Austria had seemed to be declining, or even on the verge of collapse, after several diplomatic failures and military defeats in the 1730s.

The forty-year reign of Maria Theresa has left a revitalized empire that will influence the rest of Europe throughout the nineteenth century.

She has given the Habsburg dominions an efficient administrative system that will allow it to remain a great power in its own right, without the support of the Holy Roman Empire.

Her descendants will follow her example and continue reforming the empire.

The acquisition of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria gives the empire an even more multinational character that will ultimately lead to its destruction.

Her introduction of compulsory schooling, as a means of Germanization, will eventually trigger the revival of Czech culture.