Maria Theresa Achievements

Maria Theresa was a brave young woman, who at the budding age of only 23, became the first woman to ever take the Austrian throne. Not only was she the first female ruler, she was also the last ruler in the Hapsburg monarchy. When she came into the throne during the year of 1740, an eight year war, the War of Austrian Succession quickly followed. In 1754, another war followed, the Seven Years War, also known as the French and Indian War. It ended in 1763 and Austria was not a winner. In 1772, the First Partition of Poland divided up Poland into three parts for Prussia, Austria, and Russia. All of these renowned events took place during the reign of Maria Theresa. She died in 1780, leaving behind 16 children and a thriving monarchy.
The reign of Maria Theresa definitely had its accomplishments. Maria Theresa She was able to rule successfully as an absolute monarch for an eventful forty years. She improved the economy by extinguishing an embargo between Austria and Bohemia. She also revised the tax system, for the better. In addition, Maria Theresa was able to put up a good fight

against Frederick William II during both the War of Austrian Succession and the Seven Years War. During that, she gained a fair amount of land from Poland for Austria from the partitions of Poland. She also left behind a legacy and more than enough children. Her daughter, Marie Antoinette later became the first queen to ever be executed in France.
Although Maria Theresa had her fair share of accomplishments, it was also riddled with some disappointments, the greatest being the fact that she was never able to overcome her greatest enemy. Frederick William II and Maria Theresa had been feuding with one another throughout their reigns. The monarchs of Prussia and Austria were at war during the War of Austrian Succession and the Seven Years War, with Frederick William II always winning. During the War of Austrian Succession, Maria Theresa lost the area of Silesia to Prussia. Even though Austria only lost a small area, Maria Theresa became very angry, which soon led to the Seven Years War.
The Seven Years War started because Maria Theresa wanted to gain back Silesia, and Prussia wanted to defend its newly-gained territory. This war lasted for nine years, but Austria had no luck. The Treaty of Paris in 1763 stated that Prussia was to keep almost all of Silesia, with Austria only taking back very little. Austria and Maria Theresa failed at gaining back Silesia.
Maria Theresa’s legacy still lives on after her death in 1780.

She made history by becoming the first and last woman to rule the Austrian Empire. Not only that, she was the last monarch of the Hapsburg monarchy, and she left it at a high point. She also improved upon the mistakes of past leaders, such as Leopold I and Charles IV, and in doing so, she created an absolute monarchy. She is also known, however, as being incapable of defeating Frederick William II and expanding the size of Austria significantly. Her children continued her legacy with their actions, as Joseph II was chosen as her successor and he started the Hapsburg-Lorraine branch. Her daughter Marie Antoinette was also the first executed queen of France. Overall, during her reign, Maria Theresa was able to accomplish great things for her monarchy, but ultimately fell short in her incapability to defeat Frederick William

II.