Ah Maria, the Whole World is Against Her!

Queen Maria Theressa of Austria took over an empire already teetering on the brink of ruin. Her crown had hardly warmed to her head before Frederick of Spain decided to take a chomp out of her kingdom. This sweet young girl with no formal training had to face a bevy of enemies, including the ambassador from England.

One remarkable fact began to impress it itself on everyone at the time of Sir Thomas Robinson’s meeting with Her Majesty; they weren’t dealing with a “mere” girl. Considering her age and inexperience and the forces against her, Maria Theresa was getting her sea legs, ruler-wise, under her rather quickly.

While it would be easy to chalk up some of her actions to simple stubbornness, there was much, much more at work. Her willingness to fight Frederick head on and not back down was considered by many, not least her closest advisors, to be pure pigheadedness combined with an incomprehension of how the real world works.

Her plan to negotiate with Frederick convinced many that she had finally come to her senses and decided to play the game the way it was meant to be played. Nothing of the sort. It was only after the Battle of Mollwitz, where Austria had smashed the Prussian cavalry only to be pushed back in turn by Frederick’s superbly drilled infantry, that she realized that she had no choice.

It was a bitter pill for her to swallow. It also pointed up a number of facts that she felt she needed to address toot-sweet. One, she needed new ministers. The barnacle encrusted museum pieces surrounding her were worse than useless. They couldn’t negotiate their way across a ballroom, let alone the map of Europe.

Her generals, with some noticeable exceptions, were more concerned with keeping the vast estates of the Bohemian nobles out of harm’s way than they were with fighting the enemy where he needed to be fought. She was already making progress in finding replacements for these men, but in the mean time she had no one but herself to trust.

And that was the crux of the matter in her first year on the throne. She had to trust her instincts and her faith that her cause was just and as a result, God would not abandon her. The fact that her instincts were usually right was not immediately evident to those around her. The fact that her instincts were usually right was not immediately evident to her either.

But her willingness to stand by her convictions, her unshakable faith in the rightness of her claims and her willingness to look for talent wherever she might find it rather than the usual source (IE: the aristocracy) all signaled one thing; this woman was not going to be a typical monarch.

She was also learning something else rather quickly, particularly in relations with her “allies”, that there was such a thing as being too honest for her own good. She quickly discovered that the reputation for blunt honesty that she had acquired could be used to advantage when she wanted to hide what she really thought and felt.

She would need this. France and Prussia, in unison with Spain and Bavaria, ratified the Nymphenburg Treaty. Frederick was demanding the parts of Silesia that he hadn’t already overrun. Ambassador Robinson was at Maria’s side, begging her to give in, as were virtually all of her ministers as well as her husband. This was becoming a familiar situation to the young queen.

She was at a loss to understand the motives of France and Spain. A powerful Prussia was nothing but a threat to them. How much more powerful would Frederick be after dispatching Austria? Why would they want to indulge a man such as Frederick? She had much to learn.

France, Spain and England were playing their own game. They had been at it for centuries. To them, Austria, Prussia and all the rest were just pieces on a chess board. Maria Theresa was determined to make Austria a player. She would never achieve this by surrendering her empire, such as it was, to Frederick in bits and pieces. She wasn’t being given much choice, however.

Marshal Saxe, at the head of a French army, had crossed the Rhine on July 31st. In the beginning of September, Charles Albert of Bavaria swept into Upper Austria virtually unopposed. He was marching on Linz. Soon after that he would join with the French army and effect a junction with Frederick’s Prussians.

Then, according to French plans, they would all descend on helpless Vienna, force this silly queen to see how the world was really run, slice up the Hapsburg empire as they saw fit and go home with rich prizes in their wagon trains. “Breslau is lost, and our propositions have been rejected. This is the end.” The Queen wrote to Prince Kinsky.

It appeared to all, including her closest advisors, that she would surrender Silesia to Frederick in return for his promise to help Austria against the French. Never for a moment did Maria believe Frederick would help anyone but himself. It was a roll of the dice on Frederick’s part. A chance to get what he wanted without having to fight for it.

King George, through Robinson, said he was willing to provide men and money. But his actions clearly showed his primary concern was covering Hanover. No help there. The Bavarians were moving swiftly down the Danube valley. They practically had Vienna in their sights.

Marshal Belle-Isle, of France was on a whirl-wind tour of Germany, moving from court to court, winning fence-sitters to his cause. Even Saxony, thought firmly in Austria’s camp, switched sides. Spain prepared to invade Hapsburg Italy and the kingdom of Sardinia seemed to be wavering.

Johann Christoph von Bartenstien, a ministerial hold-over from dad’s day had prepared a document of surrender. His loyalty to Maria was absolute. He was one of the few people from her father’s time she chose to retain. He did not willingly draw that document up. He, along with everyone else could see no other way out.

He submitted the draft for comments. When Maria protested and tried to make changes, Count Sinzendorf pointed out that it was too late. Her Majesty was utterly defeated and just had to learn to live with it. “Very well. If it has to be, then let it be. The whole matter has been settled against my will. So let it take it’s course.”

Almost everyone was secretly, or not so secretly, relived. There now, said the Conventional Wisdom, that daft girl has finally accepted reality. Yes, a sad business, but really, how much longer could the empire have gone on? And with practically all of Europe against her. And those not against her not willing to fight with her! Give her points for bravery, just like her dad in that department. And when you think about it, who could she have turned to for help? The Hungarians? Oh my God! Can you imagine such a thing? The Hungarians! Those backwoods yahoos! Against France and Prussia? It is to laugh!

At this point Maria decided to take a little trip.

— Mr. Al