Maria Theresa was the Holy Roman Empress, was the absolute sovereign, who ruled with the counsel of her advisers.
Background
Maria Theresa was born on 13 May 1717, in Vienna, Austria. She was the eldest daughter of Emperor Charles VI and Elisabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel. 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. Thus, the birth of Maria Theresa was a great disappointment to him and the people of Vienna.
Education
Maria Theresa's education and upbringing was typically like a princess. She was educated by Jesuits priests at Mariazell but they failed to educate her to the expected level due to the spelling and punctuation being unconventional. Her studies were mainly focused on frivolous skills thought befitting a young noblewoman.
Career
Maria began managing her father's council meetings when she was 14. When her father died on 20 October, 1740 she inherited her father's throne upon his death. She was not able to pay her army and her government and was in debt, due to her father's poor choices. Maria's father did not have any training in government, leaving her to learn herself. However, she began to rule Bohemia and Hungary, gaining the experience in administrating her land and people.
She made her husband Francis Stephen co-ruler of Austria and Bohemia so that he could become eligible for the title of Holy Roman Emperor as she could not hold that tiltle because of her gender. On May 12, 1743 she was crowned Queen of Bohemia. She proposed to her ministers in December 1744, to have all Jews expelled by January 1st, 1745 from her hereditary dominions. But her concern was not only on the Jews but she also expelled Protestants to Transylvania and reduced the number of monastic orders and religious holidays but she supported Jewish commercial inspite of not liking of Jews.
In early 1745, her husband became the Holy Roman Emperor. Maria Theresa confronted the challenge of Frederick II the great of Prussia who invaded Silesia with its rich deposits and valuable linen trade. She defended against various coalitions that imperiled her empire. Maria managed against great odds and in maintaining the Austrian throne and the integrity of the Habsburg Empire. In the seven years of war Maria Theresa's courage was universally acclaimed.
After her husband's death, Maria Theresa made her son Joseph II co-regent of her Austrians dominions but kept most of the power to herself which lead to disturbance between her and her son. During her rule, Vienna became the culture centre of German speaking world. She created a High court of Justice, a Chancery for Foreign Affairs and a Council of State. She changed her foreign policy from vigorously to maintaing peace. Maria supported securing pensions for the converts.
She died on 29 November, 1780 at a place where she has reigned for four decades.
Maria Theresa was a Roman Catholic and a devout as well. For peaceful public life she believed in religious unity and rejected the idea of religious toleration. She considered to be prerogatives of a monarch and never allowed the church to interfere. As she was influenced by Jansenist ideas her approach to religion differed from approach of her predecessors. She supported conversion to Roman Catholicism by securing pensions to the converts. She emphasised Greek Catholics equal status with Roman Catholics. Her devotion was towards Christianity but she was widely known for her ascetic lifestyle.
Politics
Her main aim was to develop political capability so that Austria should not fall behind the other European Great Powers. She just wanted to alleviate the hard lives of her virtuous subjects as just "mother of the nation". Maria Theresa was as conservative in matters of state, initiated various financial reforms to improve the economy of her country.
Views
She focused mainly on human concerns and less on financial and administrative improvements.
She was occupy herself with questions of furnishing and architectural matters, her main motto was not luxury but speed and price.
Personality
Maria was courageous, generous and kind hearted person. She respected the right of others and expected others to respect her rights.
Physical Characteristics:
Maria Theresa, had an attractive personality. She had large blue eyes, fair hair with a hint of red and a wide mouth. She was one of the rare members of the Habsburg family who had an healthy genetic origin.
Quotes from others about the person
"She never bothers about her health, but relies entirely upon her vigorous body for strength and endurance. She is warm-blooded and, even in the middle of winter, often sits by an open window ... Her physician scolds her dreadfully about this, but she only laughs at him." - Prussian wrote about Maria to Frederick the Great.
"That woman's achievements are those of a great man." - Frederick II of Prussia.
Connections
Maria Theresa was engaged to Leopold Clement of Lorraine but due to his death due to smallpox she was married to Francis Stephen. She had 16 children with 11 daughters all with name starting with Maria and 5 sons. Her youngest daughter was Maria Antonia.