It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into First Mexican Empire . (Discuss) Proposed since May 2012.

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Second Mexican Empire . (Discuss) Proposed since May 2012.

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The Mexican Empire or rarely Gran Mexico was the name of modern Mexico on two brief occasions in the 19th century when it was ruled by an emperor. With the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire from Spain in 1821, Mexico became an independent monarchy, but was soon replaced with the First Mexican Republic. The latter reverted to the Second Mexican Empire 1864-1867.

First Mexican Empire[link]

Territory of the First Mexican Empire (1821-1823)

The First Mexican Empire lasted eighteen months, from 28 September 1821 to 19 March 1823 and had one emperor, Agustín de Iturbide. Its origins can be traced to Napoleon I of France's conquest of Spain in 1808 and his installation of Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain. These events loosened Spain's hold on her American colonies, and the movement for Mexican independence grew stronger.

The Mexican War of Independence began in 1810 and continued until 1821, when rebel troops entered Mexico City after the Treaty of Córdoba was signed, whereby Spain's representative, Juan O'Donojú, recognized Mexico's independence. In that year, General Agustín de Iturbide, a Mexican-born criollo former royalist who had switched his allegiance to the insurgents in the final phases of the war, was elected head of a provisional junta government and of a regency that held the imperial power that the Spanish crown once had. On the night of 18 May 1822, a mass demonstration led by the Regiment of Celaya, which Iturbide had commanded during the war, marched through the streets and demanded that their commander-in-chief accept the throne. The next day the Sovereign Congress named him emperor, and on 21 May issued a decree officially confirming this appointment, which was officially a temporary measure until a European monarch could be found to rule Mexico.

Achievement of arms of the First Mexican Empire

Iturbide's official title was "By Divine Providence and the National Congress, First Constitutional Emperor of Mexico" (Spanish: Por la Divina Providencia y por el Congreso de la Nación, Primer Emperador Constitucional de México). His coronation took place on 21 July 1822, in Mexico City. The territorial area of the Mexican Empire of 1821 was about 5,000,000 square kilometers, ranging from the Oregon–California border at 42nd latitude north, to the boundary with Panama (at that time, part of Colombia). Most of the countries of Central America were part of Mexico—they became a separate federal republic after the Empire collapsed.

As factions in the Congress began to sharply criticise both Iturbide and his policies, the emperor decided on 31 October to dissolve it. This enraged the commander of the garrison at Veracruz, Antonio López de Santa Anna, who with his troops rose up against Iturbide and declared a republic on 1 December. Fearing for his life as the rebellion grew stronger, the emperor ordered the dissolved Congress to reassemble on 4 March 1823. He presented his abdication to it in a night-time session on 19 March. He fled to Italy shortly after. In April 1824 the Congress, having already declared his administration void, declared Iturbide a traitor. When he returned to Mexico in July 1824 he was arrested on arrival in Soto la Marina, Tamaulipas, and executed.

Second Mexican Empire[link]

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Territory of the Second Mexican Empire (1864-1867)

In 1860 Benito Juárez became president of Mexico. Juarez suspended all repayments on foreign debts, with the exception of those owed to the United States. In response, the principal creditors of the United Kingdom, France, and Spain sent a joint expeditionary force which occupied the port of Veracruz in December 1861. Juarez repaid most of the outstanding interest and agreed to honor the debts. Britain and Spain withdrew, their claims having been honoured, but not the French Empire.^{[citation needed]}

Achievement of Arms of the Second Mexican Empire

Napoleon III decided to revive the Mexican monarchy. He wanted to place a fellow emperor on the throne who would promote the interests of France. Prior to 1861 any interference in the affairs of Mexico by any of the European powers would have been viewed as a challenge to the Monroe Doctrine of the United States. However, in 1861, the United States became entangled in the American Civil War and thus was unable to enforce the Doctrine. Encouraged by the Empress Eugenie, who saw herself as the champion of the beleaguered Catholic Church in Mexico, Napoleon III took advantage of the situation.

Many favored the nomination of Archduke Maximilian of Austria as monarch, and so, in May 1864, became the new emperor of Mexico, Maximilian I of Mexico, and with his consort, Carlota of Mexico, landed at Veracruz with the backing of Mexican conservatives, including the Mexican nobility, and France. Belgium — ruled by King Leopold I, Empress Carlota's father — also sent troops to aid the cause in Mexico.

Pretender to the Imperial Throne of Mexico[link]

Since the deposition of Maximilian I of the House of Habsburg as Emperor of Mexico in 1867, there has been a pretender line of accession to the throne through his adopted son, the grandson of Mexico's first emperor, Agustin I. The current Pretender to the throne of Mexico is Maximiliano de Götzen-Itúrbide, born in 1944.^{[citation needed]}

Line of succession to the Imperial Throne of Mexico[link]

Head of the Imperial house of Mexico: Don Maximiliano Gustav Albrecht Richard Agustin de Götzen-Itúrbide, Count of Götzen (b. March 1944)^[1]

See also[link]

• Mexican War of Independence
• Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire
• Mexican Imperial Orders
• Imperial Crown of Mexico
• Emperor of Mexico
• Empire of Brazil

References[link]

External links[link]

• Mexican Empire

This article's lead section may not adequately summarize its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. (June 2011)

