Subject

Daughter of Emperor Charles VI of Austria. Wife of Francis I.
Francis was given the throne of the Austrian Netherlands (approximately what would become Belgium) in 1748, at the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, but Maria Theresa was the real ruler. She and her Governor, Charles of Lorraine (see index) oversaw significant improvements to roads, waterways, agricultural and industrial practices. She was succeeded by her son Joseph II in 1780.