened" man. [31], Immediately after her accession, a number of European sovereigns who had recognised Maria Theresa as heir broke their promises. [111][112], Maria Theresa was as conservative in matters of state as in those of religion, but she implemented significant reforms to strengthen Austria's military and bureaucratic efficiency. Thus, she established a Chastity Commission (Keuschheitskommission) in 1752[132] to clamp down on prostitution, homosexuality, adultery and even sex between members of different religions. [20] Louis XV of France demanded that Maria Theresa's fianc surrender his ancestral Duchy of Lorraine to accommodate his father-in-law, Stanisaw I, who had been deposed as King of Poland. Throughout the city prayers were made for her recovery, and the sacrament was displayed in all churches. [114] Moreover, after Haugwitz was appointed the head of the new central administrative agency, dubbed the Directory, (Directorium in publicis et cameralibus) in 1749, he initiated a radical centralization of state institutions down to the level of the District Office (Kreisamt). [151] In 17711778, Maria Theresa issued a series of "Robot Patents" (i.e. [29] The war was concluded the next year with the Treaty of Belgrade. [37], The first display of the new queen's authority was the formal act of homage of the Lower Austrian Estates to her on 22 November 1740. [d] In order to make him eligible for the imperial throne and to enable him to vote in the imperial elections as King of Bohemia (which she could not do because of her sex), Maria Theresa made Francis Stephen co-ruler of the Austrian and Bohemian lands on 21 November 1740. Maria Theresa started her 40-year reign when her father, Emperor Charles VI, died on 20 October 1740. Her title after the death of her husband was: Maria Theresa, by the Grace of God, Dowager Empress of the Romans, Queen of Hungary, of Bohemia, of Dalmatia, of Croatia, of Slavonia, of Galicia, of Lodomeria, etc. Her reforms had transformed the empire into a modern state with a significant international standing. To appease those who considered her gender to be a serious obstacle, Maria Theresa assumed masculine titles. She was daughter of holy roman emperor Charles VI and Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick Wolfenbttel. Maria Theresa (May 13, 1717 - November 29, 1780) was (reigning) Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, and, through her marriage, Holy Roman Empress. Much unlike Joseph, but with the support of religious authorities, Maria Theresa was opposed to the abolition of torture. [5] Charles sought the other European powers' approval for disinheriting his nieces. [173] The 500,000 florins in annual revenue from 100,000 inhabitants of Innviertel were not comparable to the 100,000,000 florins that were spent during the war. (Show more) Role In: [83][84], Maria Theresa in fact contracted smallpox from her daughter-in-law. [4] Maria Theresa replaced Maria Josepha as heir presumptive to the Habsburg realms the moment she was born; Charles VI had issued the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 which had placed his nieces behind his own daughters in the line of succession. She cannot forget the loss of Silesia, nor her grief over the soldiers she lost in wars with you. [142] Education was to be multilingual; children were to be instructed first in their mother tongue and then in later years in German. [100] Her son and co-ruler Joseph regarded his mother's religious policies as "unjust, impious, impossible, harmful and ridiculous". [67] France had successfully conquered the Austrian Netherlands, but Louis XV, wishing to prevent potential future wars with Austria, returned them to Maria Theresa. [123] Maria Theresa also banned the creation of new burial grounds without prior government permission, thus countering wasteful and unhygienic burial customs. Kann asserts that she nevertheless possessed qualities appreciated in a monarch: warm heart, practical mind, firm determination and sound perception. Joseph II, already co-sovereign of the Habsburg dominions, succeeded her and introduced sweeping reforms in the empire; Joseph produced nearly 700 edicts per year (or almost two per day), whereas Maria Theresa issued only about 100 edicts annually. Their eldest son, Joseph, became Holy Roman Emperor. Bohemia was particularly hard hit. [2] Most descriptions of her baptism stress that the infant was carried ahead of her cousins, Maria Josepha and Maria Amalia, the daughters of Charles VI's elder brother and predecessor, Joseph I, before the eyes of their mother, Wilhelmine Amalia. Education Wise Reforms - Maria Theresa reformed education in 1775. In addition, they cut back guild privileges, and internal duties on trade were either reformed or removed (such as the case for the Austrian-Bohemian lands in 1775). "[56] She bitterly vowed to spare nothing and no one to defend her kingdom when she wrote to the Bohemian chancellor, Count Philip Kinsky: "My mind is made up. [133], In 1776, Austria outlawed torture, particularly at the behest of Joseph II. The first child, Maria Elisabeth (17371740), was born a little less than a year after the wedding. "[140], Maria Theresa's reform established secular primary schools, which children of both genders from the ages of six to twelve were required to attend. Religious differences prevented him from arranging his daughter's marriage to the Protestant prince Frederick of Prussia. Upon the death of Charles Albert (1745), she secured for her husband, Francis, the imperial crown, which the law denied to women. A panoramic work of scholarship that brings Europe's age of empire spectacularly to life, Maria Theresa paints an unforgettable portrait of the uncompromising yet singularly charismatic woman who left her enduring mark on the era in which she lived and reigned. Born in Vienna on 13 May 1717 Died in Vienna on 29 November 1780 Motto: 'Iustitia et Clementia - By justice and clemency' Maria Theresa was the most important ruler of the age of Enlightened Absolutism and one of the most famous Habsburgs. Thus, the birth of Maria Theresa was a great disappointment to him and the people of Vienna; Charles never managed to overcome this feeling.[4]. [87], Shortly after giving birth to the younger children, Maria Theresa was confronted with the task of marrying off the elder ones. Maria Theresa led Austria through this and two other wars, preserving the bulk of Habsburg territory in the face of a series of militarily superior opponents. [63] French troops fled Bohemia in the winter of the same year. Although Maria Theresa had initially been reluctant to meddle in such affairs, government interventions were made possible by the perceived need for economic power and the emergence of a functioning bureaucracy. Initially this was focused on the wealthier classes. [150], An additional prompt to reform was the famine which afflicted the empire in the early 1770s. Prussia recognised Francis as emperor, and Maria Theresa once again recognised the loss of Silesia (with the exception of Austrian Silesia by the Treaty of Dresden in December 1745, ending the Second Silesian War). Members of this order educated her, served as her confessors, and supervised the religious education of her eldest son. The death of an only son prompted Charles, the only living prince of his line, to promulgate the so-called Pragmatic Sanction, a royal act, eventually recognized by most powers, whereby female issue was entitled to succeed to the domains of the Habsburgs. [152], Emperor Francis died on 18 August 1765, while he and the court were in Innsbruck celebrating the wedding of his second surviving son, Leopold. [113] Furthermore, educational institutions were created to prepare officials for work in the state bureaucracy: the Theresianum was established in Vienna in 1746 to educate nobles' sons, a military school named the Theresian Military Academy was founded in Wiener Neustadt in 1751, and an Oriental Academy for future diplomats was created in 1754.

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