Editing Prince Eugene of Savoy (section)

== Later life (1721–36) ==

=== Governor-General of the Austrian Netherlands ===
Eugene had become governor of the [[Austrian Netherlands]]—in June 1716, but he was an absent ruler, directing policy from Vienna through his chosen representative the [[Hercule-Louis Turinetti, marquis of Prié|Marquis of Prié]].{{sfn | McKay | Baker | von Savoyen | 1977 | p=180|ps=: "Eugene was reluctant to leave his palaces and friends: it would probably have meant his resignation from his chief interest, the war council.}} Prié proved unpopular with the local population and the guilds who, following the [[Barrier Treaty]] of 1715, were obliged to meet the financial demands of the administration and the Dutch barrier garrisons; with Eugene's backing and encouragement, civil disturbances in Antwerp and Brussels were forcibly suppressed. After displeasing the Emperor over his initial opposition to the formation of the [[Ostend Company]], Prié also lost the support of the native nobility from within his own council of state in Brussels, particularly from the [[Jean-Philippe-Eugène de Mérode-Westerloo|Marquis de Mérode-Westerloo]]. One of Eugene's former favourites, [[Claude Alexandre de Bonneval|General Bonneval]], also joined the noblemen in opposition to Prié, further undermining the Prince. When Prié's position became untenable, Eugene felt compelled to resign his post as governor of the Austrian Netherlands on 16 November 1724. As compensation, Charles VI conferred on him the honorary position as [[vicar-general]] of Italy, worth 140,000 gulden a year, and an estate at [[Siebenbrunn]] in [[Lower Austria]] said to be worth double that amount.{{sfn | McKay | Baker | von Savoyen | 1977 | p=186|ps=: "Prié stood down in the spring of 1725 to avoid dismissal.}} But his resignation distressed him, and to compound his concerns Eugene caught a severe bout of [[influenza]] that Christmas, marking the beginning of permanent [[bronchitis]] and acute infections every winter for the remaining twelve years of his life.{{sfn | McKay | Baker | von Savoyen | 1977 | p=187}}

=== 'Cold war' ===
[[File:Portrait of Prince Eugene.jpg|thumb|170px|Prince Eugene by [[Jan Kupecký]].|left]]

The 1720s saw rapidly changing alliances between the European powers and almost constant diplomatic confrontation, largely over unsolved issues regarding the Quadruple Alliance. The Emperor and the Spanish king continued to use each other's titles, and Charles VI still refused to remove the remaining legal obstacles to Don Charles' eventual succession to the duchies of Parma and Tuscany. Yet in a surprise move Spain and Austria moved closer with the signing of the [[Treaty of Vienna (1725)|Treaty of Vienna]] in April/May 1725.<ref>Philip V and Elisabeth approached Austria to exploit Charles VI's isolation, and his differences with the Maritime Powers over the Ostend Company. They intended to conclude marriage alliances for their two sons to the Emperor's daughters, aiming to bring their children control of the [[Erblande|Habsburg hereditary lands]] and most of Italy.</ref> In response Britain, France, and [[Prussia]] joined in the [[Treaty of Hanover (1725)|Alliance of Hanover]] to counter the danger to Europe of an Austro-Spanish hegemony.<ref>Hatton: ''George I,'' 274–275: Sweden, Denmark, and the Dutch Republic signed the Treaty of Hanover in 1727.</ref> For the next three years there was the continual threat of war between the Hanover Treaty powers and the Austro-Spanish bloc.

From 1726, Eugene gradually began to regain his political influence. With his many contacts throughout Europe Eugene, backed by Gundaker Starhemberg and [[Frederick Charles, count von Schönborn|Count Schönborn]], the Imperial vice-chancellor, managed to secure powerful allies and strengthen the Emperor's position—his skill in managing the vast secret diplomatic network over the coming years was the main reason why Charles VI once again came to depend upon him.{{sfn | McKay | Baker | von Savoyen | 1977 | p=213}} In August 1726 [[Russian Empire|Russia]] acceded to the Austro-Spanish alliance, and in October [[Frederick William I of Prussia]] followed suit by defecting from the Allies with the signing of a mutual defensive treaty with the Emperor.{{sfn | Coxe | 1820 | p=139|ps=: The Allies failed to support Frederick William's claims to [[Duchy of Jülich|Jülich-Berg]].}}

