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in 1739 he was one of the imperial commissaries. In
March, 1741, he was sent on a diplomatic mission to
Florence, Rome, and Turin, and in August, 1742, was
appointed Austrian ambassador at Turin. Two years
later he was appointed minister plenipotentiary to the
Government of the Netherlands, in which capacity he
was to all intents the actual ruler of the Netherlands,
because Archduchess Marianne, whom Maria Theresa
had invested with the government of the Netherlands,
died a week after his arrival, and her husband, Prince
Charles of Lorraine, was commanding the Austrian
army in Bohemia against the King of Prussia. When
Brussels was taken after a three weeks' siege by Mau-
rice de Saxe on 20 February, 1746, Kaunitz went to
Antwerp, and, when the French army followed him to
that place, he left for Aachen, whence his urgent re-
quest to be recalled from his difficult position was
finally heeded by the empress in June, 1746. In 1748
he represented the interests of Austria at the Congress
of Aachen, and reluctantly signed the treaty on 23
October, 1748. Extremely displeased at the treaty
which deprived Austria of the provinces of Silesia and
Glatz, guaranteeing them to Frederick II, Kaunitz
sought a way to regain these provinces and destroy the
predominance of the King of Prussia. He advocated
an alliance with France, and, when sent as ambassa-
dor to Paris in September, 1750, began to lay the
foundation for this alliance, which, however, was not
concluded until six years later. In 1753 he was recalled and became chancellor of state and minister of
foreign affairs.
Towards the end of 1755 he again began negotia- tions with France concerning an anti-Prussian alliance. This time the circumstances were in his favour. France felt itself slighted at the alliance into which Prussia had entered with England, and a defensive alliance between Austria and France, known as the Treaty of Versailles, was entered into on 1 May, 1756. This treaty, however, was only the preliminary to the so- called Second Treaty of Versailles, signed on 1 May, 1757; in this it was stipulated that the two powers would fight against the King of Prussia, until Silesia and Glatz were restored to Austria. A similar alli- ance was effected with Russia on 2 February, 1757. Both these alliances owed their existence to Kaunitz who was also practically the supreme manager of Austrian affairs during the ensuing Seven Years War. Empress Maria Theresa placed implicit reliance in his ability and devotion to his country, and no reform of any importance was undertaken during her rule, which did not originate from Kaunitz or at least bear the impress of his co-operation. In 1760 he founded the Austrian Council of State, consisting of six mem- bers, improved the financial management, and intro- duced various other governmental changes. In 1764 he was created a prince of the empire with the title of Count von Rittberg.
The paramount influence which Kaunitz wielded during the reign of Maria Theresa grew consideralily less during the reign of her son, Joseph II. In the main, Joseph II and Kaunitz pursued the same ends, viz. territorial expansion, increase of the central state authority and limitation of the authority of the nobil- ity, entire subjection of the Church to the State, the supervision of the latter over the former even in the minutest ritual and disciplinary regulations, a better education of the common people, and more considera- tion for their legal rights. But, despite the unity of their aims, they had numerous disagrcoments, because each was too opinionated to gi\c up liis views in deference to those of the other. In addition, Kaunitz was extremely vain and eccentric. He spent hours
Preparing his elaborate toilet at which he was assisted y a host of servants, having each a particular duty to perform. He manifested a childish fear of contagious diseases and could not bear to hear the word death or plague mentioned in liis presence. Emperor Joseph
in a letter to his brother Leopold, written about two
weeks before his death, says of Kaunitz: "Would you
believe that I have not seen him for almost two years.
Since the day on which I returned sick from the army
I can no longer go to him, and he does not come to me
for fear of contagion". Despite his many faults,
Kaunitz always had Austria's welfare, as he under-
stood it, at heart, and his long experience and cau-
tiousness often put a wholesome restraint on the rash
and impulsive disposition of Joseph II. He favoured
the first Partition of Poland in 1772, was instrumental
in obtaining Bukowina from the Turks in 1775, and,
though unsuccessful in his intended annexation of
Bavaria in 1778, he obtained for Austria at the Peace
of Teschen in May, 1779, the so-called Innviertel, i. e.
that part of the territory of Berghausen which lies
between the Danube, the Inn, and the Salza.
In matters of religion Kaunitz was one of the fore- most adherents of the intellectual movement known as the "Enlightenment " {Aufkliirung). He even sur- passed Joseph II in his endeavours to make the Church and its clergy mere tools in the hands of state officials. When Pius VI visited Vienna in 1782, Kaunitz treated him very rudely and advised that the clergy be forbidden to come to Vienna while the pontiff was visiting there. He also counselled Joseph II on this occasion to make no con- cessions to the pontiff in ecclesiastical affairs. He imbibed his deep hatred for the clergy as ambassa- dor at Paris, where he had for some time Jean-Jacques Rousseau as private secretary. He was moreover a friend and great admirer of Voltaire and the French Encyclopedists, whose works had become his chief mental pabulum. His influence which was on Ihe wane during the reign of Joseph II grew still less during the reign of Leopold II (1790-2). At the accession of Francis II in 1792 he resigned as chancellor.
Abneth, Biographic des Filrsien Kaunitz (Vienna, 1899): Idem in AUgem. deutsche Biog., XV (Leipzig, 1882); Wolf, Oesterreich unter MariaTheresia, Josef 11., und Leopold 11. (Ber- lin, 1882); The Cambridge Modern History, VI (New York, 1909), passim; Schlitter, Kaunitz, Philipp Cobenzl, und Spielmann. Ihr Briefwechsel (Vienna, 1899); Arneth and Flammermont. Correspondance secrete du comte de Mercy Ar- genteau avec V Empereur Joseph 11 et le prince de Kaunitz (2 vols., Paris, 1890-1); Beer, Josef 11., Leopold 11. und Kaunitz. Ihr Briefwechsel (Vienna, 1873); Brunner, Correspondances in- times de V Empereur Joseph 11 avec son ami le comte de Cobenzl et son premier ministrele prince de Kaunitz (Mainz, 1871).
Michael Ott.
Kavanagh, Edwahd, American statesman and dip- lomat, b. at Newcastle, Maine, 27 April, 1795; d. there, 21 Jan., 1844. His father, James Kavanagh, came to America from Ireland in 1780, settled in Maine, and became a prosperous merchant and ship- owner. His mother, Sarah Jackson, was a native of Boston and a convert to the Catholic Faith. Their home was for many years a centre of hospitality for the missionary priests labouring in Maine. One of these, Father (afterwards Cardinal) Cheverus, was an intimate friend of the family. Edward Kavanagh en- tered Georgetown College in 1810, and changed to St. Mary's, Baltimore, in 1812. His classical studies were completed in Europe, where he actiuired a useful fa- miliarity with modern languages. Returning home, he devoted himself to his father's business, which had suffered severely in the War of 1812, and to the study of law. He was admitted to the Bar, and won esteem as a counsellor. Failing in an attempt to enter the diplomatic service, he turned to politics, was elected to the Maine Legislature in 1S2I), was secretary of the Senate in 1830, and in is:il, ;is commissioner, explored the northern frontier of the State and presented to the governor a valualile report on the subject. Elected to Congress in ISol, he served two terms. In 1835 he was niiincd charge d'affaires at Lisbon, Portugal, and ranked as cliicr .^nicricMn representative in that coun- try. Tliougli PnrI i]g;d was in the throes of revolution and bankruptcy during the five years of his residence.
