Maria Theresa's Achievements: A Legacy Of Reform

Maria Theresa (1717-1780) was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, and many other territories. Maria Theresa was a devout Catholic and believed that religious unity was necessary for a peaceful public life. She was also a fierce ruler who led Austria through three wars, preserving the bulk of Habsburg territory. She implemented significant reforms to strengthen Austria's military, financial, and bureaucratic efficiency, doubled the state revenue, and promoted commerce and the development of agriculture. She also reformed the educational system, paving the way for compulsory education in the 18th century.

Military reforms

Maria Theresa's military reforms were part of a wider series of changes she implemented to strengthen Austria's military, financial, and bureaucratic efficiency.

Maria Theresa's military reforms were largely driven by the need to strengthen Austria's army and prepare for impending wars with Prussia. She doubled the size of the army, creating a standing army of 108,000 men, funded by 14 million florins extracted from crown lands. She also centralised the military's funding, with the central government now responsible for funding the army.

Maria Theresa also reorganised the military's structure. She unified the Austrian and Bohemian chancellories in 1749, and established a high court. She appointed Count Friedrich Wilhelm von Haugwitz to modernise the empire, and he instituted taxation of the nobility for the first time.

Other Reforms

Maria Theresa's other reforms included:

• Standardising measurements and weights
• Developing the educational system, with the aim of introducing compulsory schooling
• Investing in public health initiatives, such as studying infant mortality, countering wasteful burial customs, and promoting inoculation
• Improving bureaucracy and administration, with the creation of a council of state to advise her
• Outlawing witch burning and torture
• Promoting commerce and the development of agriculture

Educational reforms

Maria Theresa was a devout Catholic and believed that religious unity was necessary for a peaceful public life. She rejected the idea of religious tolerance and was intolerant of Jews and Protestants, whom she considered dangerous to the state. She also advocated for a state church.

Maria Theresa's educational reforms were part of a wider series of institutional, financial, medical, and educational reforms. She made education a priority throughout her reign, initially focusing on the wealthier classes. She allowed non-Catholics to attend university and introduced secular subjects such as law, which influenced the decline of theology as the main foundation of university education.

In the 1770s, reform of the schooling system for all levels of society became a major policy. Maria Theresa's reform established secular primary schools, which children of both sexes from the ages of six to twelve were required to attend. The curriculum focused on social responsibility, social discipline, work ethic, and the use of reason rather than rote learning. Education was to be multilingual; children were to be instructed first in their mother tongue and then in later years in German. Prizes were given to the most able students to encourage ability. Attention was also given to raising the status and pay of teachers, who were forbidden to take on outside employment. Teacher training colleges were established to train teachers in the latest techniques.

The reform of the primary schools largely met Maria Theresa's aim of raising literacy standards, as evidenced by the higher proportions of children who attended school. Nevertheless, high rates of illiteracy persisted in some parts of Austria, with half of the population illiterate well into the 19th century. The teacher training colleges produced hundreds of new teachers who spread the new system over the following decades. However, the number of secondary schools decreased, and secondary schooling became more exclusive.

Maria Theresa's regime was also known for institutionalising censorship of publications and learning. English author Sir Nathaniel Wraxall once wrote:

> [T]he injudicious bigotry of the Empress may chiefly be attributed the deficiency [in learning]. It is hardly credible how many books and productions of every species, and in every language, are proscribed by her. Not only Voltaire and Rousseau are included in the list, from the immoral tendency or licentious nature of their writings; but many authors whom we consider as unexceptionable or harmless, experience a similar treatment.

Maria Theresa's educational reforms were met with considerable opposition, particularly from peasants who wanted their children to work in the fields and from aristocrats who saw their power threatened. However, the reforms were pushed through due to the consistent support of Maria Theresa and her minister Franz Sales Greiner.

Financial reforms

Maria Theresa implemented significant financial reforms that strengthened Austria's military and bureaucratic efficiency.

She employed Count Friedrich Wilhelm von Haugwitz, who modernised the empire by creating a standing army of 108,000 men, paid for with 14 million florins extracted from crown lands. The central government was responsible for funding the army, although Haugwitz instituted taxation of the nobility, who had never had to pay taxes before.

Under Haugwitz, she centralised administration, a task previously left to the nobility and church, modelling her reforms on those of Prussia. She also oversaw the unification of the Austrian and Bohemian chancellories in May 1749 and doubled the state revenue between 1754 and 1764, although her attempt to tax the clergy and nobility was only partially successful. These financial reforms greatly improved the economy.

In 1760, Maria Theresa created the Council of State, composed of the state chancellor, three members of the high nobility, and three knights, which served as a committee of experienced people who advised her. The council of state lacked executive or legislative authority; nevertheless, it showed the difference between the form of government employed by Maria Theresa and that of Frederick II of Prussia. Unlike the latter, Maria Theresa was not an autocrat who acted as her own minister.

Maria Theresa also banned the creation of new burial grounds without prior government permission, thus countering wasteful and unhygienic burial customs.

Public health reforms

Maria Theresa implemented a number of public health reforms during her reign. She was responsible for the founding of the Vienna General Hospital by Gerard van Swieten, who also served as her personal physician. She also tasked him with studying infant mortality in Austria, which led to a decree mandating autopsies for all hospital deaths in Graz. This, combined with Graz's stable population, resulted in one of the most important and complete autopsy records in the world.

Maria Theresa also banned the creation of new burial grounds without prior government permission, countering wasteful and unhygienic burial customs. She promoted inoculation, first for smallpox, and then more generally for children. She even hosted a dinner for the first 65 inoculated children in Schönbrunn Palace, serving them herself. This was instrumental in changing Austrian physicians' negative view of inoculation.

In 1770, she enacted a strict regulation of the sale of poisons, requiring apothecaries to keep a poison register. In 1773, she prohibited the use of lead in any eating or drinking vessels, mandating the use of pure tin instead.

Administrative reforms

Maria Theresa's administrative reforms were aimed at strengthening Austria's military and bureaucratic efficiency. She employed Count Friedrich Wilhelm von Haugwitz, who modernised the empire by creating a standing army of 108,000 men, paid for with 14 million florins extracted from each crown land. The central government was made responsible for funding the army, and Haugwitz also instituted taxation of the nobility for the first time.

Under Haugwitz, Maria Theresa centralised administration, a task previously left to the nobility and church, modelling her reforms on those of Prussia, with a permanent civil service. She also oversaw the unification of the Austrian and Bohemian chancellories in May 1749.

Maria Theresa doubled the state revenue between 1754 and 1764, though her attempts to tax the clergy and nobility were only partially successful. These financial reforms greatly improved the economy.

In 1760, she created the Council of State, which served as a committee of experienced advisors. The council lacked executive or legislative authority but was still distinguishable from the form of government employed by Frederick II of Prussia. Unlike him, Maria Theresa was not an autocrat who acted as her own minister.

In 1776, Austria outlawed torture, though Maria Theresa herself was opposed to this. Despite all her reformist efforts, she did not change the deeply feudal social order based on privileged landlords and oppressive forced labour of the peasantry.

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