Answer:
Strengthening royal power.
Explanation:
The accession of Maria Theresa to the throne of the Austrian Empire was a troublesome one as a very ancient law governing the rules for royal succession, in continental Europe the Salic Law, absolutely ruled against a female royal successor. Her predecessor and father, Emperor Chales VI, had no male offspring, and he realized that the Austrian people would not accept a foreign male relative of his to succeed him when he died. For that purpose, he devised a legal resource in the form of a document entitled "The Pragmatic Sanction," naming his daughter, Maria Theresa as his lawful heiress, and requested the kings of France, Prussia and Spain to sign and acknowledge the document. However, as soon as Charles VI died and Maria Theresa, who had not been properly educated to rule the Austrian Empire, was crowned, Frederick II of Prussia objected her crowning and invaded Silesia, a rich Austrian province.as he thought he could easily take advantage of the inexperienced empress. Maria Theresa sternly opposed Prussia's plans and even though the the Austrian army achieved mixed outcomes in the battlefield, Maria Theresa won over her people's support as she proved to be a strong-minded and fit monarch, in spite of losing Silesia and other provinces to Prussia. After the Seven Year War of 1756 - 1763, all the European rulers who had opposed Maria Theresa's crowning acknowledged her as the rightful empress of Austria and would never again challenge her position.
