Customer Reviews

The House of Habsburg: A Genealogy of the Descendants of Empress Maria Theresia

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The House of Habsburg is one of the oldest and geographically broadest in Europe, having had a part in the reigning dynasties of nearly every Continental state. But the family nearly became extinct in the male line until Emperor Charles VI promulgated the Pragmatic Sanction, enabling his daughter, Maria Theresia, to succeed him in all his estates and titles. Bavaria contested this maneuver but lost the War of the Austrian Succession, and Maria Theresia's demonstrated abilities in diplomatic and military affairs -- and the election of her husband, Franz I, to be Holy Roman Emperor -- cemented her position. Moreover, she produced sixteen children, most of whom married well and three of whom have descendants. This volume is a straightforward outline of those descents, one major line per chapter, with no narrative text at all. The compiler cites fewer than twenty secondary sources, so there's no original research here, either (and there are no specific footnotes). It's primary use, therefore, is as a ready reference source for the families covered, but even that utility is somewhat limited by the lack of an index.