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. It was clear that Maria Theresa would outrank them, 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. 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. The dowager empresses, her aunt Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg and grandmother Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg, were her godmothers. The second and eldest surviving child of Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI and Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Archduchess Maria Theresa was born on in Vienna, a year after the death of her elder brother, Archduke Leopold Johann, and was baptised on that same evening. Painting of three-year-old Maria Theresa in the gardens of Hofburg Palace However, she despised Jews and Protestants, and on certain occasions she ordered their expulsion to remote parts of the realm. She also promoted commerce and the development of agriculture, and reorganised Austria's ramshackle military, all of which strengthened Austria's international standing. 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. Though she was expected to cede power to her husband, Emperor Francis I, and her eldest son, Emperor Joseph II, who were officially her co-rulers in Austria and Bohemia, Maria Theresa was the absolute sovereign who ruled with the counsel of her advisers. Maria Theresa later unsuccessfully tried to recover Silesia during the Seven Years' War. During the course of the war, Maria Theresa successfully defended her rule over most of the Habsburg monarchy, apart from the loss of Silesia and a few minor territories in Italy. In defiance of the grave situation, she managed to secure the vital support of the Hungarians for the war effort. Frederick II of Prussia (who became Maria Theresa's greatest rival for most of her reign) promptly invaded and took the affluent Habsburg province of Silesia in the seven-year conflict known as the War of the Austrian Succession. Moreover, upon his death, Saxony, Prussia, Bavaria and France all repudiated the sanction they had recognised during his lifetime. Eventually, Charles VI left behind a weakened and impoverished state, particularly due to the War of the Polish Succession and the Russo-Turkish War (1735–1739). He neglected the advice of Prince Eugene of Savoy, who believed that a strong military and a rich treasury were more important than mere signatures. Charles VI paved the way for her accession with the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 and spent his entire reign securing it. Maria Theresa started her 40-year reign when her father, Emperor Charles VI, died in October 1740.
By marriage, she was Duchess of Lorraine, Grand Duchess of Tuscany and Holy Roman Empress. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands, and Parma. Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina ( German: Maria Theresia – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position in her own right. Maximilian Francis, Archbishop-Elector of CologneĮlisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.Maria Antonia, Queen of France and Navarre.Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples and Sicily.Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla.Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen and Governor of the Austrian Netherlands.
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