Charles VI, Emperor

CARLO VI, IMPERATORE. - Born in Vienna on 1 Oct. 1685, died there on 20 Oct. 1740. His name is linked with the War of the Spanish Succession, the war against the Turks concluded by the Peace of Belgrade in 1739, the struggle for the Pragmatic Sanction, and the diplomatic complications that followed: by the Pragmatic Sanction of Apr. 1713 C. regulated the succession to his States; with the death of his firstborn, Leopoldo, the problem became more acute, since the succession was to pass to his daughter Maria Teresa; the Pragmatic Sanction was proclaimed only in 1724, after the approval of the diets of the countries of the empire, but only in 1748, with the Peace of Aquisgrana, did it receive practical recognition. In domestic affairs, the government of C. marks the apex of Austrian culture in the broadest sense—religion, art, commerce: during this period the great residences, Vienna and Praga, were renewed with the Baroque splendour that remained their characteristic.