(1717 - 1780)
Maria Theresa became Holy Roman empress in 1740 when her father Charles VI died without a male heir. Outrage at her accession led to the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years’ War. To avoid a lack of sons again leading to war, Maria Theresa gave birth to sixteen children, five of them boys.
Miscellany
Maria Theresa, archduchess of Austria, queen of Hungary and Bohemia, advised son Ferdinand in 1771 not to support the Mozart family of musicians. “You ask me about taking the young Salzburger into your service. I do not know why, believing you have no need for a composer or useless people,” she wrote. “Furthermore, he has a large family.” The Mozart family had four members. Ferdinand did not make an offer.
