16. After bankrupting his country and leaving his daughter to face insurrection on all sides, Emperor Charles VI died from consuming poisonous mushrooms by mistake
Charles VI, King of Bohemia, Hungary, Croatia, and Serbia, Archduke of Austria, and Holy Roman Emperor, was a European monarch of the House of Habsburg. Presiding over the decline of his house and territories, his daughter, Maria Theresa, would ultimately rejuvenate these lands and serve as the only female Habsburg sovereign. Attempting unsuccessfully to claim the throne of Spain in 1700, Charles would also break with the tradition of male-line succession. Favoring his daughters over his brother, Charles negotiated agreements with other European nations to support his wishes; among the costs attached to this deal were the abolition of Austria’s trading companies.
With his empire in significant debt and near bankruptcy, Charles fell seriously ill in Vienna in October 1740. According to Voltaire, the death of the failed monarch was due to the consumption of poisonous mushrooms and resultant renal failure. Maria, finding a paltry 100,000 florins in the royal exchequer and facing insurrection on all sides, was forced to wage the War of the Austrian Succession to defend her position. Lasting until 1748, against all odds and in spite of her destitute father, Maria was able to hold onto both her crown and much of her lands.