Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI had managed…
April 1744 CE
The emperor had spent the time of his reign preparing Europe for a female ruler, but he had not prepared his daughter, Maria Theresa.
He would not read documents to her, take her to meetings, or allow her to be introduced to ministers or have any preparation for the power she would eventually receive.
It is possible that it was because such instruction would imply an acceptance of his inability to produce a male heir.
When Charles died in 1740 with no male heirs, France, Prussia, Bavaria, and Saxony had broken their promises and contested Maria Theresa's claims on her father's Austrian lands, and initiated the War of the Austrian Succession, in which Austria lost Silesia to Prussia in 1742.
The elective office of Holy Roman Emperor has been filled by Joseph I's son-in-law Charles Albert of Bavaria, marking the first time in several hundred years that the position is not held by a Habsburg.
Groups
Austria, Archduchy of
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Saxony, Electorate of
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Netherlands, United Provinces of the (Dutch Republic)
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France, (Bourbon) Kingdom of
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Brunswick-Lüneburg, Electorate of (Electorate of Hanover)
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Spain, Bourbon Kingdom of
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Prussia, Kingdom of
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Britain, Kingdom of Great
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Netherlands, Southern (Austrian)
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Sardinia, Kingdom of (Savoy)
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