Maria Theresa (redirected from Maria Theresia)

Maria Theresa (mərē`ə tərā`zə), 1717–80, Austrian archduchess, queen of Bohemia and Hungary (1740–80), consort of Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and dowager empress after the accession (1765) of her son, Joseph II. Her father, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, altered the Hapsburg family law by the pragmatic sanction of 1713 so that she might succeed to the Hapsburg lands. She was recognized by her subjects in the Austrian duchies and the Austrian Netherlands, in Bohemia, and in Hungary. The chief European powers had subscribed to the Pragmatic Sanction in Charles's lifetime, but when Maria Theresa acceded she was immediately confronted with a European coalition against her, and Frederick II of Prussia brazenly seized Silesia. In the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48), Maria Theresa lost most of Silesia to Prussia but secured (1745) in exchange the imperial election for her husband. Her warm personality and strength of will won her the loyalty of her subjects and troops, to whom she appealed directly in moments of crisis. Her husband was given a share in governing her hereditary lands, but the actual government was in the hands of Maria Theresa, assisted by her able chancellor, Kaunitz. After the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), Kaunitz accomplished a diplomatic revolution in concluding an alliance with France, the traditional enemy. The Seven Years War (1756–63) exhausted the strength of Austria. Maria Theresa lost no territory, but leadership among German states had definitely passed to Prussia. In 1772, Maria Theresa shared with Prussia and Russia in the first partition of Poland (see Poland, partitions of). Partly under the influence of her son, Joseph II (with whom she jointly ruled her dominions after 1765), Maria Theresa carried out a series of agrarian reforms and centralized the administration of her lands. Unlike her son she followed no particular plan and was, on the whole, conservative. A devout Roman Catholic, her court was the most moral in Europe. During her reign Vienna increased its reputation as a center of the arts and of music. Among her 16 children were emperors Joseph II and Leopold II, Marie Caroline of Naples, and Marie Antoinette of France. Her authoritative biographer is Alfred von Arneth.

Bibliography

See biographies by R. Pick (1966) and E. Crankshaw (1970); studies by G. P. Gooch (1965) and C. A. Macartney (1969).

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Maria Theresa

 German Maria Theresia

(born May 13, 1717, Vienna, Austria—died Nov. 29, 1780, Vienna) Archduchess of Austria and queen of Hungary and Bohemia (1740–80). She was the eldest daughter of Emperor Charles VI, who promulgated the Pragmatic Sanction to allow her to succeed to the Habsburg domains. Opposition to her succession led in 1740 to the War of the Austrian Succession. After Emperor Charles VII died (1745), she obtained the imperial crown for her husband, who became Francis I. She 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 Prussia led to the Seven Years' War and later to the War of the Bavarian Succession. After her husband's death (1765), her son became emperor as Joseph II. She criticized many of his actions but agreed to the 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 and Leopold II.

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Maria Theresa

1717--80, archduchess of Austria and queen of Hungary and Bohemia (1740--80); the daughter and heiress of Emperor Charles VI of Austria; the wife of Emperor Francis I; the mother of Emperor Joseph II. In the War of the Austrian Succession (1740--48) she was confirmed in all her possessions except Silesia, which she attempted unsuccessfully to regain in the Seven Years' War (1756--63)

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Maria Theresa 

Born May 13, 1717, in Vienna; died there Nov. 29, 1780. Austrian archduchess (from 1740).

After the death of her father, Emperor Charles VI, Maria Theresa inherited the lands of the Hapsburg monarchy on the basis of the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713. However, her rights were recognized by the European powers only after the War of the Austrian Succession of 1740-48. Up until 1765 her husband, Francis Stephen of Lorraine (Emperor Francis I), was co-ruler; after 1765 she ruled with her son Joseph II. Her rule was an important stage in the development of absolutism in the Austrian lands. She carried out reforms directed at increasing state centralization (establishment of the State Council, reform of provincial administration, and customs reform). Pursuing a policy of protectionism, she patronized the development of industry and trade. In conditions marked by a crisis in the corvée system and under the influence of the 1775 peasant uprising, the empress issued the “patent on the corvée,” which limited the corvée in the Bohemian lands to three days a week. In 1768 she issued a new criminal code, and in 1776 she abolished torture. Her attempt during the Seven Years’ War of 1756-63 to recover Silesia (seized by Prussia) brought no results. Her foreign policy (directed by chancellor W. Kaunitz) was oriented above all toward France (from 1756).

WORKS

Maria Theresia, Briefe und Aktenstucke in Auswahl. Edited by E. Walter. Darmstadt, 1968.

REFERENCES

Kretschmayr, H. Maria Theresia. Leipzig, 1938.
Otruba, G. Die Wirtschaftspolitik Maria Theresias. Vienna, 1963.