Charles VI

Charles VI issued the Pragmatic Sanction, a legal instrument to ensure that the Habsburg hereditary lands could be inherited by a female heir (his daughter Maria Theresa) in the absence of a male son. He spent decades securing recognition from European powers, but it failed to prevent the War of the Austrian Succession.

Charles VI's forces, after a disastrous war with the Ottoman Empire, signed the Treaty of Belgrade. The treaty ceded Belgrade and northern Serbia to the Ottomans, reversing the gains of the Treaty of Passarowitz and weakening Habsburg influence in the Balkans.

Charles VI's death in 1740 triggered the War of the Austrian Succession, as Prussia, France, and Bavaria challenged Maria Theresa's inheritance. The war, lasting until 1748, resulted in the loss of Silesia to Prussia but confirmed Maria Theresa's rule in most Habsburg lands.