Image by Robert Pick via Encyclopedia Britannica
Hello, everyone! It’s Erin! Today, we’re going to interview an amazing woman who is little known due to her child’s legacy. Who is this feisty female? *waits expectantly* It’s Queen Maria Theresa of Austria! Welcome, your majesty!
It’s a pleasure to be here, Erin. It was quite gracious of you to invite me here today.
It’s an honor to have you. Now, I’m sure many are wondering, where were you born? And when?
I was born in Vienna, Austria on May 13, 1717. My father, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, was concerned because I and my younger sister were daughters.
Why was that a problem? After all, women can make strong leaders.
Well, my father feared that the line of succession would be destroyed because women were typically not leaders. So, before he had me, he convinced kings and nobles all over Europe to agree to the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713. This ensured that the royal line remained intact if a daughter were to rule. However many tried to claim an opportunity to steal the Habsburg titles and territories. *chuckles softly* Nobody expected a meek woman could stand so strong.
Who in particular tried to take your Austrian land?
Many did, including my cousin Charles Albert, Elector of Bavaria. The worst, however, was in fact King Frederick the Great of Prussia. During the War of Austrian Succession, he stole Silesia from me and held it, making him, as you might say in your modern lingo, “a great power.”
I’ve heard that you basically allied with other women who were angry at Frederick as well. Is that true?
Yes, it is. Many might deem it foolhardy, but I approached Austria’s old enemy, France, for an alliance. Frederick had said that Madame Pompadour, King Louis XV’s mistress, was an unworthy leader of the “petticoat dynasty.” King Frederick also insulted Empress Elizabeth of Russia when he called her fat. *chuckles again* Not that I disagreed, but I used this to my advantage. Russia, France, and Austria were allied against Prussia.
Did this make a difference in the war effort?
Yes and no. Truthfully, the combined armies of Russia, France and Austria were stronger than Prussia. We were beating them, and we would have won if not for two problems. First, the leaders of Russia and Austria’s armies had an argument because Russia thought that Austria wasn’t sacrificing enough. They backed out of the alliance for a moment, and Frederick seized that moment to attack. Later, Empress Elizabeth died, and her nephew, Peter III, switched sides. Those two issues changed the course of the war.
When did the war end, and what was the end result?
The war, which began in 1756, ended in 1763. I never gained back Silesia. Practically nothing changed except the fact that many people died.
That’s terrible!
It was, but at least Austria was allied with France. The youngest of my sixteen children, Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna, married the Dauphin Francis to ensure a more stable alliance. She is known to you perhaps as Marie Antoinette.
Marie Antoinette is very infamous today. So infamous, in fact, that many would not know that the greatest queen of Austria was her mother.
I agree, she was incredibly infamous. And bratty.
*laughs* Queen Maria Theresa, what is one piece of advice you want to give our readers today?
With God’s grace, anything is possible.
And there you have it, folks! Let’s give this feisty female a hand! *cue applause* Thank you for joining Queen Maria Theresa and I in discovering what exactly makes this smart queen so feisty. If you liked this interview, please subscribe, and you’ll get to read more like it!
Bibliography
“Austrian Empress Maria Theresa (1717-1780).” Salute to Vienna, Attila Glantz, 2022, https://www.salutetovienna.com/maria-theresa.
Nalle, Julia, and Rob Nalle. “Chapter 20: The Seven Years’ War; Catherine the Great.” The Biblioplan Companion Year 3, vol. 2, Biblioplan, Palmyra, VA, 2014, pp. 471–479.
O'Dell, Angela. “The Enlightenment — A Closer Look.” World's Story: The Modern Age: The Explorers through the Present Day, Master Books, a Division of New Leaf Publishing Group, Inc., Green Forest, AR, 2018, pp. 74–75.
Pick, Robert. “Maria Theresa: Holy Roman Empress.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 1998, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Maria-Theresa.
Great interview!