How did Charles VI end the Habsburg male line?

Charles VI served as Holy Roman Emperor and ruler of the Austrian Habsburg monarchy from 1711 until his death in 1740. Facing a lack of male heirs, he issued the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 to favor his own daughters in the succession over those of his elder brother. His death without a surviving son sparked the War of the Austrian Succession and marked the complete extinction of the male line in the Habsburg dynasty.

What we know

• Charles VI ruled the Austrian Habsburg monarchy and served as Holy Roman Emperor from 1711 until his death in 1740, succeeding his elder brother Joseph I. [1, 2]
• Faced with a lack of male heirs, Charles VI enacted the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 to prioritize his own daughters in the succession. [2]
• European powers demanded terms such as the closure of the Ostend Company before recognizing the Pragmatic Sanction. [2]
• Charles VI's death without male heirs caused the complete extinction of the Habsburg dynasty's male line and triggered the War of the Austrian Succession. [2]

Where to go next

• what followedWhat caused the War of the Austrian Succession?
• a case in pointWho was Maria Theresa of Austria?
• the bigger pictureHow did the Habsburg dynasty maintain power?
• whenWho preceded Charles VI as Holy Roman Emperor?
• how it workedHow did the Pragmatic Sanction change European politics?
• an unexpected connectionWhy did European powers demand the closure of a trading company for a royal succession?To gain international recognition for female succession through the Pragmatic Sanction, Charles VI had to bow to foreign economic demands like shutting down the Ostend Company.

Sources

• [1]Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor (Wikidata Q150665) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia · CC BY-SA 4.0