Maria Antonia of Austria

Maria Antonia of Austria (Marie Antonia von Österreich) (Maria Antonia Josepha Benedicta Rosalia Petronella; 18 January 1669 – 24 December 1692) was the eldest daughter and only surviving child of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor and his first wife Margaret Theresa of Spain. She became the heiress to Habsburg Spain when her mother died in 1673. She became an electress of the Electorate of Bavaria after marrying Maximilian II Emanuel in 1685. Maria Antonia died on 24 December 1692, just weeks after the birth of her third and only surviving son, Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria.

The early deaths of Maria Antonia and her sons, which were likely indirectly due to generations of inbreeding, left the Kingdom of Spain without a ruler upon the death of Charles II of Spain in 1700. This led to the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714), in which 700,000 people died in 13 years.

Maria Antonia was found to have the highest coefficient of inbreeding in the House of Habsburg. 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.

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 the siege by the Ottoman Empire or the resulting Battle of Vienna.

Heiress to Habsburg Spain and marriage Charles II of Spain never fathered any children and when Empress Margaret Theresa of Spain, died in 1673, Maria Antonia was considered by both Charles II and the Spanish Monarchy "as the legal and most direct heir to her uncle’s throne". In exchange, he promised to have Maximilian II Emanuel appointed as governor of the Spanish Netherlands.

The marriage 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 with his mistress, Countess Canozza, despite Maria Antonia being pregnant, Maria Antonia left Munich to 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 and aftermath 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 load resulting from inbreeding. Maria Antonia died on Christmas Eve, 24 December 1692, aged 23, at Hofburg Palace. She is buried in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, next to her mother.

After the death of Maria Antonia of Austria, her only surviving son, Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria, was a claimant to the throne of Spain. However, he died in 1699 at age 6 from typhoid fever or smallpox and the resulting seizures (or allegedly arsenic poisoning by Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor). If he had survived, the European powers might have permitted him to accede to the throne of Spain under the terms of the Treaty of The Hague (1698). However, the death of Charles II of Spain in 1700 left Hapsburg Spain without a ruler, triggering the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714), in which 700,000 people died in 13 years.

Family Maria Antonia 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. | MarA1=Margaretof Austria

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 at age 6 from typhoid fever or smallpox and the resulting seizures (or allegedly arsenic poisoning by Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor); his death led to the War of the Spanish Succession