| Charles VI | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imperator Romanorum | |||||
 Portrait by Jacob van Schuppen | |||||
| Holy Roman Emperor | |||||
| Reign | 12 October 1711 – 20 October 1740 | ||||
| Coronation | 22 December 1711 Frankfurt Cathedral | ||||
| Predecessor | Joseph I | ||||
| Successor | Charles VII | ||||
| Born | 1 October 1685 Hofburg Palace, Vienna, Austria, Holy Roman Empire | ||||
| Died | 20 October 1740 (aged 55) Hofburg Palace, Vienna, Austria, Holy Roman Empire | ||||
| Burial | |||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue Detail |
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| House | Habsburg | ||||
| Father | Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor | ||||
| Mother | Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg | ||||
| Religion | Catholic Church | ||||
| Signature |  | ||||
Charles VI (German: Karl; Latin: Carolus; 1 October 1685 – 20 October 1740) was Holy Roman Emperor and ruler of the Austrian Habsburg monarchy from 1711 until his death, succeeding his elder brother, Joseph I. He unsuccessfully claimed the throne of Spain following the death of his relative, Charles II. In 1708, he married Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, by whom he had his four children: Leopold Johann (who died in infancy), Maria Theresa, Maria Anna (Governess of the Austrian Netherlands), and Maria Amalia (who also died in infancy).
Four years before the birth of Maria Theresa, faced with his lack of male heirs, Charles provided for a male-line succession failure with the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713. The Emperor favoured his own daughters over those of his elder brother and predecessor, Joseph I, in the succession, ignoring the Mutual Pact of Succession he had signed during the reign of his father, Leopold I. Charles sought the other European powers' approval. They demanded significant terms, among which were that Austria close the Ostend Company.[1] In total, Great Britain, France, Saxony-Poland, the Dutch Republic, Spain,[2] Venice,[3] Papal States,[3] Prussia,[4] Russia,[3] Denmark,[4] Savoy-Sardinia,[4] Bavaria,[4] and the Diet of the Holy Roman Empire[4] recognised the sanction. France, Spain, Saxony-Poland, Bavaria and Prussia later reneged. Charles died in 1740, sparking the War of the Austrian Succession, which plagued his successor, Maria Theresa, for eight years.
- ^ Crankshaw, Edward, Maria Theresa, 1969, Longman publishers, Great Britain (pre-dates ISBN), 24.
- ^ Jones, Colin: "The Great Nation: France from Louis XV to Napoleon", University of Columbia Press, Great Britain, 2002, ISBN 0-231-12882-7, 89.
- ^ a b c Crankshaw, 37.
- ^ a b c d e Pragmatic Sanction of Emperor Charles VI, Encyclopædia Britannica, retrieved 15 October 2009.