Imperial election, 1790
The imperial election of 1790 was an imperial election held to select the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. It took place in Frankfurt on September 30.
Background
Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria, the elector of Bavaria, died of smallpox on December 30, 1777, leaving no heirs. He was succeeded by a distant cousin, Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria, then elector of the Electoral Palatinate. Under the provisions of the Peace of Westphalia covering a merger of family lines, the vote of the Palatinate was suppressed, and Charles Theodore would hold one vote as elector of Bavaria.
War of the Bavarian Succession
As Charles Theodore also had no legitimate heirs, his cousin, Charles II August, Duke of Zweibrücken, the duke of Zweibrücken, was entitled to his inheritance in Bavaria and the Palatinate. When Charles Theodore, who preferred to live in the Palatinate, offered southern Bavaria to Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor in exchange for part of the Austrian Netherlands, Charles August objected. He was joined in this objection by Prussia and Saxony, both of whom were wary of any increase in Austrian power in Central Europe. The resulting war was settled by the Treaty of Teschen of May 13, 1779, which granted the Innviertel to Austria, affirmed Charles Theodore's inheritance of the Bavarian electorate and recognized some Prussian territorial claims.
Election of 1790
Joseph died on February 20, 1790. The electors called to Frankfurt to choose his successor were:
- Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal, elector of Mainz
- Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony, elector of Trier
- Archduke Maximilian Francis of Austria, elector of Cologne
- Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, king of Bohemia
- Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria, elector of Bavaria
- Frederick Augustus I of Saxony, elector of Saxony
- Frederick William II of Prussia, elector of Brandenburg
- George III of the United Kingdom, elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Leopold was also king of Hungary and grand duke of Tuscany. In the latter role, he had been a reformer and constitutionalist, and his election offered the potential of the spread of similar reforms in Austria and the broader Empire.
Elected
Leopold was elected.