Pragmatic Sanction of 1713
Encyclopedia
The Pragmatic Sanction
of 1713 (Latin: Pragmatica Sanctio) was an edict issued by Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI
to ensure that the throne of the Archduchy of Austria could be inherited by a daughter.
Since their marriage in 1708, Charles and his wife Elizabeth Christine
had not had children, and since 1711 Charles had been the sole male member of the House of Habsburg alive. Charles' elder brother Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I
had died without male issue, making accession of a female a very plausible contingency. Because the
Salic law
tradition precluded female inheritance, Charles VI needed to take extraordinary measures to avoid a
succession dispute. These precautions proved wise as Charles VI was
ultimately succeeded by his elder daughter Maria Theresa
(born 1717). Nevertheless, her
accession was promptly met with the outbreak of the War of the Austrian Succession
.
. The War of the Spanish Succession
ensued, with Louis XIV of France
claiming the crowns of Spain for his grandson Philip
and Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I
claiming them for his son Charles
. In 1703, Charles and Joseph signed the Mutual Pact of Succession
, granting succession rights to the daughters of Joseph and Leopold in case of complete extinction of the male line, but favouring Joseph's daughters over Charles's, due to Joseph being older than Charles.
In 1705, Leopold I died and was succeeded by his elder son, Joseph I. Six years later, Emperor Joseph I died leaving behind two daughters, Archduchesses Maria Josepha
and Maria Amalia
. Charles succeeded him according to the Pact and Maria Josepha became his heir presumptive
. However, Charles soon expressed a wish to amend the Pact in order to give his own future daughters precedence over his nieces. On 9 April 1713, the Emperor announced the changes in a secret session of the council.
, which had an elective kingship, had accepted the house of Habsburg as hereditary kings in the male line without election in 1687 but not semi-Salic inheritance. The Emperor-King agreed that if the Habsburg male line became extinct, Hungary would once again have an elective monarchy. This was the rule in the Kingdom of Bohemia too. Maria Theresa, however, still gained the throne of Hungary; the Hungarian Parliament voted its own Pragmatic Sanction in 1723 in which the Kingdom of Hungary
accepted female inheritance
supporting her to become queen of Hungary
.
Charles VI managed to get the great European powers to agree to the Pragmatic Sanction (for the time being) and died in 1740 with no male heirs. However, France, Prussia
, Bavaria and Saxony broke their promises and contested the claims of his daughter Maria Theresa on his Austrian lands, and initiated the War of the Austrian Succession
, in which Austria lost Silesia
to Prussia. The elective office of Holy Roman Emperor
was filled by Joseph I's son-in-law Charles Albert
of Bavaria, marking the first time in several hundred years that the position was not held by a Habsburg.
His wife would have inherited the Habsburg lands if the original pactum had been adhered to. However, he had bad luck even after being elected Emperor. As Charles VII, he lost his own country, Bavaria, to the Austrian army of his wife's cousin Maria Theresa and then died. His son, Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria, renounced claims on Austria in exchange for the return of his paternal duchy of Bavaria. Maria Theresa's husband was elected Holy Roman Emperor as Francis I
in 1745. The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
, in 1748, finally recognized Maria Theresa's rule.
Pragmatic sanction
A pragmatic sanction is a sovereign's solemn decree on a matter of primary importance and has the force of fundamental law. In the late history of the Holy Roman Empire it referred more specifically to an edict issued by the Emperor....
of 1713 (Latin: Pragmatica Sanctio) was an edict issued by Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VI was the penultimate Habsburg sovereign of the Habsburg Empire. He succeeded his elder brother, Joseph I, as Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia , Hungary and Croatia , Archduke of Austria, etc., in 1711...
to ensure that the throne of the Archduchy of Austria could be inherited by a daughter.
Since their marriage in 1708, Charles and his wife Elizabeth Christine
Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was Princess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Queen of Bohemia and Hungary; and Archduchess of Austria by her marriage to Emperor Charles VI. She was renowned for her delicate beauty and also for being the mother of Empress...
had not had children, and since 1711 Charles had been the sole male member of the House of Habsburg alive. Charles' elder brother Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I
Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph I , Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, King of the Romans was the elder son of Emperor Leopold I and his third wife, Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg....
had died without male issue, making accession of a female a very plausible contingency. Because the
Salic law
Salic law
Salic law was a body of traditional law codified for governing the Salian Franks in the early Middle Ages during the reign of King Clovis I in the 6th century...
tradition precluded female inheritance, Charles VI needed to take extraordinary measures to avoid a
succession dispute. These precautions proved wise as Charles VI was
ultimately succeeded by his elder daughter Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...
(born 1717). Nevertheless, her
accession was promptly met with the outbreak of the War of the Austrian Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
.
