Hello, really, really, really quick before we begin the show. Are you New York City adjacent or a resident of New York City? We will be in your neighborhood.

Come join us on our private party on a boat on September 14th of this year.

How do you get a ticket?

Go to like mines travel.com and go to the events tab. And what you're looking for is the History Chicks New York City dinner crews.

You can meet Susan and I and the travelers that have come from all over the nation

to tour New York City with us. We hope to see you there.

Welcome to the history tricks, where any resemblance to a boring old history lesson is purely coincidental.

And here's your 30 second summary.

Destined from her cradle for a seat on a throne.

Empress Maria Theresa had to fight the prejudices of her age and some of the greatest

warriors of the time in order to secure her empire.

The end.

Let's talk about Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.

But first let's drop her into history.

In 1740, in Georgian-era England, Parliament passed a plantation act allowing any

foreign Protestants, Quakers, or Jewish people who had been living in the

American colonies to become British citizens.

Down in one of those colonies, South Carolina, legislature ruled that enslaved American people

could not grow their own food, learn to read, move freely about the area,

assemble in groups, or earn money.

Plans began to build a charity school in Philadelphia.

11 years later, it became a reality,

...