Editing Maria Theresa (section)

==War of the Austrian Succession==
{{Main|War of the Austrian Succession}}
[[File:Mária Terézia koronázása a Szent Márton székesegyházban.jpg|thumb|Maria Theresa being crowned [[:Category:Queens regnant of Hungary|Queen Regnant of Hungary]], [[St Martin's Cathedral, Bratislava|St. Martin's Cathedral]], [[Bratislava|Pressburg]]]]
[[File:Maria Theresia als Königin von Ungarn zu Pferde.jpg|thumb|Maria Theresa as the [[:Category:Queens regnant of Hungary|Queen Regnant of Hungary]]]]

Immediately after her accession, a number of European sovereigns who had recognised Maria Theresa as heir broke their promises. Queen Elisabeth of Spain and Elector [[Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles Albert]] of Bavaria, married to Maria Theresa's deprived cousin Maria Amalia and supported by Empress Wilhelmine Amalia, coveted portions of her inheritance.{{sfn|Morris|1937|p=47}} Maria Theresa did secure recognition from King [[Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia]], who had not accepted the Pragmatic Sanction during her father's lifetime, in November 1740.{{sfn|Browning|1994|p=38}}

In December, [[Frederick II of Prussia]] invaded the [[Duchies of Silesia|Duchy of Silesia]] and requested that Maria Theresa cede it, threatening to join her enemies if she refused. Maria Theresa decided to fight for the mineral-rich province.{{sfn|Crankshaw|1970|p=43}} Frederick even offered a compromise: he would defend Maria Theresa's rights if she agreed to cede to him at least a part of Silesia. Francis Stephen was inclined to consider such an arrangement, but the Queen and her advisers were not, fearing that any violation of the Pragmatic Sanction would invalidate the entire document.{{sfn|Browning|1994|p=43}} Maria Theresa's firmness soon assured Francis Stephen that they should fight for Silesia,{{efn|The day after the entrance of Prussia into Silesia, Francis Stephen exclaimed to the Prussian envoy, [[Kaspar Wilhelm von Borcke|Major General Borcke]]: "Better the Turks before Vienna, better the surrender of the Netherlands to France, better every concession to Bavaria and Saxony, than the renunciation of Silesia!"{{harvnb|Browning|1994|p=43}}.}} and she was confident that she would retain "the jewel of the House of Austria".{{sfn|Browning|1994|pp=42, 44}} The resulting war with Prussia is known as the [[First Silesian War]]. The invasion of Silesia by Frederick was the start of a lifelong enmity; she referred to him as "that evil man".{{sfn|Holborn|1982|p=218}}

As Austria was short of experienced military commanders, Maria Theresa released Marshal [[Wilhelm Reinhard von Neipperg]], who had been imprisoned by her father for his poor performance in the Turkish War.{{sfn|Browning|1994|p=44}} Neipperg took command of the Austrian troops in March. The Austrians suffered a crushing defeat at the [[Battle of Mollwitz]] in April 1741.{{sfn|Browning|1994|pp=52–53}} France drew up a plan to partition Austria between Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Spain: Bohemia and [[Upper Austria]] would be ceded to Bavaria, whose elector would become emperor, whereas [[Margraviate of Moravia|Moravia]] and [[Upper Silesia]] would be granted to the [[Electorate of Saxony]], [[Lower Silesia]] and [[Kłodzko|Glatz]] to Prussia, and the entire Austrian [[Duchy of Milan|Lombardy]] to Spain.{{sfn|Crankshaw|1970|p=56}} Marshal [[Charles Louis Auguste Fouquet, duc de Belle-Isle]] joined Frederick at [[Olomouc|Olmütz]]. Vienna was in a panic, as none of Maria Theresa's advisors had expected France to betray them. Francis Stephen urged Maria Theresa to reach a [[rapprochement]] with Prussia, as did Great Britain.{{sfn|Crankshaw|1970|p=57}} Maria Theresa reluctantly agreed to negotiations.{{sfn|Crankshaw|1970|p=58}}

Contrary to all expectations, the young Queen gained significant support from Hungary.{{sfn|Browning|1994|p=66}} Her coronation as queen of Hungary ''[[suo jure]]'' took place in [[St Martin's Cathedral, Bratislava|St. Martin's Cathedral]], [[Pressburg]] (today's Bratislava), on 25 June 1741. She had spent months honing the equestrian skills necessary for the ceremony and negotiating with the Hungarian Diet. To appease those who considered her gender to be a serious obstacle, Maria Theresa assumed masculine titles. Thus, in nomenclature, Maria Theresa was archduke and king; normally, however, she was styled as queen.{{sfn|Yonan|2003|p=118}}<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Varga|first=Benedek M.|date=2020|title=Making Maria Theresia 'King' Of Hungary|journal=The Historical Journal|volume=64|issue=2|language=en|pages=233–254|doi=10.1017/S0018246X20000151|issn=0018-246X|doi-access=free}}</ref>
[[File:Crown of Bohemia 1648.png|thumb|left|The [[Lands of the Bohemian Crown]] under Habsburg rule until 1742, when most of [[Silesia]] was ceded to Prussia]]

