Charles VI Holy Roman Emperor

Charles VI ruled as the Holy Roman Emperor from 1711 to 1740. Baptized as Carolus Franciscus Josephus Wenceslaus Balthasar Johannes Antonius Ignatius, he served as King of Hungary under Charles III and vied for the the Spanish throne unsuccessfully. Charles VI became known for his appointment of his daughter as his heir, which was monumental as women were not permitted to rule during that time. Charles VI died mostly successful in capturing territories and benefitting his people greatly.

The very first ruler of the Holy Roman Empire was appointed by Pope Leo, and therefore the power invested in each ruler is divine. The Habsburg family is notoriously religious and they claim that saints and holy men and women are part of their lineage. When the Catholic Church really started to push the physical body of Christ, the family immediately received a position of immediate contact with the body of Christ. The family was known for being different; as the “chosen vessels of God.” Through all of this, it is most likely that Charles saw his power as coming from a combination of God and the fact that he was born into a ruling family.

The two major external problems that Charles started or caused were the War of the Spanish Succession and the War of the Austrian Succession, as well as multiple wars against the Ottomans.

The War of Spanish Succession started when King Charles II of Spain died in 1700, and Louis XIV immediately laid claim to the throne. Many others in power felt threatened by this as they already had problems with Louis and did not want him in more power. Charles also vied for the throne and had backing from Britain, Austria, Holland, and Prussia. The War of Spanish Succession ensued and lasted from 1701 to 1714, however in 1711 Joseph, Charles’ brother died providing Charles with all of his family’s possessions. So, Charles gave up the Spanish throne and thus resolved the war.

The War of Austrian Succession started much differently. Maria-Theresa’s crown was challenged before her father died, but more so after, and the Pragmatic Sanction proved useless. Charles tried to keep his family alive by creating the Sanction to appoint her his heir as he had no sons; however, many leaders found this wrong and not right. Prussia, Bavaria, France, Spain, Saxony and Poland fought against Maria-Theresa and Austria from 1740 to 1748, and ironically all these countries had approved the law beforehand. In the end, Maria-Theresa kept her crown, but lost some land to Prussia and Spain.

The biggest internal problem that he faced was his struggle to appoint his daughter, Maria Theresa. Charles VI had no male heirs, and thus had to put his daughter into power. With his Pragmatic Sanction in 1713 he tried to just this. The citizens of the Holy Roman Empire and other nations did not accept her as a leader. His decision was greatly against the common ideas of who a ruler could be. Charles VI’s fight to assure his daughters power did not end with his death. Within the first two months after his death, the Pragmatic Sanction fell apart and Maria Theresa was forced to go to war with an opposing figure, Frederick II. Her reign became asserted in 1745 and Charles VI’s biggest internal goal was achieved.

Charles VI had many militarial confrontations with other major empires. The first conflict that he had came during his struggle for the control of the Spanish Empire. In the War of the Spanish Succession, Charles VI was backed by many major European powers for his fight for power against King Louis XIV of France. He gained his power through the Holy Roman Empire. King Charles IV was not an aggressive king in war. He went to war against the Ottoman Empire in 1716-1718 and signed the Peace of Passarowitz treaty, until he later lost a war to the Ottoman Empire in the year 1737. His largest interactions with other nations came by enforcing the recognition of his Pragmatic Sanction throughout Europe, so that his throne could be inherited by his daughter. Charles also had relations with the Church and his Jewish subjects. The notoriously religious Habsburgs always were seen together with the Church and openly supported the Church. The already practiced Blood Libel fell into the hands of Charles and he threatened the Jews living in his country. Although he threatened expulsion or worse, he permitted printing of the Talmud (a book of Jewish law) in 1720. Charles’ relationship with the two religions helped shape his monarchy.  

Charles VI strengthened the state of the Holy Roman Empire during his reign. One important development that he made was the construction of roads that connected major Habsburg cities. One example of this is the famous Semmering Pass which connected Italy to Austria. He also opened up the country to trade by opening two free ports in the cities of Fiume and Trieste in order to compete with Venice. This brought immense wealth as the Holy Roman Empire could not compete with the two major forces in the trade system, British and the Dutch. He helped the opening of the Ostend Company to do just this. His reign did hurt the Holy Roman Empire by losing land to other nations after his death. He lost this war called the War of the Austrian Succession. Although his reign resulted in the loss of territory in wars, his improvements to the infrastructure of the Holy Roman Empire helped shape his nation into a major European power.

“Politically Charles fits into the group of late-seventeenth- and early-eighteenth-century monarchs who understood that success of the state depended upon administrative centralization and economic advancement. He was not a thoroughgoing reformer in the stamp of Louis XIV or Peter the Great of Russia, but he did introduce changes that he believed would enhance the development of his state” (Roider, Charles VI (Holy Roman Empire) (1685–1740; Ruled 1711–1740))
This section of text perfectly describes King Charles VI of the Holy Roman Empire. The most important thing that he did was to strengthen his country in order to turn his country into a world power. His ideas on how to do this ranged from focusing power to his family with the Pragmatic Sanction to the restructure of the Holy Roman Empire’s economy. He believed in the importance of a single strong leader which compares him to the other authoritarian leaders of Europe in the 1700’s.

Bibliography

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“Charles VI.” In Britannica Concise Encyclopedia, edited by Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014. http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/ebconcise/charles_vi/1?institutionId=4977

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“Charles VI of Hapsburg°.” Encyclopaedia Judaica, edited by Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik, 2nd ed., vol. 4, Macmillan Reference USA, 2007, pp. 576-577. World History in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX2587504170/WHIC?u=lake19096&xid=c5a2fa94. Accessed 16 Feb. 2017.

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ROIDER, KARL A. “Charles VI (Holy Roman Empire) (1685–1740; Ruled 1711–1740).” Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World, edited by Jonathan Dewald, vol. 1, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2004, pp. 467-468. World History in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3404900202/WHIC?u=lake19096&xid=858a00f6. Accessed 16 Feb. 2017.

“War of the Austrian Succession.” Revolvy. Accessed February 18, 2017. https://www.revolvy.com/topic/War%20of%20the%20Austrian%20Succession&item_type=topic.