Hi to one and all on PF ,
There hae been many great and influencial female leaders in history ranging from Boudica to Queen Elizabeth II , in amongst them was a certain Empress of Austria namely Maria Theresa .
I was pleased to be able to purchase the resin version of Maria from Up Miniaturen and this is what I would like to present for your delicitation today.
Firstly notebooks out and begin to learn something about our subject :
Our subject was born on the 13 May 1717 and was named Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina , the birth of a girl was a great dissapointment to her father Charles VI wanting a son to succeed him (we shall call her Maria for the review!!!)
The Prussian ambassador noted that she had large blue eyes, fair hair with a slight tinge of red, a wide mouth and a notably strong body.
She started her 40-year reign when her father died in October 1740. Charles paved the way for her accession .Upon his death Saxony , prussia, Bavaria and France all revoked any sanctions they had recognised during his lifetime. Prussia then invaded the affluent Habsburg province of Silesia, this started the 9 years ofconflict known as the War of the Austrian Succussion. Maria Theresa would later unsuccessfully try to reconquer Silesia during the 7 Years War.
She married Francis of Lorraineand seemed to be constantly pregnant having a total ofsixteen children, including Queen Marie Antoinette of France.
Maria's lifelong enemy was Frederick the II of Prussia whom she apprently according to the Prussian Ambassador in a letter to Frederick stated that :
"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 lost in the wars with Prussia"
Maria said that had she not been almost always pregnant, she would have gone into battle herself.
Maria was a devout Roman Catholic in all matters and when her husband died this was the beginning of a 15 year widowhood ,she described her state of mind shortly after Francis's death: "I hardly know myself now, for I have become like an animal with no true life or reasoning power"
Maria abandoned all ornamentation, had her hair cut short, painted her rooms black and dressed in mourning for the rest of her life. She completely withdrew from court life, public events, and theater. Throughout her widowhood, she spent the whole August and the eighteenth of each month alone in her chamber, which affected her mental health.
It is unlikely that Maria ever completely recovered from the smallpox attack in 1767 . She suffered from shortness of breath , fatigue , insomnia amongst other ailments .
The empress fell ill on 24 November 1780,with a chill. Her physician Dr. Störk thought her condition serious. By 28 November, she asked for the last rites and the next day, at about nine o'clock in the evening, she died surrounded by her remaining children.
Maria Theresa left behind many reforms , among them religious and educational as well as increasing the army by nearly 200% , she was the only female to rule in 650 years of the Habsburg empire ..truely a remarkable woman.
Continued in next post:
Nap
There hae been many great and influencial female leaders in history ranging from Boudica to Queen Elizabeth II , in amongst them was a certain Empress of Austria namely Maria Theresa .
I was pleased to be able to purchase the resin version of Maria from Up Miniaturen and this is what I would like to present for your delicitation today.
Firstly notebooks out and begin to learn something about our subject :
Our subject was born on the 13 May 1717 and was named Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina , the birth of a girl was a great dissapointment to her father Charles VI wanting a son to succeed him (we shall call her Maria for the review!!!)
The Prussian ambassador noted that she had large blue eyes, fair hair with a slight tinge of red, a wide mouth and a notably strong body.
She started her 40-year reign when her father died in October 1740. Charles paved the way for her accession .Upon his death Saxony , prussia, Bavaria and France all revoked any sanctions they had recognised during his lifetime. Prussia then invaded the affluent Habsburg province of Silesia, this started the 9 years ofconflict known as the War of the Austrian Succussion. Maria Theresa would later unsuccessfully try to reconquer Silesia during the 7 Years War.
She married Francis of Lorraineand seemed to be constantly pregnant having a total ofsixteen children, including Queen Marie Antoinette of France.
Maria's lifelong enemy was Frederick the II of Prussia whom she apprently according to the Prussian Ambassador in a letter to Frederick stated that :
"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 lost in the wars with Prussia"
Maria said that had she not been almost always pregnant, she would have gone into battle herself.
Maria was a devout Roman Catholic in all matters and when her husband died this was the beginning of a 15 year widowhood ,she described her state of mind shortly after Francis's death: "I hardly know myself now, for I have become like an animal with no true life or reasoning power"
Maria abandoned all ornamentation, had her hair cut short, painted her rooms black and dressed in mourning for the rest of her life. She completely withdrew from court life, public events, and theater. Throughout her widowhood, she spent the whole August and the eighteenth of each month alone in her chamber, which affected her mental health.
It is unlikely that Maria ever completely recovered from the smallpox attack in 1767 . She suffered from shortness of breath , fatigue , insomnia amongst other ailments .
The empress fell ill on 24 November 1780,with a chill. Her physician Dr. Störk thought her condition serious. By 28 November, she asked for the last rites and the next day, at about nine o'clock in the evening, she died surrounded by her remaining children.
Maria Theresa left behind many reforms , among them religious and educational as well as increasing the army by nearly 200% , she was the only female to rule in 650 years of the Habsburg empire ..truely a remarkable woman.
Continued in next post:
Nap