Events leading to the Pragmatic Sanction
In 1700, the senior line of the House of Habsburg went extinct with the death of King Charles II of SpainCharles II of Spain
Charles II was the last Habsburg King of Spain and the ruler of large parts of Italy, the Spanish territories in the Southern Low Countries, and Spain's overseas Empire, stretching from the Americas to the Spanish East Indies...
. The War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
ensued, with Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
claiming the crowns of Spain for his grandson Philip
Philip V of Spain
Philip V was King of Spain from 15 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a...
and Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
| style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...
claiming them for his son Charles
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VI was the penultimate Habsburg sovereign of the Habsburg Empire. He succeeded his elder brother, Joseph I, as Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia , Hungary and Croatia , Archduke of Austria, etc., in 1711...
. In 1703, Charles and Joseph signed the Mutual Pact of Succession
Mutual Pact of Succession
The Mutual Pact of Succession was a succession device secretly signed by Archdukes Joseph and Charles of Austria, the future Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, in 1703....
, granting succession rights to the daughters of Joseph and Leopold in case of complete extinction of the male line, but favouring Joseph's daughters over Charles's, due to Joseph being older than Charles.
In 1705, Leopold I died and was succeeded by his elder son, Joseph I. Six years later, Emperor Joseph I died leaving behind two daughters, Archduchesses Maria Josepha
Maria Josepha of Austria
Maria Josepha of Austria was born an Archduchess of Austria, and from 1711 to 1713 was heiress presumptive to the Habsburg Empire...
and Maria Amalia
Maria Amalia of Austria
Maria Amalia of Austria was the younger daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I and Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
. Charles succeeded him according to the Pact and Maria Josepha became his heir presumptive
Heir Presumptive
An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
. However, Charles soon expressed a wish to amend the Pact in order to give his own future daughters precedence over his nieces. On 9 April 1713, the Emperor announced the changes in a secret session of the council.
Promulgation of the Sanction
Securing the right to succeed for his own daughters, who were not even born yet, would become Charles's obsession. The document was revolutionary. The previous succession laws had also forbidden the partition of the Habsburg dominions and provided for succession by females but they had been mostly hypothetical. The Pragmatic Sanction was the first such document to be publicly announced and as such required formal acceptance by the estates of the realms it concerned.Events following the Pragmatic Sanction
HungaryHungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, which had an elective kingship, had accepted the house of Habsburg as hereditary kings in the male line without election in 1687 but not semi-Salic inheritance. The Emperor-King agreed that if the Habsburg male line became extinct, Hungary would once again have an elective monarchy. This was the rule in the Kingdom of Bohemia too. Maria Theresa, however, still gained the throne of Hungary; the Hungarian Parliament voted its own Pragmatic Sanction in 1723 in which the Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
accepted female inheritance
Inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...
supporting her to become queen of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
.
The Pragmatic Sanction's failure
Charles VI spent the time of his reign preparing Europe for a female ruler, but he did not prepare his daughter, Maria Theresa. He would not read documents to her, take her to meetings, or allow her to be introduced to ministers or have any preparation for the power she would receive in 1740. It is possible that it was because such instruction would imply an acceptance of his inability to produce a male heir.Charles VI managed to get the great European powers to agree to the Pragmatic Sanction (for the time being) and died in 1740 with no male heirs. However, France, Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
, Bavaria and Saxony broke their promises and contested the claims of his daughter Maria Theresa on his Austrian lands, and initiated the War of the Austrian Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
, in which Austria lost Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
to Prussia. The elective office of Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
was filled by Joseph I's son-in-law Charles Albert
Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VII Albert a member of the Wittelsbach family, was Prince-elector of Bavaria from 1726 and Holy Roman Emperor from 24 January 1742 until his death in 1745...
of Bavaria, marking the first time in several hundred years that the position was not held by a Habsburg.
His wife would have inherited the Habsburg lands if the original pactum had been adhered to. However, he had bad luck even after being elected Emperor. As Charles VII, he lost his own country, Bavaria, to the Austrian army of his wife's cousin Maria Theresa and then died. His son, Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria, renounced claims on Austria in exchange for the return of his paternal duchy of Bavaria. Maria Theresa's husband was elected Holy Roman Emperor as Francis I
Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis I was Holy Roman Emperor and Grand Duke of Tuscany, though his wife effectively executed the real power of those positions. With his wife, Maria Theresa, he was the founder of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty...
in 1745. The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)
The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle of 1748 ended the War of the Austrian Succession following a congress assembled at the Imperial Free City of Aachen—Aix-la-Chapelle in French—in the west of the Holy Roman Empire, on 24 April 1748...
, in 1748, finally recognized Maria Theresa's rule.