Charles VI of the Holy Roman Empire

Charles VI of Habsburg (Karl VI von Habsburg; Vienna, October 1, 1685 – Vienna, October 20, 1740) was Holy Roman Emperor as Charles VI (1711-1740), King of Hungary as Charles III (1711-1740) and King of Bohemia as Charles II (1711-1740). He was also known as Archduke Carlos of Austria or as Carlos III of Spain on the Austrian side during the War of the Spanish Succession, which he fought as a pretender to the Spanish throne after the death of King Charles II.

Early years of life and pretender to the throne of Spain

The archiduque Carlos, suitor to the crown of the Kingdom of Spain.

Portrait of the Archduke Carlos in the port of Barcelona, oil of Frans van Stampart, Museum of Art History of Vienna.

The Archduke Carlos was the seventh son of Emperor Leopold I and his third wife, Princess Leonor Magdalena de Palatinado-Neoburg. His educator was Antonio Florián de Liechtenstein.

When Carlos II of Spain died without succession in 1700, Carlos de Austria proclaimed himself king of Spain being both members of Habsburg's house. This originated the war of Spanish succession during which he faced the French candidate Felipe, Duke of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV of France. This war would last for 12 years.

Louis XIV of France wanted to avoid the reintegration of the old Hispanic-Austrian block, so that it sponsored a first partition treaty that the Kingdom of Spain assigned-Salvo Guipúzcoa-, the Spanish, Sardinia, Sardinia and the Western countries To José Fernando de Baviera. The Milanesado passed to the archduke Carlos of Austria, while the kingdom of Naples (Naples, Sicily and the Tuscany) would be for the dolphin of France. In disagreement with that pact and in order to avoid the disintegration of the domains of the crown of Spain, King Carlos II of Spain, without offspring, chose not to accept it and appointed universal heir to Prince José Fernando de Baviera. The plan collapsed when the prince of Baviera died prematurely of chickenpox in 1699, which took advantage of Louis XIV of France and Guillermo III of England to agree on a second partition treaty that ratified on March 3, 1700 in London, for which Archduke Carlos was recognized as heir to the Kingdom of Spain, the Spanish, Squares, Sardinia and the American Indies, but leaving Lorena to the Dolphin of France and the Milanesado to the Duke of Lorena.

The agreement was convenient for the interests of France, Holland and England, which avoided a new supremacy of Spain, but Austria claimed the entire Spanish inheritance. As a compromise solution, Carlos II, with the support of Pope Innocent XII, he testified in favor of Felipe de Anjou, son of the dolphin of France, (although Carlos II's wife who was Mariana de Neoburg was aunt of the Austrian prince and supported the pretensions of his nephew on the throne of Spain), who in turn had to give up the succession of France.

In this way Felipe de Anjou became a legitimate heir, while Archduke Carlos was the candidate who supported some European powers. Thus, the peninsular kingdoms of the Crown of Aragon, the member countries of the Great Alliance of The Hague and Pope Clemente XI recognized him as king, with the name of Carlos III .

Coin issued in Barcelona by the Auscist side.

In this way, the kingdoms of Portugal, England, Scotland and Ireland as well as a large part of the Holy Roman Empire supported the claims of Carlos III and he landed in Spain in 1705 and remained there for six years, only being able to exercise his government in Catalonia, until in 1711 the death of his brother, José I made him return to Vienna to assume the imperial crown.

To avoid a new personal union between Spain and Austria, the newly formed kingdom of Great Britain withdrew its support from the Austrian coalition, and the war culminated in the Treaties of Utrecht and Rastatt three years later. The first, ratified in 1713, recognized Felipe as King of Spain, however, the Kingdom of Naples, the Duchy of Milan, the Austrian Netherlands and the Kingdom of Sardinia —all under Spanish sovereignty— were ceded to Austria. Charles, after losing Spain, was disgruntled and as a result imitated the sober ceremonial of the Spanish court and adopted the garb of a Spanish monarch, which, according to the British historian Edward Crankshaw, consisted of "a black doublet, black shoes and red socks".

Government in Vienna

He fought against the Turks in the Austro-Turkish War (1716-1718), conquering most of Wallachia and Serbia, but then lost much of these gains in a later war (1735-1739).

Defeated in the War of the Polish Succession, he had to cede the Kingdom of Naples, Sicily and the Presidios of Tuscany to Charles of Bourbon in exchange for the Duchy of Parma and Plasencia.

In 1713 he promulgated the Pragmatic Sanction, which established that his kingdom could not be divided and allowed the heirs to the throne to be women.

Probably as a consequence of his years in Spain, he introduced Spanish court protocol (Spanisches Hofzeremoniell) to Vienna and had the Spanish Riding School (Spanische Hofreitschule) built, as well as the State Chancellery (Reichskanzlei).

During his reign, the National Library and the most important works of Baroque were built in Vienna. He too had musical ambitions: he wrote compositions, played the harpsichord, and directed the court orchestra.

The theory remains that he died of mushroom food poisoning, probably from Amanita phalloides.

Isabel Cristina, Empress consort of the Holy Roman German Empire.

Marriage and children

On August 1, 1708, he married the German princess Isabel Cristina of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, eldest daughter of Duke Luis Rodolfo of Brunswick, in the Basilica of Santa María del Mar, in Barcelona, Spain. From this union were born:

• Leopoldo Juan (13 April 1716- 4 November 1716), Archduke of Austria. He died at six months.
• María Teresa I (1717-1780), heir to the Habsburg dynasty, Empress consort of the Holy Roman German Empire, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, Archduchess of Austria. Married with the Emperor Francis I of the Holy Roman German Empire.
• María Ana (1718-1744), archduchess of Austria, wife of Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine (1712-1780).
• María Amalia (1724-1730), archduchess of Austria. He died at age six.

Heraldry

Heráldica de Carlos VI de Habsburg
Arms Shield as Roman Emperor Sacro (1711-1740) Shield of arms as a pretender to the throne of Spain Shield of arms as a pretender to the throne of Spain (in Aragon) Shield of Arms as King of Naples and Sicily

Ancestors

Predecessor: Felipe V	King rival of Spain Like Carlos III, in war with Felipe V 1703 -1715	Successor: Felipe V
Predecessor: Felipe V	Duke of Milan 1706 -1740	Successor: Maria Teresa
Predecessor: Philip IV	King of Naples 1707 -1735	Successor: Carlos VII
Predecessor: Philip IV	King of Sardinia 1708 -1720	Successor: Victor Amadeo II
Predecessor: José I	Elect Emperor of the Holy Roman German Empire 1711-1740	Successor: Carlos VII
Predecessor: José I	King of Hungary, Slavonia and Croatia 1711-1740	Successor: Maria Teresa
Predecessor: José I	King of Bohemia 1711-1740	Successor: Maria Teresa against Carlos Alberto de Baviera
Predecessor: José I	Archduke of Austria 1711-1740	Successor: Maria Teresa
Predecessor: Victor Amadeo II	King of Sicily 1720-1735	Successor: Carlos V
Predecessor: Carlos I	Duque de Parma y Plasencia 1735-1740	Successor: Maria Teresa