Maria Antonia of Austria

Early life Archduchess Maria Antonia was born in Vienna on 18 January 1669, the eldest daughter of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor and his first wife, Infanta Margaret Theresa of Spain, who was also his niece; they were in an avunculate marriage. Her mother died at age 21 when Maria Antonia was 2 years old and her only older sibling had already died by the time she was born. She had two younger siblings, both of whom died in infancy, and twelve half-siblings, six of whom lived into adulthood. The last Habsburg king of Spain, Charles II of Spain, the sister of Maria Antonia's mother, never fathered any children due to his severe deformities and illnesses that resulted from inbreeding. Maria Antonia's mother, Empress Margaret Theresa of Spain, died in 1673, and 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. During her childhood, it was decided that she would marry her maternal uncle, Charles II, but this plan never happened due to political circumstances. As an alternative, she became a candidate for marriage to Victor Amadeus II, the Duke of Savoy, but it did not occur either. Music Maria Antonia was a significant figure in the Viennese court's musical culture and was a patron and enthusiast of Baroque music. However, her music teacher was killed in 1683 in Battle of Vienna or the related siege. In exchange, he promised to have his son-in-law appointed as governor of the Spanish Netherlands. The marriage was forced and political and was very unhappy. The extroverted Maximilian, a military leader, and the introverted and serious Maria Antonia had little in common. Maria Antonia was reportedly offended by Maximilian's constant infidelity. In late 1691, when Maximilian was appointed governor of the Spanish Netherlands and left for Brussels in the company of his mistress Countess Canozza, despite Maria Antonia being pregnant, Maria Antonia left for her father in Vienna to give birth, and it was widely assumed that the marriage was effectively over and she did not intend to return to Maximilian. Death In December 1692, two months after giving birth to her third child, Maria suffered from melancholia, now believed to be postpartum depression. She then was infected by streptococcus pyogenes, which had a mortality rate of 50% in the time before antibiotics. She suffered from fever and abdominal pain, which progressed to systemic infection likely exacerbated by her genetic burden resulting from inbreeding. Maria Antonia died of postpartum infections / sepsis, at 5:30 AM on Christmas Eve, 24 December 1692, aged 23. Per her request, she is buried in an eccentric sarcophagus in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna next to her mother. ==Legacy==

As the niece of Charles II of Spain, Maria Antonia was of great relevance in connection with the succession to the Spanish throne, which was a major political issue in late-17th-century Europe. One of her sons, Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria, was of central importance to European politics at the end of the seventeenth century as a claimant to the throne of Spain. 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 the War of the Spanish Succession. If he had survived Charles, the European powers might have permitted him to accede to the throne of Spain under the terms of the Treaty of The Hague (1698). ==Family==

Maria Antonia, who was a product of the Hapsburg royalty's desire to "keep bloodlines pure", had the highest coefficient of inbreeding in the House of Habsburg, 0.3053, higher than that of a child born to a parent and offspring, or brother and sister: her father was her mother's maternal uncle and paternal first cousin once removed, and her maternal grandparents were uncle and niece. Researchers have described her family tree as "looking less like a tree and more like a circle"; her mother had only 10 great-great grandparents instead of the usual 32. However, despite this extreme inbreeding, she managed to survive childhood and reach adulthood, although she was the only one among her siblings to do so. She did not display any noticeable physical deformities that are normally accompanied by inbreeding, although portraits of her were likely embellished for political purposes and her genetics likely exacerbated the infection that led to her death. Ancestors Issue • Leopold Ferdinand of Bavaria (22 May 1689) – died at birth • Anton of Bavaria (19 November 1690) – died at birth • Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria (28 October 1692 – 6 February 1699) – heir to the Spanish throne, died in childhood after seizures, possibly after arsenic poisoning; his death led to the War of the Spanish Succession ==References==