On this day, 245 years ago, on November 29, 1780 (November 4, 1780 lunar calendar), the Austrian Grand Duchess Maria Theresa died. Maria Theresa (May 13, 1717 - November 29, 1780), Grand Duchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, wife of Emperor Franz I, biological mother of Emperor Joseph II, the most prominent female stateswoman of the Habsburg dynasty, during her tenure in office and her son Emperor Joseph II implemented "enlightened absolute monarchy", laying the foundation for Austria to become a modern state. God's mercy has made me strong, enabling me to wander on the path of thorns, pain, and tears that He has arranged for me; even if I fight to the end, I would rather be naked than give up Silesia! - - Maria Theresa From the incomparable Habsburg family, Maria Theresa was awarded the three crowns of Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia by virtue of her noble blood, and she also achieved great success in both war and peace, so that her name is closely linked to 18th-century Central Europe. As the only female monarch of the German nation, her succession was full of difficulties. Her father, Charles VI, had no children and only two daughters. In order to maintain the rule of the glorious Habsburg family, he went to great lengths to issue the Edict of the State in 1713, which stipulated that if the king had no male heirs, his daughter could also inherit the throne. The second half of his reign would prompt the Edict to be accepted by the European countries as the overriding focus of his diplomacy, even at the expense of several territories. Maria Theresa Fortunately, Maria Theresa's subsequent performance did not disappoint her father's painstaking efforts. When she ascended the throne in 1740, it caused interference inside and outside the German Confederation. Albert, the Elector of Bavaria, declared that women had no right to inherit, and he was the heir to the throne of the Holy Roman Empire. By male line alone, he was the closest relative to Charles VI. The Elector of Bavaria had the support of France, Prussia, and Saxony, although all of these countries had announced their recognition of the Edict of the State, and armies pounced on the Austrian frontier. Among the opponents of Maria Theresa was King Frederick II of Prussia, one of the most outstanding European military strategists of the 18th century. The early days of the war were dire, with Silesia, Bohemia, and other places falling one after another. But it also gave the fledgling queen an opportunity to prove her abilities. She first won the support of Hungary, won the unanimous support of the country, and allied with Britain and received economic assistance. She even disintegrated Prussia's alliance with France and Bavaria at the cost of temporarily recognizing Prussia's possession of Silesia. The situation finally turned around gradually. In 1742, the Western Front turned to a counterattack, and the French and Bavarian armies were driven out of Austria. Finally, a peace treaty was signed in 1748. Maria lost the wealthy Silesia, but gained the recognition of her and her husband's throne by the warring nations. In 1756, the smoke of war resumed, but this time the combination of the two sides changed dramatically. The three giants of Austria, France, and Russia stood in the same trench in history, while Prussia was allied with Britain. Silesia is the focus of contention on the European continent. This time, with the help of two land powers, Austria had a clear advantage, and although Frederick II played a series of miraculous classic battles, it still could not change the fate of exhaustion. Seeing that the Austrian and Russian armies were going straight to Berlin, but because of the sudden death of Russian Empress Elisaveta, the successor Peter III fell to the side of Prussia, Frederick II survived. Maria Theresa's victory was discounted, and finally a peace treaty was signed (1763), which failed to recover Silesia, but also honorably maintained the honor of Austria and the Habsburg family. These two wars gave Maria Theresa great fame, but her influence on history did not stop there. In the 18th century, "enlightened autocracy" became a popular political term in Europe. Maria was not willing to be left behind, and carried out a series of reforms under the banner of "enlightened autocracy". The "Supervision Department of Public and Court Affairs" was established in the center to uniformly manage the administration and finances of all territories. The "State Council" was established as the highest advisory and guiding body, and all functional areas of business were placed under it. This was a measure to strengthen centralization. Socio-economic, the abolition of the landlords' rights as state tax collectors and the privileges of the lord's jurisdiction, and the reduction of the number of farmers' labor rent and proxy rent. These measures eased the contradiction between landlords and serfs, and also increased the state's fiscal revenue. During this period, Austria's government revenue increased by nearly 65%. The empress has not announced the abolition of serfdom, which has always been a chronic disease that hampers the socio-economic development of Central and Eastern European countries. Although the empress has not announced the abolition, it has already paved the way for this. Maria Theresa also started church reforms, mainly to force bishops to pay allegiance to the emperor rather than to the Pope. It is interesting for 15-year-old Maria Theresa to discuss the relationship between Maria Theresa and her husband Franz Joseph. Maria wore three crowns of Austria, Hungary and Bohemia on her head, leaving her husband with the false name "Holy Roman Emperor". Many queens in European history have voluntarily ceded power to their husbands after marriage, but Maria has always firmly controlled her husband and the power of the court in her own hands, and the soft-hearted Franz has little influence in the government. Mary, who is determined to leave a model of marriage for future generations, did set an example, but her "Chastity Committee" was not well received. The spread of this police organization for the purpose of maintaining moral discipline across the country just shows that Maria Theresa's "enlightened autocracy" is more authoritarian. When Franz died in 1765, Maria and her eldest son Joseph jointly ruled the country. The two disagreed on many issues, which made the queen very distressed. Maria advocated moderate reform, but Joseph's desire for reform was even stronger. He advocated the immediate declaration of the serfs in the empire as free people, rather than just improving their situation, and a comprehensive policy of religious tolerance. These goals were achieved after Joseph's succession. Joseph was actively involved in the Russian-Prussian conspiracy to divide Poland, and Maria had expressed her opposition, but this did not prevent her from also receiving a significant share in 1772. From the time of Rudolf I in the 13th century until the First World War, Austria was a major power in Central Europe. Maria Theresa maintained the strength of the country through two difficult wars, maintained the balance of political and military power in Central Europe, and through a series of reforms, brought Austria up to the trend of advanced countries, especially in the end of backward serfdom. Maria Theresa deserves to be listed among the influential emperors, she is ranked 95th on this list. Commenting on Maria Theresa's success in winning the alliance of France and Russia in the Seven Years' War is actually a signal that the most powerful unifier of Germany that France has always focused on has changed from Austria to Prussia. In the "enlightened autocracy" implemented after the war, Austria's focus was on reforming serfdom in social and economic aspects, while its opponent Prussia's focus was on implementing enlightened systems in justice and education. This was due to the different national conditions of the two countries, but one thing in common was that it did not damage or even strengthen the authority of the government.