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| Maria Antonia of Austria | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Electress consort of Bavaria | |||||
| Tenure | 15 July 1685 – 24 December 1692 | ||||
| Born | 18 January 1669 Hofburg Palace,Vienna,Archduchy of Austria,Holy Roman Empire | ||||
| Died | 24 December 1692(1692-12-24) (aged 23) Hofburg Palace, Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, Holy Roman Empire | ||||
| Burial | 25 December 1692 | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue Detail | Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria | ||||
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| House | Habsburg | ||||
| Father | Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor | ||||
| Mother | Margaret Theresa of Spain | ||||
Maria Antonia of Austria[1] (Maria Antonia Josepha Benedicta Rosalia Petronella; 18 January 1669 – 24 December 1692) was anElectress of Bavaria as the wife ofMaximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria. She was the eldest daughter and only surviving child ofLeopold I, Holy Roman Emperor and his first wifeMargaret Theresa of Spain. She was the heiress to the Spanish throne after her maternal uncleCharles II of Spain from 1673 until her death.
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Archduchess Maria Antonia was born inVienna on 18 January 1669,[2][3] the eldest daughter ofLeopold I, Holy Roman Emperor born from his firstmarriage to his niece, InfantaMargaret Theresa of Spain.[4] Her only older sibling had already died by the time she was born.[5] She had two younger siblings, both of whom died in infancy,[6] and twelve half-siblings, six of whom lived into adulthood.[7] Since her childhood, Maria Antonia was an intelligent and cultivated girl, sharing her parents' passion for music.[citation needed]
Maria Antonia had the highestcoefficient of inbreeding in theHouse of Habsburg, 0.3053, higher than that of a child born to a parent and offspring, or brother and sister:[8] her father was her mother's maternal uncle and paternal first cousin once removed, and her maternal grandparents were uncle and niece too. However, despite this extreme inbreeding, she managed to survive childhood and reach adulthood, and she was the only one among her siblings to do so.[8]
The last Habsburg king of Spain,Charles II, never fathered any children, due to his severe deformities and illnesses. According to the laws of succession in Spain, Maria Antonia would have had the right to inherit the crown had she lived long enough, because she was the only surviving child of EmpressMargaret Theresa, Charles II's sister. During her childhood, it was decided that she would marry her maternal uncle, Charles II,[9] but this plan came to nothing due to political circumstances.[10][11]
As an alternative, she became a candidate for marriage toVictor Amadeus II, theDuke of Savoy, but nothing came of these plans either.
Maria Antonia finally marriedMaximilian II, theElector of Bavaria,[12][13] on 15 July 1685 inVienna. The marriage between an heiress of the Spanish throne, inMaria Anna of Austria, Queen of Spain's view, gave the BavarianWittelsbachs the closer place in succession to the Crown than the AustrianHabsburgs.
Mariana's dynastic loyalty was to her daughterMargaret Theresa of Spain's descendants, which were her granddaughter Maria Antonia and her family.[14][15] This put her at odds with her younger brotherLeopold I, who wanted his son to be the heir instead of Maria Antonia, his daughter.[16] In an attempt to strengthen the claim of his son, Emperor Leopold I had his daughter waive her inheritance rights shortly after her marriage.[17][18][19] In exchange, he promised to have his son-in-law appointed asgovernor of theSpanish Netherlands.[20]
The marriage was very unhappy,[18] as the extroverted Maximilian and the introverted and serious Maria Antonia had little in common. Maria Antonia was reportedly offended by Maximilian's constant infidelity. When he was appointed governor of the Spanish Netherlands and left for Brussels in the company of his mistress Countess Canozza, Maria Antonia left for her father in Vienna to give birth, and it was widely assumed that she did not intend to return to Maximilian. She died ofpostpartum infections after childbirth.
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As the niece of Charles II of Spain, Maria Antonia was of great relevance in connection with the succession to the Spanish throne,[21] which was a major political issue in late-17th-century Europe. One of her sons,Joseph Ferdinand, was of central importance to European politics at the end of the seventeenth century as a claimant to the throne of Spain.[12][14] Maria Antonia was the last of the Habsburg line in that country and Joseph Ferdinand's death before that of Charles II, the last Habsburg king of Spain, helped to trigger theWar of the Spanish Succession.[22] If he had survived Charles, the European powers might have permitted him to accede to the throne of Spain under the terms of the 1698Treaty of The Hague.[23][24]
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