WI: Maria Theresa dies during WAS

Well, its a bit of a blow to those who support the Pragmatic Sanction, for starters. In general, we'd probably see a Holy Roman Empire under the Wittelsbachs; Hungary, Bohemia, etc. under the cognatic heir and a seriously pissed off Francis of Lorraine. I've no idea what would happen to Austria itself or Germany in the long term, though if the Wittelsbachs are still Emperors in the 1800s they'd be a far better focus for nationalism than Prussia or OTL Austria, both of which were multinational.

In terms of the Habsburg lands not governed by Salic law:

If she dies before 1741, she will be succeeded in Hungary etc. by one of her infant daughters, all of whom died unmarried and childless OTL. The only one who lived longer than a couple of years was http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archduchess_Maria_Anna_of_Austria_(1738–1789) who was three years old at the time and was physically disabled, although she was quite brainy. The Habsburg candidate for Emperor would probably now be Francis of Lorraine's brother, the husband of Maria Theresa's only sister (who OTL died childless 1744) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Charles_Alexander_of_Lorraine . He had kids with his morganatic second wife but they aren't going to be considered heirs in any case. After he dies in 1780 and his niece dies in 1789 the most senior heir to the Habsburg lands is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Augustus_I_of_Saxony who is the great-grandson of Joseph I and (interestingly) the most senior descendant of Charles VII, the Wittelsbach candidate.

However, if she dies between 1741 and 1746 then she will have a son, Joseph II to succeed her and Francis of Lorraine is likely to be more accepted during his son's minority, especially after his coronation in 1745. However, when JII dies we cycle through his remaining sisters and back to Frederick Augustus by 1808, assuming dates of death aren't butterflied too much. In this case, we might still get the Josephine reforms, though Austria will be weaker and internally divided during the Napoleonic Wars.

If Maria Theresa dies in 1746-7 she will have a surviving daughter who will have children, and assuming she still marries Ferdinand, Duke of Parma (which is very likely due to their good relations throughout the century) the Bourbons will rule in Budapest! (providing they aren't deposed, of course)

If she dies in 1747 or 1748 the war is still won and she will still have Leopold II to succeed Joseph II in 1790, so very little changes except butterflies and the descendants of extraneous H-L children.

In terms of the Holy Roman Empire and Austria itself:

If she dies before Charles VII in 1745, then he will be HRE, maybe succeeded by his son Maximilian III of Bavaria (although he's only 18 at this point) and then by Frederick Augustus of Saxony in 1777, as mentioned above. If Maximilian is deemed too risky, as OTL, then the candidates are: the Elector of Saxony/King of Poland, which would be a great personal union; the King of Prussia, although this is probably too early for him to be considered a Great Power, notwithstanding Silesia; the British King, which would be ridiculous; or the Elector Palatine, who has the benefit of being a Wittelsbach and heir to Bavaria anyway.

Hope this helps
 
Top