[[File:Alliances in Europe 1725-1730.jpg|thumb|300px|Coalitions in Europe between 1725 and 1730. Signatories of the [[Treaty of Vienna (1725)|Treaty of Vienna]] (30 April 1725) in blue and signatories of the [[Treaty of Hanover (1725)|Treaty of Hanover]] (3 September 1725) in red. Prussia, in brown, first joined the Hanoverian Alliance, but later changed sides after the Treaty of Berlin on 23 December 1728.]]
Despite the conclusion of the brief [[Anglo-Spanish War (1727)|Anglo-Spanish conflict]], manoeuvring between the European powers persisted throughout 1727–28. In 1729 Elisabeth Farnese abandoned the Austro-Spanish alliance. Realizing that Charles VI could not be drawn into the marriage pact she wanted, Elisabeth concluded that the best way to secure her son's succession to Parma and Tuscany now lay with Britain and France. To Eugene it was 'an event that which is seldom to be found in history'.{{sfn | McKay | Baker | von Savoyen | 1977 | p=219}} Following the Prince's determined lead to resist all pressure, Charles VI sent troops into Italy to prevent the entry of Spanish garrisons into the contested duchies. By the beginning of 1730 Eugene, who had remained bellicose throughout the whole period, was again in control of Austrian policy.{{sfn | McKay | Baker | von Savoyen | 1977 | p=219}}

In Britain there now emerged a new political re-alignment as the Anglo-French ''entente'' became increasingly defunct.{{sfn | Simms | 2009 | p=218}} Believing that a resurgent France now posed the greatest danger to their security British ministers, headed by [[Robert Walpole]], moved to reform the [[Anglo-Austrian Alliance]], leading to the signing of the [[Treaty of Vienna (1731)|Second Treaty of Vienna]] on 16 March 1731.{{sfn | Simms | 2009 | pp=215–219}}{{sfn | Mckay | Scott | 2014 | p=136}} Eugene had been the Austrian minister most responsible for the alliance, believing once again it would provide security against France and Spain. The treaty compelled Charles VI to sacrifice the [[Ostend Company]] and accept, unequivocally, the accession of Don Charles to Parma and Tuscany. In return King [[George II of Great Britain|George II]] as King of Great Britain and Elector of [[Electorate of Hanover]] guaranteed the [[Pragmatic Sanction of 1713|Pragmatic Sanction]], the device to secure the rights of the Emperor's daughter, [[Maria Theresa]], to the entire Habsburg inheritance. It was largely through Eugene's diplomacy that in January 1732 the [[Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire)|Imperial diet]] also guaranteed the Pragmatic Sanction which, together with the Treaties with Britain, Russia, and Prussia, marked the culmination of the Prince's diplomacy. But the Treaty of Vienna had infuriated the court of King [[Louis XV]]: the French had been ignored and the Pragmatic Sanction guaranteed, thus increasing Habsburg influence and confirming Austria's vast territorial size. The Emperor also intended Maria Theresa to marry Duke [[Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis Stephen]] of Lorraine which would present an unacceptable threat on France's border. By the beginning of 1733 the French army was ready for war: all that was needed was the excuse.<ref>McKay & Scott: ''The Rise of the Great Powers: 1648–1815,'' 136–137</ref>

=== War of the Polish Succession ===
{{Main|War of the Polish Succession }}
[[File:Prince Eugene of Savoy - Kupetzky.jpg|thumb|200x200px|Portrait of Prince Eugene of Savoy in later years by [[Jan Kupecký]].]]

In 1733 the Polish King and Elector of Saxony, [[Augustus II the Strong|Augustus the Strong]], died. There were two candidates for his successor: first, [[Stanisław Leszczyński]], the father-in-law of Louis XV; second, the Elector of Saxony's son, [[Augustus III of Poland|Augustus]], supported by Russia, Austria, and Prussia. The Polish succession had afforded Louis XV's chief minister, [[André-Hercule de Fleury|Fleury]], the opportunity to attack Austria and take [[Duchy of Lorraine|Lorraine]] from Francis Stephen. To gain Spanish support France backed the succession of Elisabeth Farnese's sons to further Italian lands.{{sfn | Simms | 2009 | p=231}}{{sfn | Mckay | Scott | 2014 | p=141}}

