Shadowing Practice: Empress Maria Theresa's Daughters, Part 1 - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Maria Teresa's 16 Children The Daughters Part 1 Maria Teresa was one of the most powerful women in history.
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She reformed and modernized her empire, all while giving birth to 16 children, 11 of whom were daughters, all named Maria.
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While the boys were educated to be world leaders, the girls were taught to be good consorts and obedient wives, though they often chose not to be.
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Five died tragically young.
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Two wrested power from their husbands and ruled states.
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Three became great patrons of the arts.
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And one, Marie Antoinette, became the Queen of France and lost her head in the revolution.
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Here are the stories of the 11 daughters of Maria Theresa.
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Maria Elizabeth was the firstborn daughter of Maria Theresa and Frances.
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Her birth was not accompanied by any fanfare as her parents were disappointed that she was not a son and heir.
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But the lively and sweet child soon became the favorite of both her parents.
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Her grandfather, Emperor Charles VI, adored his eldest granddaughter, whom he often played with and called Liesel, a German nickname for Elizabeth.
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While the family was visiting southern Austria, three-year-old Maria Elizabeth fell suddenly ill with stomach cramps and vomiting.
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Her mother was distraught and was taken away.
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At 9 p.m that night, Maria Elizabeth sat up, looked at her father, and said with a clear voice, I commend myself, oh my god,
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and fell back and died in his arms.
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Maria Anna, known as Mariana, was highly intelligent and showed great musical talent.
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However, she was physically weak and frequently unwell, worsened by the drafty and cold rooms at the Hofburg Palace.
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Because of her physical disabilities, she never received the care and attention from her mother that her siblings enjoyed.
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She was, however, a favorite of her father's.
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She shared his love of science and often conducted experiments in chemistry and physics.
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At 19, she contracted pneumonia and was so close to death that she was given the last rites.
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She survived but her breathing was permanently damaged
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and she developed a fusion of her spine which caused a lump to appear in her back.
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When she was 27, the imperial family stopped in Clagenfort on their way to attend Leopold's wedding.
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Mariana visited a convent there and became enthusiastic for the monastic life as nuns, unlike the royal court, were unconcerned with appearances.
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During the trip, her father died and Mariana was heartbroken.
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Her mother was unable to find a royal husband
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so instead offered her daughter the position of abbess of the royal convent of noble ladies in Prague.
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Mariana gave up the prestigious position as she desired to return
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to the convent in Klogenfort where she had first fallen in love with the monastic life, but her mother objected.
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Mariana completed her father's coin collection, established her own mineral and insect collection, drew and painted in watercolor,
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and patronized social projects, archaeological digs, artists, and scientists.
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She was disliked by high society as her interests were considered unsuitable for her sex, but she was well respected in the scientific and arts communities.
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When Empress Maria Theresa died in 1780, Mariana was finally free to move to the convent in Cloggenfort.
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She paid to expand the convent's hospital and provide welfare assistance in the area.
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She continued to pursue science and participate in archaeological digs, had many friends among the nuns,
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artists, scientists, and nobles, and was quite content with her life.
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Her younger sister, Marie-Elizabeth, joined her at the convent and lived there for the rest of her life.
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Their youngest sister, Marie-Antoinette, stopped by for a visit on her way to Versailles to be Mariana's health deteriorated further
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and she died surrounded by her friends.
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She left her entire royal inheritance to the convent.
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Maria Carolina, the third child, was desperately hoped to be a son.
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The court was deeply disappointed when another daughter was born.
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When she was just over one year old, Maria Carolina was suddenly gripped by violent seizures and died within a few hours.
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Her family was left stunned and their doctors had no explanation for what had caused the little girl's demise.
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It is now believed that she most likely died from tetany, resulting from dangerous calcium deficiency.
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She was laid to rest in the Imperial Vault next to her older sister, Maria Elizabeth.
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Maria Christina was born on May 13, 1743, on her mother's 25th birthday.
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Called Mimi, she was beautiful and intelligent and her mother's clear favorite.
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She was also the object of intense jealousy from her siblings.
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She excelled in education and spoke fluent Italian, French and very good English.
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Mimi showed great artistic talent from a young age.
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This is a self-portrait of her.
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Her drawings and paintings of the family were exhibited at the palace.
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At 18, Mimi struck up an intense friendship with her elder brother Joseph's new wife, Princess Isabella of Parma.
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The two young women shared a love of music and art and exchanged some 200 letters, mostly in French.
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They were inseparable at court and compared to legendary lovers Orpheus and Eurydice.
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Mimi had a happy and carefree nature
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while Isabella expressed her hatred of court pomp and ceremony and longed for a more sensual life.
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While six months pregnant, Isabella contracted smallpox and went into labor prematurely.
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The child died shortly after birth and Isabella, grief stricken, died a few days later.
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Mimi was heartbroken and mourned deeply for her lost love.
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Prince Albert of Saxony, a mutual friend of both Isabella and Mimi, came to Vienna to offer his condolences.
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He visited Mimi several more times and the pair began to fall in love.
