Maximilian I

Mary of Burgundy

Maximilian I (1459.3.22- 1519.1.12) Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria (1493 - 1519), and son of Frederick III. He was the founder of the famous Habsburg marriage policy. He has a famous saying:

"Other countries may declare war, but you, happy Austria, get married!¡»¡£

He was the founder of the Habsburg Dynasty at its peak. Through his marriage to his children, Maximilian successfully secured his grandson to the throne of the Spanish colonial empire. Coupled with his Holy Roman throne, Charles V became the leader of Europe and the Habsburg Dynasty became an "empire that never sets."

Maximilian himself married Mary of Burgundy, the only daughter of the Duke of Burgundy, on August 18, 1477. After the death of Mary's father, the marriage would belong to the Duchy of Burgundy, and all the territories from southern France to the Netherlands would be merged into the Habsburg royal territory.

Maximilian's son Philip the Handsome married Spanish Crown Princess Joanna the Mad in 1496, founding the Habsburg Dynasty in Spain.

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Most of the sons and daughters of Maximilian intermarried with foreign royal families, and the influence of the Habsburg Dynasty in Europe was greatly enhanced.

Maximilian's carefully arranged political marriage made his grandson Charles V the hegemon of Europe. In 1506, when Maximilian's son and Charles's father Philip the Handsome died young, Charles inherited the post of Duke of Burgundy and became the first ruler of the Spanish Netherlands (today's Netherlands and Belgium).

In 1516, Maximilian's in-law, King Ferdinand II of Spain, died of illness, and Charles became King Carlos I of Spain. Since then, the whole of Spain, Sicily in southern Italy, Sardinia, the Kingdom of Naples and the Spanish colonies in the Americas became the dominion of the Habsburgs. On August 29, 1526, Louis II, King of Hungary and Bohemia, died in battle. Another grandson of Maximilian, the brother of Charles V, Ferdinand, the Archduke of Austria, succeeded the kings of Hungary and Bohemia as Louis's brother-in-law. Although candidates for position appeared in Hungary, they were quickly pacified.

In 1519, Maximilian died of illness, and his eldest grandson Charles inherited the throne and became Charles V, and inherited the family's rule of Austria and Alsace. Maximilian also instructed his daughter, Margaret, the Princess of Austria, to be responsible for raising her two grandchildren, Charles and Ferdinand. Maximilian's two grandchildren became Holy Roman Emperors one after another, and both made achievements.

Comments: Although marriage has been used to achieve political means since ancient times, Maximilian I can be regarded as the most outstanding one.