Archduchess Maria Elisabeth, daughter of Emperor Leopold I, was born on 13 December 1680. In history books, she is mostly renowned as a governor of the Austrian Netherlands (which roughly corresponds to modern Belgium). Thus, she belongs to that small but outstanding group of Habsburg archduchesses active in politics and state affairs.
From her early years, Maria Elisabeth demonstrated remarkable intelligence and a strong will to study. She spoke five languages, was interested in history, and composed a chronology of the Habsburg dynasty in Latin. She remained unmarried and lived in Vienna. In her early thirties, her brother, Charles VI, appointed her as the administrator of Tyrol. Maria Elisabeth must have acquitted herself well in that role, as in 1725, the Emperor nominated her for the much more responsible position of governor of the Netherlands. She filled the position with great success, sometimes acting rather too independently in the eyes of the Emperor, but she was constantly respected by and popular among her subjects.
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