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Albert doubted that he was important enough to win her hand
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but Mimi assured him that he should give full rein to his feelings
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and that she would work things out with her parents.
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As Maria Theresa's favorite child, she was able to gain her mother's approval for the match but her father still objected.
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When the Emperor died, Mimi was deeply saddened but was now free to marry Albert.
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She was the only of Maria Theresa's children to marry for love rather than political gain.
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The Empress was concerned about her favorite daughter living comfortably so she appointed Albert to the position of Governor of Hungary,
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renovated and furnished a castle for them in Pressburg and gave Mimi a rich dowry.
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At her wedding, Mimi wore a white pearl decorated muslin gown
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and Albert wore his military uniform
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while the rest of the guests wore black as they were still in mourning for the emperor.
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Mimi gave birth to a daughter, Maria Christina Teresa, but the baby died shortly after birth.
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Mimi fell ill with childbed fever and while she was recovering, Albert contracted smallpox.
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The couple recovered but Mimi was unable to have any more children.
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Despite this tragedy, the couple had a blissful marriage and kept a bonny court with splendid parties and festivals.
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They made frequent visits to Vienna to visit Mimi's dear mother and to Italy to visit her siblings.
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They were well-liked in Hungary and began collecting art, making Pressburg a cultural center during their time there.
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In 1780, Mimi and Albert were appointed joint governors of the Austrian Netherlands.
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Shortly afterward, the Empress died and Mimi's brother Joseph took control.
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He had always been jealous of his sister's special place in their mother's affection.
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He cut her income and reduced her and Albert's power to merely carrying out his own orders for drastic reforms.
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They cautioned Joseph against his severe changes as they could see close up how the people were reacting, but they were ignored.
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As they predicted, the reforms led to violent protests and their residence was broken into by an angry mob.
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They retreated to Vienna, but Joseph condemned their indulgence of the people
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and ordered them to return and enforce his reforms with military power.
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Mimi tried to hold her brother's control of the Austrian Netherlands in vain.
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Inspired by the French, the people revolted and became the independent republic of the United States of Belgium in 1790.
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Emperor Joseph died shortly after and was succeeded by his brother Leopold, who Mimi got along with much better.
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She advised him on regaining the territory and within a year Austria conquered Brussels and Mimi and Albert were returned to power.
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Mimi persuaded her brother Leopold to let her and her husband adopt one of his youngest sons, Archduke Charles, so that they would have an heir.
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In 1792, Emperor Leopold died and the Austrian Netherlands was invaded by revolutionary France.
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Mimi and Albert were once again forced to flee.
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They evacuated their art collection by sea, but one of the three ships was destroyed by a hurricane.
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Out of power, Mimi and Albert returned to Vienna, where they lived their remaining years.
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Mimi began to suffer from a stomach disease.
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She She took to bathing in medicinal spas and enjoyed short periods of renewed health,
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but within a year she wrote Albert a farewell letter telling him of her deep and lifelong love for him, and then died at the age of 56.
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Albert commissioned a spectacular tomb for his art-loving wife by neoclassical sculptor Antonio Canova.
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It bears the inscription, Uxori Optome Albertus, dedicated from Albert to his excellent wife.
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24 years later, Albert was buried beside his beloved wife Maria Christina and their daughter.
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Maria Elizabeth was given the same name as her sister who died 3 years before her birth.
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She was considered the most beautiful of Maria Theresa's daughters and was well aware of the fact.
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Her mother called her a pretty coquette and also observed that she was childish and immature.
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She lacked any particular interest and did not excel in education, taking only the traditional lessons of a daughter of the Empress,
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designed to make her an attractive wife.
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Because of her exquisite beauty, her mother and brother Joseph considered her their most valuable asset in the dynastic marriage market,
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and they wanted to find the highest ranking match they could for her.
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First, King Charles III of Spain was considered, but negotiations fell through.
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Then King Stanislaw of Poland was suggested but Empress Catherine the Great of Russia objected.
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Maria Elizabeth was keen to marry her cousin Prince Benedito, Duke of Chablis but her brother Joseph objected as he wanted a better catch.
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By this time Maria Elizabeth was 24 and was considered rather old to still be unmarried.
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Negotiations began between Austria and France for a double wedding between the widowed Louis the 15th
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and Maria Elizabeth and his grandson the Dauphin and Maria Antonia.
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But during this time, Maria Elizabeth fell ill with smallpox.
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She survived the disease but her face was severely scarred and her beauty ruined.
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Only Maria Antonia's marriage went ahead.
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Her family had waited too long and now Maria Elizabeth was considered unmarriageable.
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When Empress Maria Theresa died, Emperor Joseph asked her
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and her sister Maria Anna to leave the court as he shunned the presence of women
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and wanted to end what he called their Women's Republic.
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So, like her sister, Maria Elizabeth turned to a monastic life and became abbess of the convent of noble ladies in Innsbruck.
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Her lifestyle didn't much resemble that of a nun.
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The order gave her high status, a personal allowance, a suite of rooms suitable for a noblewoman, and the freedom to participate in high society.
