 Charles VI died on 20 October 1740 , probably of mushroom poisoning . He had ignored the advice of Prince Eugene of Savoy who had urged him to concentrate on filling the treasury and equipping the army rather than on acquiring signatures of fellow monarchs . The Emperor , who spent his entire reign securing the Pragmatic Sanction , left Austria in an impoverished state , bankrupted by the recent Turkish war and the War of the Polish Succession ; the treasury contained only 100 @,@ 000 florins , which were claimed by his widow . The army numbered only 80 @,@ 000 men , most of whom had not been paid in months ; they were nevertheless remarkably loyal and devoted to their new sovereign . 
