Puebla Tehuacán

Battle of Puebla (5 of May)

Biography of Maximilian



First years
Maximilian was born in the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria, from the marriage between the Archduke of Austria Francisco Jose Carlos and Sofia Federica Bavaria. As a young man he excelled in the studies of botany and naval science and was a linchpin in the development of the naval port of Trieste, Italy. Working in the triumph of his country in the war with Italy, his services were noticed and he was appointed to rule the Kingdom Viceroy, Lombardo-Veneto.

On July 27, 1857 he married Princess Charlotte of Belgium, daughter of King Leopold I, King of the Belgians. They lived in the city of Milan until the year 1859, when the Austro-Hungarian emperor, furious at the measures taken by the Maximilian liberals in Italy, removed him from his post. Shortly after the resignation of Maximilian, Austria lost their possessions in Italy and the archduke had decided to withdraw from public life in his Miramare Castle, near Trieste.



The Crown of Mexico
In 1859 Maximilian was contacted for the first time by the conservative Mexicans who were looking for a European prince to fill the crown of Mexican Second Empire, with support from France and the Catholic Church. However Maximilian was not interested in the plans and preferred to go on a botanical expedition to the tropical forests of South America. When he returned in 1863, Emperor Napoleon III of France pressured Maximilian to accept the throne and show figures for a plebiscite conducted in Mexico City, where most requested their presence as Emperor. Maximilian decided to accept the offer, but before he did he renounced all its titles to avoid any interference from his brother in the policies of their government.

The plebiscite for Maximilian had been conducted in Mexico City, but under pressure from the French troops in the Mexican capital. Only forty years before that the first Mexican emperor had been overthrown, and subsequently banished and shot. At that time attempts by Spanish to reconcur the country; the Texas War, conflicts between liberals and conservatives, the American brutal invasion and the latest French invasion had wiped out the army and morale of the new nation. A large portion of Mexicans had abandoned their hopes on the alternative policies of the aristocracy and gave their support to the first indigenous president of the Americas, a strong supporter of the republican system.



The Second Mexican Empire
Maximilian arrived at the port of Veracruz on May 28, 1864 between the jubilation and clamor of the curators. The journey to Mexico City offered him a different picture: a country wounded by the war and deeply divided in their beliefs. Upon reaching the city he chose Chapultepec Castle as a residence and set out to chart a path that would connect to the city (the current Paseo de la Reforma). As the emperor and the empress could not bear children (Maximilian had become sick with syphilis in his expedition to Brazil) they decided to take the grandchildren of Agustin de Iturbide, the first emperor of Mexico.

Maximilian had very little of the conservative support. Being a man of conviction liberals soon became interested in his program and the Republicans adopted some measures aimed at reconciliation that were in line with its ideals. Things such as the distribution of land, freedom of worship and the right to vote for the dispossessed caused a deep discontent among the conservative ranks. The Liberals saw changes with sympathy but its dome, headed by President Benito Juarez, remained steadfast in its attempt to overthrow the monarchy. The French troops supported the presidents desire to return to a national scheme and the Republicans were inspired by the American model.

At the end, political changes at the international level impacted the Mexican Empire. The United States during most of the time had been waging a civil war among their states in the north and the south had achieved peace and was ready to support the republican government in Juarez. Napoleon III, on the other hand, faced serious threats in Europe and called for its troops to return to France. With financial support from the Americans to the Republican faction and without the support of the French conservatives in the country, little would be done to Maximilian. He decided to face the consequences and ignoring the advice that he return to Austria he offered his resignation to the troops of President Juarez.

After that a trial in absentia was held at the municipal theater by a colonel and six captains that left Maximilian without the right to appeal. Based on an interrogation that the Emperor mostly refused to answer, he was sentenced to death. He died by gunshot in Cerro de las Campanas in the city of Queretaro on June 19, 1867. His remains were deposited the following year in the Imperial Crypt of the Capuchins Church in Vienna.