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She frequently threw lavish parties, became greatly overweight, and developed a keen wit and sense of personal irony.
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In 1806, Maria Elizabeth was forced to flee her comfortable life in Innsbruck when Napoleon's ally, the King of Bavaria, conquered the area.
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She went to live with her sister Maria Anna at her convent in Cloggenfort.
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She died at the age of 65.
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Maria Amalia, like her sisters, was raised and educated to be a desirable and obedient royal consort and a good representative of her family.
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She had the worst relationship with their mother of all of her siblings
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and received a great deal of criticism for her willfulness.
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She fell in love with Prince Charles of Zweiburten and asked permission to marry him.
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She was hopeful for a love match as her sister Maria Christina had been granted
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but her mother refused instead forcing her to marry Duke Ferdinand of Parma.
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Amalia never forgave her mother for this cruelty.
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At the time, Parma was a puppet state ruled by King Louis XV of France through a minister.
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Two years after her arrival, Amalia secured the dismissal of the French minister and appointed a Spanish minister.
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Then she replaced him with an Italian minister and a cabinet of native Parmezans loyal to her.
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As her husband was passive and content with religious duties and raising their children, Maria Amalia was the true ruler of Parma.
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Her mother sent an ambassador to advise her and to make sure that the political coup was favorable to Austria.
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But Amalia told the ambassador that she would no longer receive letters from her mother.
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She defended the independence of Parma from France, Spain, and Austria, strengthened its inner sense of nationality,
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supported art, culture, and literature, and worked efficiently with her cabinet.
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She was well loved by the common people and renowned for her generosity to the poor.
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She became famous for her galas at the palace, where noble and poor enjoyed the same meals.
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Maria Amalia made no secret of the unhappiness of her marriage,
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and replaced most of her ladies-in-waiting with an entourage of handsome young men with whom she had numerous affairs.
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She dressed as a man and spent her nights unaccompanied and incognito in public drinking and gambling.
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She caused scandal all over Europe and ignored her mother's reprimands.
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Ferdinand took his own mistress and the couple never got along, but they were both loving and and devoted parents to their eight children.
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Though estranged from her mother and most of her siblings, Maria Amalia remained close to her sisters, Queen Maria Carolina of Naples and Sicily,
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and Queen Marie Antoinette of France.
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In fact, one of the last letters Marie Antoinette sent from prison was to Amalia.
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In 1796, Napoleon invaded Parma.
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The Duke and Duchess were allowed to keep their titles
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but were kept under French guard and the Duchy was taxed heavily to support the French army.
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Amalia hated the French for having executed her beloved sister, Marie Antoinette.
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Napoleon set up the French puppet kingdom Etruria, which he granted to Maria Amalia's son Louis,
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and he let it be known that Parma would be annexed as soon as Ferdinand died.
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The couple were placed under house arrest and Amalia feared for their lives.
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The following year, Ferdinand did die, possibly as the result of poisoning.
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Amalia decided not to stick around and fled for Prague with her two youngest daughters.
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She lived another two years and died at the age of 58.
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In the next episode, we'll meet Maria Theresa's youngest five daughters, including four sisters all engaged to the same man.
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Maria Carolina, who took control of the Kingdom of Naples from her husband, and Marie Antoinette, Queen of France,
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who lived lavishly until she lost her head in the French Revolution.
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Thank you.
About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will practice your English speaking skills by exploring the fascinating history of Empress Maria Theresa's daughters. The transcript highlights their stories, achievements, and tragedies, allowing you to encounter rich vocabulary and complex sentence structures. By focusing on this content, you will enhance your listening comprehension and speaking fluency, making it easier for you to engage in discussions about history and societal roles. Through this practice, you can utilize the shadowing technique to mimic the rhythm and intonation of the native speakers.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Empress Maria Theresa - A significant historical figure known for her reforms.
- Daughters - Referring to the 11 daughters of Maria Theresa, each with unique stories.
- Obedient wives - Reflecting the expected roles of women in their society.
- Monastic life - A lifestyle dedicated to spiritual work and community service, as chosen by one of her daughters.
- Patron of the arts - Referring to individuals who support and promote arts, culture, and sciences.
- Royal inheritance - Property and assets passed down through royal lineage.
- Tragic deaths - Highlighting the unfortunate early demises of several daughters.
- Chemistry and physics - Subjects of science that one of the daughters was passionate about.
Practice Tips
When practicing with this transcript, use a shadowing app to facilitate your learning. Begin by listening to short segments of the audio, then pause and repeat what you heard, imitating the speaker’s pronunciation and intonation. This shadow speech method can help you grasp the nuances of the English language while also improving your mental processing of sounds. Pay attention to the emotional tone of the speaker as you practice; for instance, when discussing the tragic events, adjust your tone to convey the appropriate gravity. As you become more comfortable, try to increase the length of the clips you repeat, gradually moving from single sentences to paragraphs. The shadowspeaks approach will ensure you develop not just vocabulary but also the confidence to articulate complex historical narratives. Don’t hesitate to re-listen to sections that challenge you—repetition is key in mastering the shadowing technique.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.