By July, attempts at conciliation had completely collapsed. Maria Theresa's ally, [[Augustus III of Poland]], now became her enemy,{{sfn|Crankshaw|1970|p=75}} and George&nbsp;II declared the [[Electorate of Hanover]] to be neutral.{{sfn|Crankshaw|1970|p=77}} Therefore, she needed troops from Hungary in order to support the war effort. Although she had already won the admiration of the Hungarians, the number of volunteers was only in the hundreds. Since she required them in thousands or even tens of thousands, she decided to appear before the Hungarian Diet on 11 September 1741 while wearing the [[Holy Crown of Hungary]]. She began addressing the Diet in [[Latin]], and she asserted that "the very existence of the Kingdom of Hungary, of our own person and children, and our crown, are at stake. Forsaken by all, we place our sole reliance in the fidelity and long-tried valor of the Hungarians."{{sfn|Mahan|1932|p=121}} The response was rather boorish, with the Queen being questioned and even heckled by members of the Diet; someone cried that she "better apply to Satan than the Hungarians for help."{{sfn|Mahan|1932|p=122}} However, she managed to show her gift for theatrical displays by holding her son and heir, [[Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor|Joseph]], while weeping, and she dramatically consigned the future king to the defense of the "brave Hungarians".{{sfn|Mahan|1932|p=122}} This act managed to win the sympathy of the members, and they declared that they would die for Maria Theresa.{{sfn|Mahan|1932|p=122}}{{sfn|Morris|1937|p=74}}

[[File:Maria Theresa Print dli 0613700281 cor.jpg|thumb|Engraved by Gustav Adolph Müller after Martin van Mytens, the Younger, ''Maria Theresa of Austria'', 1742, engraving]]

In 1741, the Austrian authorities informed Maria Theresa that the Bohemian populace would prefer [[Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles Albert]], Elector of Bavaria, to her as sovereign. Maria Theresa, desperate and burdened by pregnancy, wrote plaintively to her sister: "I don't know if a town will remain to me for my delivery."{{sfn|Browning|1994|p=65}} She bitterly vowed to spare nothing and no one to defend her kingdom when she wrote to the [[List of Bohemian High Chancellors|Bohemian chancellor]], Count [[Philip Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau|Philip Kinsky]]: "My mind is made up. We must put everything at stake to save Bohemia."{{sfn|Duffy|1977|p=151}}{{efn|She explained her resolution to the Count furthermore: "I shall have all my armies, all my Hungarians killed off before I cede so much as an inch of ground."{{harvnb|Browning|1994|p=76}}.}} On 26 October, the Elector of Bavaria captured [[Prague]] and declared himself [[king of Bohemia]]. Maria Theresa, then in Hungary, wept on learning of the loss of Bohemia.{{sfn|Browning|1994|p=79}} Charles Albert was [[1742 imperial election|unanimously elected]] Holy Roman Emperor as Charles VII on 24 January 1742, which made him the only non-Habsburg to be in that position since 1440.{{sfn|Beller|2006|p=86}} The Queen, who regarded the election as a catastrophe,{{sfn|Browning|1994|p=88}} caught her enemies unprepared by insisting on a winter campaign;{{sfn|Browning|1994|p=92}} the same day he was elected emperor, Austrian troops under [[Ludwig Andreas von Khevenhüller]] captured [[Munich]], Charles Albert's capital.{{sfn|Crankshaw|1970|p=93}}

{{Quote box|align=left|width=25em|She has, as you well know, a terrible hatred for France, with which nation it is most difficult for her to keep on good terms, but she controls this passion except when she thinks to her advantage to display it. She detests Your Majesty, but acknowledges your ability. She cannot forget the loss of Silesia, nor her grief over the soldiers she lost in wars with you.|Prussian ambassador's letter to [[Frederick the Great]]{{efn|At the end of the War of the Austrian Succession, Count Podewils was sent as an ambassador to the Austrian court by King Frederick II of Prussia. Podewils wrote detailed descriptions of Maria Theresa's physical appearance and how she spent her days.{{harvnb|Mahan|1932|p=230}}.}}}}

The [[Treaty of Breslau]] of June 1742 ended hostilities between Austria and Prussia. With the First Silesian War at an end, the Queen soon made the recovery of Bohemia her priority.{{sfn|Browning|1994|p=114}} French troops fled Bohemia in the winter of the same year. On 12 May 1743, Maria Theresa was crowned Queen of Bohemia in [[St. Vitus Cathedral]] ''[[suo jure]]''.{{sfn|Crankshaw|1970|pp=96–97}}

Prussia became anxious at Austrian advances on the Rhine frontier, and Frederick again invaded Bohemia, beginning a [[Second Silesian War]]; Prussian troops sacked Prague in August 1744. The French plans fell apart when Charles VII died in January 1745. The French overran the [[Austrian Netherlands]] in May.{{sfn|Crankshaw|1970|p=97}}

Francis Stephen was [[1745 imperial election|elected]] Holy Roman Emperor on 13 September 1745. Prussia recognised Francis as emperor, and Maria Theresa once again recognised the loss of Silesia (with the exception of [[Austrian Silesia]] by the [[Treaty of Dresden]] in December 1745, ending the Second Silesian War).{{sfn|Crankshaw|1970|p=99}} The wider war dragged on for another three years, with fighting in northern Italy and the Austrian Netherlands; however, the core Habsburg domains of Austria, Hungary and Bohemia remained in Maria Theresa's possession. The [[Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)]], which concluded the eight-year conflict, recognised Prussia's possession of Silesia, and Maria Theresa ceded the [[Duchy of Parma]] to [[Philip, Duke of Parma|Philip of Spain]].{{sfn|Crankshaw|1970|pp=99–100}} France had successfully conquered the Austrian Netherlands, but [[Louis XV]], wishing to prevent potential future wars with Austria, returned them to Maria Theresa.{{sfn|Mitford|1970|p=158}}