[1]The term “Pragmatic Sanction” was first used in the case of decrees issued by Byzantine emperors with reference to the affairs of their provinces. It was next applied to the limitations of the spiritual authority of the Pope in European countries. In the sense in which it is used above it is applied to the succession of sovereignty. The Pragmatic Sanction of Charles VI is the most famous of all. It had three provisions, (1) that the lands belonging to the house of Austria should remain indivisible; (2) that in the absence of male heirs they should devolve upon Charles’ daughters, the oldest of whom was Maria Theresa; and (3) that in case of the extinction of the line, the inheritance should pass to the daughters of Joseph I and their descendants. Charles issued this Sanction in 1713. [2]Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, and Empress of Germany, was the daughter of Charles VI of Austria and Elizabeth Christina of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. After the death of Archduke Leopold, her only brother, she became sole heiress of the Austrian dominions in 1724, married Francis Stephen of Lorraine in 1736, came to the throne in 1740, her husband being declared co-regent. She died in 1780. Of her sixteen children, ten reached maturity. Her sons were Joseph II, who succeeded his father as Holy Roman Emperor in 1765; Emperor Leopold II; Ferdinand, Duke of Modena, and Maximilian, Elector of Cologne. Her most famous daughter was Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI of France, one of the many victims of the French Revolution. [3]Prince Eugene, one of the greatest of the world’s generals, was born at Paris, October 18, 1663, and died at Vienna, April 21, 1736. He entered the service of Austria in 1683; defeated the Turks in 1697; at the outbreak of the Spanish war of the succession invaded Italy; joined Marlborough in Germany; and defeated the French and Bavarians at Blenheim in 1704. In 1706 he drove the French out of Italy, and in 1708 won the great victories at Oudenarde, Lille, and Malplaquet. War breaking out afresh with Turkey, he won the great battle at Belgrade against overwhelming odds, and forced the Turks to accept peace. The year of Maria Theresa’s nuptials, 1736, was the year of his death. [4]Frederick contended that he inherited a lawful claim to Silesia, and that the Pragmatic Sanction, which his father had recognized, referred only to lands belonging to the house of Austria. [5]Frederick offered to aid Maria Theresa against all her enemies if she would concede his claims upon Silesia, but the Queen haughtily declined, and even intimated that Frederick was a robber.