nPostednon October 20, 2015
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nOnnthis date in 1740, a young 23 year old woman lost her father.
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nButnshe was not just any young woman, and he was not just any father!
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CharlesnVI had been Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and Croatia, King ofnSerbia, Archduke of Austria, King of Bohemia, King in Germany, andnKing of Naples, Sardinia, and Sicily! n
CharlesnVI had been Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and Croatia, King ofnSerbia, Archduke of Austria, King of Bohemia, King in Germany, andnKing of Naples, Sardinia, and Sicily! nn
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nAsnhe had ruled his empire and kingdoms, he was aware of the fact thatnhe had no living sons to inherit his throne. So, in 1713, he issuednan edict called the Pragmatic Sanction…
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n…Annedict that stated that females could inherit crown and properties.nThat edict was meant to ensure that one of Charles’s own daughtersncould become empress and queen of all those realms, rather than thencrown passing to his brother or his sons. n
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nCharlesnVI ruled for almost 30 years, and that entire time he worked onngetting approval for his Pragmatic Sanction from other Europeannpowers. These are the kingdoms who signed off on his Sanction, andnagreed that Charles VI’s daughter Maria Theresa would inherit thenthrone:
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n GreatnBritain France Saxony-Poland thenDutch Republic Spain Venice Statesnof the Church Prussia Russia Denmark Savoy-Sardinia Bavaria thenDiet of the Holy Roman Empire
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nSo…obviously…missionnaccomplished!
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nButnas soon as Charles VI died (from eating death cap mushrooms,naccording to Voltaire!), these are the nations that reneged on theirnpromises to honor Maria Theresa as ruler, and immediatelynattacked:
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n France Spain Saxony-Poland Bavaria Prussia
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nFornthe first eight years of Maria Theresa’s rule, she had to fight thenWar of the Austrian Succession, despite her father’s life’s work,nwhich was that Sanction.
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MarianTheresa said later that she had not had the sort of education thatnshe needed to rule. Also, when she took the throne Austria was prettynmuch bankrupt from wars, and the army that remained after not beingnpaid for a few months was pretty small. This is what Maria Theresansaid: “I found myself without money, without credit, without army, without experience and knowledge of my own and finally, also without any counsel because each one of them at first wanted to wait and see how things would develop.”
MarianTheresa said later that she had not had the sort of education thatnshe needed to rule. Also, when she took the throne Austria was prettynmuch bankrupt from wars, and the army that remained after not beingnpaid for a few months was pretty small. This is what Maria Theresansaid: “I found myself without money, without credit, without army, without experience and knowledge of my own and finally, also without any counsel because each one of them at first wanted to wait and see how things would develop.” n
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nWaitnand see…if Maria Theresa was kicked off the throne, perhaps? Or ifnshe would be removed by being killed?
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nThenwar dragged on for years, but eventually Maria Theresa was recognizednas the queen of many of her father’s lands. She is listed asnArchduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Croatia, Queen ofnBohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria, and Galicia. Because a womanncannot rule the Holy Roman Empire, Maria Theresa’s husband Francis Inbecame Holy Roman Emperor, and through that marriage Maria Theresanbecame Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Duchess of Lorraine, andnGrand Duchess of Tuscany.
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nIsn’tnroyalty weird? Can you imagine having so many titles?
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| Notice that this artist didn’t do a very good job of painting the proportions of babies and children! |
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nSpeakingnof “so many,” Maria Theresa had 16 children!
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nShe had 11 daughtersn(10 of whom were named Maria) and 5 sons, but only six lived to benadults.
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nOne of the most famous of her children was Marie Antoinette,nwho grew up to become the Queen of France (and who later lost hernhead!).
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nHer other children were queens and archduchesses and HolynRoman Emperors and all manor of titled personages.
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nAlsonon this date:
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First public school in North American
First public school in North American n
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nHeroes’nDay (Mashujaa Day) in Kenya
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nArchitectnChristopher Wren’s birthday
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nBaseballngreat Mickey Mantle’s birthday
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nPlannahead:
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nChecknout my Pinterest boards for:
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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nNovembern holidays
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nNovembern birthdays
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in November
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