Eugene entered the [[War of the Polish Succession]] as President of the Imperial War Council and commander-in-chief of the army, but he was severely handicapped by the quality of his troops and the shortage of funds; now in his seventies, the Prince was also burdened by rapidly declining physical and mental powers. France declared war on Austria on 10 October 1733, but without the funds from the Maritime Powers – who, despite the Vienna treaty, remained neutral throughout the war – Austria could not hire the necessary troops to wage an offensive campaign. "The danger to the monarchy", wrote Eugene to the Emperor in October, "cannot be exaggerated".{{sfn | Henderson | 1964 | p=228}} By the end of the year French forces had seized Lorraine and Milan; by early 1734 Spanish troops had taken Sicily.

Eugene took command on the Rhine in April 1734, but vastly outnumbered he was forced onto the defensive. In June Eugene set out to relieve [[Siege of Philippsburg (1734)|Philippsburg]], yet his former drive and energy was now gone. Accompanying Eugene was a young prince [[Frederick II of Prussia|Frederick of Prussia]], sent by his father to learn the art of war. Frederick gained considerable knowledge from Eugene, recalling in later life his great debt to his Austrian mentor, but the Prussian prince was aghast at Eugene's condition, writing later, "his body was still there but his soul had gone."{{sfn | McKay | Baker | von Savoyen | 1977 | p=239}} Eugene conducted another cautious campaign in 1735, once again pursuing a sensible defensive strategy on limited resources; but his short-term memory was by now practically non-existent, and his political influence disappeared completely—[[Gundaker Thomas Starhemberg|Gundaker Starhemberg]] and [[Johann Christoph von Bartenstein]] now dominated the conference in his place. Fortunately for Charles VI, Fleury was determined to limit the scope of the war, and in October 1735 he granted generous peace preliminaries to the Emperor.{{sfn | McKay | Baker | von Savoyen | 1977 | p=240}}

=== Later years and death ===
[[File:Stadtpalais Prinz Eugen1.jpg|thumb|200x200px|Eugene's [[Winter Palace of Prince Eugene|Stadtpalais]], Vienna, where the Prince conducted most of his business.]]
Eugene returned to Vienna from the War of the Polish Succession in October 1735, weak and feeble; when Maria Theresa and Francis Stephen married in February 1736 Eugene was too ill to attend. After playing cards at Countess [[Eleonore Batthyány-Strattmann|Batthyány]]'s on the evening of 20 April until nine in the evening, he returned home to the [[Winter Palace of Prince Eugene|Stadtpalais]], his attendant offered him to take his prescribed medicine which Eugene declined.{{sfn|The Edinburgh Review|1862|p=546}}

When his servants arrived to wake him the next morning on 21 April 1736, they found Prince Eugene dead after passing away quietly during the night.{{sfn|The Edinburgh Review|1862|p=545}} It has been said that on the same morning he was discovered dead, the great lion in his menagerie was also found dead.<ref name="Wheatcroft 2009 p.252">{{cite book | last=Wheatcroft | first=A. | title=The Enemy at the Gate: Habsburgs, Ottomans and the Battle for Europe | publisher=Random House | year=2009 | isbn=978-1-4090-8682-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HCmwFM8_QCoC }}</ref>

Eugene's heart was buried with the ashes of his ancestors in Turin, in the [[Basilica of Superga]].{{sfn|The Edinburgh Review|1862|p=546}} His remains were carried in a long procession to [[St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna|St. Stephen's Cathedral]], where his embalmed body was buried in the ''Kreuzkapelle''.{{sfn | McKay | Baker | von Savoyen | 1977 | p=243}} It is said that the emperor himself attended as a mourner without anybody's knowledge.{{sfn|The Edinburgh Review|1862|p=546}}

The Prince's niece [[Princess Maria Anna Victoria of Savoy|Maria Anna Victoria]], whom he had never met, inherited Eugene's immense possessions.{{sfn | The Edinburgh Review| 1862 | p=546}} Within a few years she sold off the palaces, the country estates and the art collection of a man who had become one of the wealthiest in Europe, after arriving in Vienna as a refugee with empty pockets.<ref name="Wheatcroft 2009 p.252" />