The Pragmatic Sanction of 1713
—Chrissie

Listen here: https://www.spreaker.com/user/bqn1/hwts165

            On 20 October 1740, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI died without a male heir. He did have a daughter, Maria Theresa, whom he named as his heir. Despite recent and successful reigns of women as monarchs, the traditions of the descendants of Charlemagne did not allow automatic succession by a daughter, as it would go without question to a son. Charles had known this, and had spent the previous twenty-seven years assuring the acceptance of Maria Theresa as his heir both in the Holy Roman Empire and with the rest of Europe.

            The Hapsburgs had ruled the Holy Roman Empire since 1440 and had held Spain since 1555. They, like all royal families, used marriages to gain, consolidate, and maintain their power. And, also like many royal families, the marriages were often within the family and, as they gained control over more territory, there were fewer and fewer non-familial options available to its members. Genetically speaking, a single instance of cousins producing children does not hold the risk of extensive genetic disorders; however, if cousin-marriage is practiced generation after generation, problems are sure to arise. For example, recent studies of the remains of King Charles II of Spain indicate a genome such as would be found in a person who was the result of sibling parentage despite the fact that, while his parents were not siblings they were the result of many generations of inter-familial marriage. This practice will also allow recessive traits to become dominant ones. Often the emergence of a recessive trait is harmless, like blue eyes or the ability to roll one’s tongue, but there are many that can be harmful, if not debilitating. The Hapsburgs have become synonymous with one such trait: the “Hapsburg Jaw,” a particular type of underdevelopment of the bones of the face and upper jaw. This can be caused by other factors than genetics, but it was a recessive trait in the Hapsburg family that was allowed to become dominant because it reappeared so often. There is debate among geneticists as to the influence of inter-familial breeding on fertility, some say it leads to infertility while others say it has no influence. If there is an effect, that would go a long way to explaining why the Hapsburgs had so much trouble maintaining their line.

            By the end of the seventeenth century, there were only four men remaining in the direct Hapsburg line: Charles II of Spain, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, and Leopold’s sons Joseph and Charles. The death of the childless Charles II in 1700 prompted the War of Spanish Succession. Charles II had named the grandson of French King Louis XIV, Philip of Anjou, as his heir, despite the fact that this would place Spain under the rule of the House of Bourbon. Leopold claimed his son Charles was the appropriate successor, prompting a war that lasted thirteen years. In the end, Philip retained the Spanish Crown and the Hapsburgs lost Spain.

            When Leopold I died in 1705, he was succeeded by his eldest son, Joseph. At this time, neither he nor his brother Charles had any sons and so, with the likely possibility of the extinction of the male Hapsburg line before them, they made arrangements for the succession of daughters. Firstly, Charles was named as Joseph’s heir and, if Charles had sons, the crown would continue with them. If Charles did not have sons, the crown would revert to Joseph’s daughters upon Charles’ death. If these two women, the Archduchesses Maria Josepha and Maria Amelia, were unable to succeed, only then would the crown go to Charles’ daughters. Predictably, Joseph died in 1711 with no sons. Charles succeeded his brother, then immediately began to make arrangements for the succession to stay in his line, even if he had only daughters. This cause, begun before he had any children, became the defining characteristic of his reign. He negotiated, finagled, and traded his way through the courts of Europe to gain approval of his Pragmatic Sanction of 1713. He sacrificed land to France, his claim to the throne of Spain, and Austrian commercial ventures in the East Indies for the signatures of England and the Netherlands. Prussia agreed on the basis of the longstanding relationship with Austria. His agreements with Russia and Poland prompted two wars, which cost him territory in the Mediterranean. The only thing he gained in all of this was the alleged assurance that his daughter Maria Theresa, born in 1717, would succeed him as the Austrian monarch. He was counseled against this course by some of his advisors; they said his begging for signatures had made him, and the country, appear weak and suggested a strong army and full treasury would better serve his successor, daughter or son. This may well have been the wiser course. No sooner had Charles died than Prussia and France repudiated the agreement and sought to take Austrian territory (if not the whole country). The states of Bavaria and Saxony were also against the succession of Maria Theresa, though they had never signed the Pragmatic Sanction because the electors of those states were married to the previous heirs, Joseph’s daughters. Thus began the War of Austrian Succession, which would end with Maria Theresa having lost some territory but maintaining her control over Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia. The repercussions of this war were felt across Europe and the Americas, as it led to the Seven Years’ War, a conflict which spilled into the American colonies as the French and Indian War, which was the major causal factor creating the conflict between the colonies and the crown which led to the American Revolution.