Maria Theresa

Maria Theresa became sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, and a dozen other territories on 20 October 1740 when her father Charles VI died, leaving behind diplomatic promises but a hollowed-out treasury and a weak military. Within months, Frederick II of Prussia seized Silesia and half of Europe repudiated the succession agreements they'd signed, plunging her into the eight-year War of the Austrian Succession. She rallied Hungarian support and defended most of her inheritance, though Silesia stayed lost despite another attempt in the Seven Years' War. Expected to defer to her husband Francis I and later her son Joseph II - both technically co-rulers - she governed as an autocrat instead, overhauling Austria's finances, military, schools, and administration with advisers like Kaunitz and Haugwitz. A devout Catholic, she promoted the Church, expanded commerce and agriculture, and on occasion expelled Jews, Protestants, and Freemasons to the edges of the realm. She ruled until her death in 1780, leaving Austria stronger than she'd found it.