Maria theresa accomplishments

When did Maria Theresa come to power?

Ascending the Habsburg throne in 1740, at 23 years old, Maria Theresa assumed rule at a perilous moment for her empire.

The state’s coffers were empty and its vast population – which encompassed Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, Mantua, Milan, Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma – was growing increasingly restive.

Perhaps most dangerously of all, the empire’s enemies – Prussia and France chief among them – were circling. And upon her elevation to the throne following the death of her father Emperor Charles VI, these enemies went in for the kill, sparking a conflict now known as the War of the Austrian Succession.

It was Maria Theresa’s ability to marshal an effective diplomatic and military response to their aggression – coupled with the wide-ranging social, economic, and cultural reforms she implemented during her 40-year reign – that has earned her a reputation as one of the Habsburg empire’s most effective leaders.

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Maria Theresa

(Maria Theresa of Austria)

1717–1780

Maria Theresa of Austria was the only female monarch of the Habsburg dynasty. She reigned over Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Milan, the Austrian Netherlands, and Parma, ruling for forty years until her death. She was by traditional law not allowed to be her father’s successor, but the passing of Charles VI’s Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 allowed a daughter to rule in his stead should he not produce a male heir. After his death, however, Prussia, Saxony, and Bavaria renounced the agreement and invaded Silesia, sparking a nine-year power struggle known as the War of the Austrian Succession. Maria Theresa remained in power but was forced to surrender the territory of Silesia, which she later tried and failed to recapture during the Seven Year's War, a major battle that pitted Prussia and Great Britain against Austria, France, Russia, Spain, and Sweden.

MARIA THERESAOF AUSTRIA

While Charles VI had passed