Was Maria Theresa’s ascension to the throne actually good for the Habsburg Empire, as she had not been prepared for such a position? PDF

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An essay on Maria Theresa's ascension to the throne...

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Was Maria Theresa’s ascension to the throne actually good for the Habsburg Empire, as she had not been prepared for such a position?

Despite her unusual preparation and background Maria Theresa managed to become a great Holy Roman Empress who remains a strong symbol for Austria today. She was undoubtedly one of the finest Habsburg monarchs and for that she is remembered even in today’s day and age. She inherited a territory with a suffering economy, weak army and an outdated government and infrastructure (Mutschlechner). Throughout her reign she worked on these problems. Maria Theresa was determined to unify the Habsburg hereditary lands and modernize the administration and infrastructure of the Monarchy. Furthermore she also worked hard towards strengthening the weakened army and defending her territory. Moreover, whilst Maria Theresa never received the proper education common for monarchs, she rose above many of her predecessors and showed that women deserved the right to rule. Maria Theresa modernized Austria, strengthened the army, and introduced financial reforms, despite her lack of preparation to the throne. First, Maria Theresa’s military reforms and establishments strengthened the Monarchy’s army. She was able to “[double] the number of troops” (Vinsko) in the military through her centralization and modernization of the army. Maria Theresa implemented reforms which addressed taxation, specifically enforcing the nobles and clergy to pay taxes ( Pohl). This provided much needed funding for the military. Furthermore she established the Theresian Military Academy along with her advisor Count Leopold von Daun (Pohl). This Academy trained young soldiers, and taught them the newest principles and strategies. Although Maria Theresa was never educated in the ways of warfare, she set up this establishments along with her

advisor to educate soldiers. These changes implemented by Maria Theresa led Austria to a great victory at Kolin in 1757 (Pohl). This victory, in turn, persuaded Austrians and the rest of the Monarchy’s citizens to accept Maria Theresa as their ruler. Furthermore, while the empire suffered the loss of Silesia to Prussia, Maria Theresa worked long and hard to regain Silesia and managed to retain all other territories during the war, despite being threatened by German states, Spain, France and others ("War of the Austrian Succession"). While Maria Theresa wasn’t educated in military strategy she cooperated with her advisors and took Austria’s army from a weakened small military in need of change and turned it into a formidable army which was twice the size. Second, the empress of the Holy Roman Empire used reforms to revitalize the failing economy. When Maria Theresa inherited the throne there was a “growing economic deficit” (Mutschlechner) in desperate need of renovation. Maria Theresa saw this need and began by changing the tax and tariff laws through reforms in the Monarchy’s lands. Instead of taking away the nobles’ power by taking away their lands, she eliminated their tax immunity (Mutschlechner). This did not only eliminate the threat of the nobles and their influence but more importantly it brought money into the government. One could argue that Maria Theresa used this unique way of reducing the power of the nobility due to the fact that she was never properly prepared for an ascension to the throne. Her lack of knowledge on tactics in this area caused her to think past the strategies used by other European monarchs and come up with a way which benefits her country in several ways. Moreover, She also expelled internal taxation on imported or exported goods (Mutschlechner). In fact, the aim of the elimination of these tariffs was to unify the Habsburg hereditary lands “in a large-scale economic area with unitary rules” (Mutschlechner). Hence, under the reign of Maria Theresa the empire’s economy went through a renaissance as it was strengthened through taxation, statistics and population growth.

Finally, under Maria Theresa’s rule the Monarchy was modernized and unified through reforms. Maria Theresa’s reforms and policies in the field of education did not only advance the empire but also created a uniform educational policy. This policy brought together all the hereditary Habsburg lands and united them under one policy and under one crown. Maria Theresa may not have been prepared for the role of Holy Roman empress, but she grew into it with determination and her many reforms she led her empire towards a modern and unified future. Indeed, the educational policy led to the unification of Maria Theresa’s territories as it took the individual systems of the Crown Lands and established one central educational system. Not only did she revamp the educational system, Maria Theresa also made governmental reforms which brought together the governmental systems of the empire into one uniform system (Mutschlechner). Maria Theresa was determined and powered through the long and tiresome process of implementing these policies and reforms. However it was worthwhile as the revamped governmental and educational systems led to a unified and stronger empire (Mutschlechner). Indeed, Maria Theresa established a strong “centralized administrative machinery controlled from Vienna” (Mutschlechner). Even with her limited knowledge of politics she knew that bringing the empire together and making it a modern state was of the utmost importance. These numerous projects undertaken by Maria Theresa were done with the empire’s best interest in mind, which was to unify the Crown Lands. Thus Maria Theresa ruled far better than some of her predecessors and other European monarch’s regardless of the contrast in their upbringing and preparation. Using her determination Maria Theresa achieved this goal by centralizing the administration, creating a modern, uniform governmental and educational system in all the Habsburg hereditary lands. Maria Theresa saved the Holy Roman Empire from its downfall, through her financial reforms, strengthening of the military, modernization and unification. She paid

close attention to her advisers and the needs of her subjects. Furthermore her actions were always done with the best interest of the Empire in mind. For example she strengthened the army, so that they would be able to defend their territories and regain Silesia. Additionally she saved the Monarchy from bankruptcy through unique financial reforms, and modernized and unified the Crown Lands to establish a better central governing body for the empire. Maria Theresa was a very determined ruler who took the help from her advisers and passed reforms to help the Habsburg hereditary lands. She was never meant to became the empress of the Holy Roman Empire, neither was she raised to fit these shoes, yet she grew into them. In fact, the shoes fit her better than they fit others before her. Perhaps her lack of education is exactly what made her such a good ruler. Perhaps she could have been better if she had been prepared. But history is certain on one thing, she was an exemplary Monarch and loved by all.

Works Cited

Mutschlechner, Martin. "Maria Theresa and Her Reforms." The World of the Habsburgs. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2015. . Pohl, Walter. Karl Vocelka: Die Habsburger. Eine europäische Familiengeschichte. Herausgegeben von Brigitte Vacha, Graz 1992. Vinsko, Brian. "Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria." King’s College History Department. King’s College, 16 Nov. 2004. Web. 14 Mar. 2015. . "War of the Austrian Succession." The Columbia Encyclopedia. New York: Columbia University Press, 2013. Credo Reference. Web. 14 Mar 2015....