MARIA THERESA, THE INVASIVE EMPRESS OF AUSTRIA

Exceptional destinies

An episode from the series SECRETS OF HISTORY - PORTRAITS

Synopsis

Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, left quite a mark on the history of her country and the world with her panache and convictions.

She was a reformer who ruled tirelessly with an iron fist, despite her 16 pregnancies. In an effort to educate her people, Maria Theresa created institutions - still in operation today – with the aim to educate an elite so that they can help in the country's development. She was deemed too puritanical for legislating for higher moral standards. Politically, she faced her fiercest detractors by playing a clever alliance game.