3.+Maria's+Reign

Maria's Reign

1. The Pragmatic Sanction of 1713
Charles VI paved the way for her accession with the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713.The Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 was an edict issued by Charles VI to ensure that the Austrian throne and Habsburg lands could be inherited by a daughter. Since their marriage in 1708, Charles and his wife had not had a son, and since 1711 Charles had been the sole living male Hasburg. Moreover, Charles' elder brother had died without male issue, making female succession a very plausible contingency. Because the Salic Law tradition precluded female inheritance, Charles VI needed to take extraordinary measures to avoid a disputed succession.

2. War of the Austrian Succession
=== She started her 40-year reign when her father, Charles VI, died in October 1740.Immediately after her accession, a number of European sovereigns who had recognised Maria Theresa as heiress broke their promises. Problems began when King Frederick II of Prussia violated the Pragmatic Sanction and invaded Silesia on 16 December 1740. He requested that Maria Theresa cede it, threatening to join her enemies if she refused. Maria Theresa's firmness soon assured Francis Stephen that they should fight for Silesia and she was confident that she would retain "the jewel of the House of Austria". Prussia was joined by Charles Albert of Bavaria, elected Holy Roman Emperor Charles VII, who was a rival claimant to the Habsburg lands. In 1741 he invaded Bohemia and occupied Prague. Britain under George II entered the war on Austria's side, fearing a Europe dominated by France. The war now turned, and in 1742 Austria invaded Bavaria, the Prussians withdrew from the war in return for Silessia, and the French were forced into a retreat ended by defeat at the battle of Dettengin. The war flared up again in 1744, with an alliance of Prussia, France and the Emperor Charles VII against Austria. Charles VII died in 1745, pulling Bavaria out of the war, but the French were victorious at the battle of Fontenoy, defeating a combined British and Austrian army and in combination with the second Jacobite revolt, ended Britain's direct military intervention on the continent. The war now started to fade away. Maria Theresa's husband Francis was elected Holy Roman Emperor Francis I, and recognized as such by Prussia in the T reaty of Dresden in return for Austrian recognition of the Prussian occupation of Silesia. The war was finally ended by the Treaty of Aix-le-Chapelle, which restored all conquered lands apart from Silesia. The war actually involved all of Europe, with France, Prussia, Spain, Bavaria and Saxony arrayed against Austria and Britain, and spread to America. ===

3. Seven Years War
=== The Seven Years War was the first global conflict. In Europe, it was the hostility between Prussia and Austria, still simmering after the war of Austrian Succession, which expanded through alliances to include all of Europe. The Seven Years War started in a flurry of diplomatic activity which resulted in a diplomatic revolution and the reversal of the alliances of the War of the Austrian Succession. First Britain and Prussia formed an alliance followed by France and Austria, who had been traditional enemies. The fighting started with Frederick II of Prussia’s invasion and defeat of Saxony, although the main conflict did not start until the following year. In January 1757 the Holy Roman Empire, led by Maria, empress of Austria, declared war on Prussia, who now found herself surrounded by enemies, with much greater populations and resources. Frederick's response was to invade Bohemia, and forced to withdraw, although he then defeated a French and Austrian army in Saxony, and an Austrian army invading Silesia. The same year saw Clive of India defeat the French in India, and the French occupy Hanover, having defeated the duck of Cumberland at Hastenbeck, forcing him to sign the Convention of Kloster-Zeven. The French occupation of Hanover was short lived, and a joint British and Hanoverian army defeated a Franco-Austrian one, followed two months later by Frederick's victory over the Russians, halting their advance. The Austrians were able to inflict a rare defeat on Frederick at Hochkirck, but failed to take advantage of it. In 1759, peace negotiations at The Hague came to nothing. The series of Franco-Austrian losses were reversed until, in 1762, the Empress Elizabeth of Russia died. Her successor Peter III greatly admired Frederick, and at once withdrew Russia's support from the French coalition. Prussia proceeded to kick the Austrians out of Saxony. Naturally, it was feared that Frederick would now invade Austria and France, and they capitulated. The peace treaties exacted harsh terms on France, as it was forced to relinquish most of her American colonies. For Austria, though, it was Status quo ante bellum === 

** Economic **
Maria Theresa began administrative and economic reforms in 1749, drawing on mercantilist theory and examples provided by Prussian and French reforms. In addition, she undertook reforms in the social, legal, and religious spheres. Mar ia Theresa doubled the state revenue between 1754 and 1764, though her attempt to tax clergy and nobility was only partially successful. These financial reforms greatly improved the economy.

Medicine
During the reign of Maria Theresa, infant mortality was a big problem in Austria. And, after calling in a renowned Dutch physician Gerard van Swieten to study the problem, she followed his recommendation and made a decree that autopsies would be mandatory for all hospital deaths in city of Graz--Austria's second largest city.

** Civil reforms **
In 1771, she and Joseph II issued the Robot Patent, a reform that regulated a serf's labor payments in her lands, which provided some relief. Other important reforms included outlawing witch-burning and torture, and, for the first time in Austrian history, taking capital punishment off the penal code, as it was replaced with forced labor. It was later reintroduced, but the progressive nature of these reforms remains noted. Another innovation of Maria Theresa's was the decency police which was to patrol everywhere, especially Vienna, and apprehend anyone suspected of doing something that could be deemed indecent (possibly due to her husband's supposed infidelity). Arrested prostitutes, for example, would be sent into villages in the eastern parts of the realm, leading some contemporary writers to note that these villages had ' exceptionally beautiful women' living there.

Education
In 1772 Maria Theresa founded the Imperial and Royal Academy of Science and Literature in Brussels. Mandatory education was introduced in 1774; the goal was to form an educated class from which civil servants could be recruited. Maria Theresa reformed education in 1775. In a new school system based on the Prussian one, all children of both genders from the ages of six to twelve had to attend school. Education reform was met with hostility from many villages; Maria Theresa crushed the dissent by ordering the arrest of all those opposed. Although the idea had merit, the reforms were not as successful as they were expected to be; in some parts of Austria, half of the population was illiterate well into the 19th century. The empress permitted non-Catholics to attend university and allowed the introduction of secular subjects (such as law), which influenced the decline of theology as the main foundation of university education