Maria Theresa Absolute Monarchy

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Maria Theresa Absolute Monarchy Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was born in early May 1717 in Vienna, she reigned over Austria, Hungary,Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma. By marriage, she was Duchess of Lorraine, Grand Duchess of Tuscany and Holy Roman Empress. She started her 40-year reign when her father, Emperor Charles VI, died in October 1740. Although she had been given no formal training to succeed to her father when he died ,he constantly living in the hopes of siring a male heir,Marie Theresa did however rule her various kingdoms with some success.During her early reign she conducted several conflicts on several fronts all the while usually pregnant …show more content…

Then suddenly, in October 1740, her father died. At the age of 23, without anything in the way of formal preparation, without the least acquaintance with affairs of state, Maria Theresa had supreme responsibility thrust upon her. Subjects of her crown lands the Austrian duchies and Netherlands,and Bohemia and hungary quickly accepted Maria Theresa as their empress. Maria immediately faced resistance to her succession from European powers who previously agreed to her Father’s Pragmatic Sanction. These powers formed a coalition against Maria's Theresa, under the leadership of Frederick II, King of Prussia. Frederick II’s army invaded an Austrian Province, Silesia, in December of that year and claimed it for his kingdom. France and Bavaria followed suit with their own invasion of Habsburg territories, resulting in an 8 year conflict dubbed the War of the Austrian Succession. In 1748 the war ended when Austria was forced to let Prussia keep Silesia and to accept the loss of three of its Italian territories to France. Maria set out to further reforming the Habsburg government, with Silesian exile Count Frederick William Haugwitz heading up the effort. Haugwitz reform effort focused mainly on centralization of the emperor's power. He assigned Austria and Bohemia to a joint ministry, and took power away from the Provincial Estates. As a result, the affected territories lent Austria’s weakened army significantly more military power. Austria also benefited from the wealth produced by those provinces’

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