Maximilian I
Emperor Don Maximiliano I (Maximilian I) around age 33, c.1865
Emperor of Mexico
Reign	10 April 1864 – 19 Jun 1867 (&100000000000000030000003 years, &1000000000000007000000070 days)[1]
Predecessor	Mexican Republic Benito Juárez as President of Mexico Agustín de Iturbide was previous monarch
Successor	Monarchy Abolished Benito Juárez as President of Mexico
Regent	See list José Mariano Salas Juan Nepomuceno Almonte Pelagio Antonio de Labastida y Dávalos
Head of State of Mexico
Tenure	10 April 1864 – 19 Jun 1867 (&100000000000000030000003 years, &1000000000000007000000070 days)[1]
Predecessor	Félix María Zuloaga
Successor	Benito Juárez
Spouse	Charlotte of Belgium
Issue
Prince Augustine (adoptive) Prince Salvador (adoptive)
Full name
Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph
House	House of Habsburg-Lorraine
Father	Archduke Franz Karl of Austria
Mother	Princess Sophie of Bavaria
Born	(1832-07-06)6 July 1832 Schönbrunn, Vienna, Austria
Died	19 June 1867(1867-06-19) (aged 34) Cerro de las Campanas, Querétaro, Mexico
Burial	Imperial Crypt, Vienna, Austria
Signature
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Maximilian I (Spanish: Maximiliano I; 6 July 1832 – 19 June 1867) was the only monarch of the Second Mexican Empire.

After a distinguished career in the Austrian Navy, he was proclaimed Emperor of Mexico on 10 April 1864, with the backing of Napoleon III of France and a group of Mexican monarchists who sought to revive the Mexican monarchy. Many foreign governments, including that of the United States, refused to recognize his administration. This helped to ensure the success of republican forces led by Benito Juárez, and Maximilian was captured and executed in 1867.

Though criticised as naïve and indecisive, Maximilian is often praised by historians for his liberal reforms, his genuine desire to help the people of Mexico, his refusal to desert his loyal followers, and his personal bravery during the siege of Querétaro. He has been highly praised even by historians who believe he had no business becoming involved in Mexican affairs. In Mexico, he and his consort are known as Maximiliano and Carlota.

Early life[link]

Birth[link]

Maximilian was born on 6 July 1832 in the Schönbrunn Palace, located in Vienna, capital of the Austrian Empire.^[2][3][4] He was baptized the following day and given the full name Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph. The first name honored his godfather and paternal uncle, the future Emperor Ferdinand I and the second honored his maternal grandfather, King Maximilian I of Bavaria.^[5][6]

His father was Archduke Franz Karl, the second surviving male child of the Holy Roman Emperor Franz II (after 1804, ruling the Austrian Empire as Franz I). Maximilian was thus a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, a female-line cadet branch of the House of Habsburg.^[7] His mother was Sophie, a Bavarian princess of the House of Wittelsbach.^[8] Intelligent, ambitious and strong-willed, Sophie had little in common with her husband, who historian Richard O'Conner characterized as "an amiably dim fellow whose main interest in life was consuming bowls of dumplings drenched in gravy."^[9] Despite their different personalities, the marriage was fruitful, and after four miscarriages, four sons—including Maximilian—would reach adulthood.^[10]

Malicious gossips at the court stated that Maximilian was in fact the product of an extramarital affair between his mother and his first cousin Napoleon II (then known as the Duke of Reichstadt), the son and heir of Napoleon Bonaparte, ruler of the French Empire, and his second wife, Archduchess Marie Louise (daughter of Franz II).^[11] The existence of an illicit affair between Sophie and Napoleon II, and any possibility that Maximilian was conceived from such a union, are widely dismissed by historians.^[A]

Education[link]

Adhering to traditions inherited from the Spanish court during Habsburg rule, Maximilian's upbringing was supervised by an aja (governess) until his sixth birthday. Afterwards, his education was entrusted to a tutor.^[12] Most of Maximilian's day was spent in study. The thirty-two hours per week of classes at age 7 steadily grew until it reached fifty-five hours per week by the time he was 17.^[13] The disciplines were diverse: ranging from history, geography, law and technology, to languages, military studies, fencing and diplomacy.^[13] In addition to his native German, he eventually learned to speak Hungarian, Slavonic, English, French, Italian and Spanish.^[14] From an early age, Maximilian tried to surpass his older brother Franz Joseph (Francis Joseph) in everything; attempting to prove to all that he was the better qualified and deserving of more than second place status.^[15]

The highly restrictive environment of the Austrian court was not enough to repress Maximilian's natural openness. He was joyful, highly charismatic and able to captivate those around him with ease. Although he was a charming boy, he was also undisciplined.^[16] He mocked his teachers and was often the instigator of pranks—even including his imbecile uncle, Emperor Ferdinand I, among his victims.^[17] Nonetheless Maximilian was very popular. His attempts to outshine his older brother and ability to charm opened a rift with the aloof and self-contained Franz Joseph that would widen as years passed, and the times when both were close friends in childhood would be all but forgotten.^[15]

In 1848, revolutions erupted across Europe. In face of protests and riots, Emperor Ferdinand I abdicated in favor of Maximilian's brother, who became Franz Joseph I.^[18][19] Maximilian accompanied him on campaigns to put down rebellions throughout the Empire.^[20][19] Only in 1849 would the revolution be stamped out in Austria, with hundreds of rebels executed and thousands imprisoned. Maximilian was horrified at what he regarded as senseless brutality and openly complained about it. He would later remark: "We call our age the Age of Enlightenment, but there are cities in Europe where, in the future, men will look back in horror and amazement at the injustice of tribunals, which in a spirit of vengeance condemned to death those whose only crime lay in wanting something different to the arbitrary rule of governments which placed themselves above the law."^[21][22]

Career in the Austrian Navy[link]

Travels[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

A beardless Maximilian at age 20, 1852

Ferdinand Max was a particularly clever boy who displayed considerable culture in his taste for the arts, and he demonstrated an early interest in science, especially botany. When he entered military service, he was trained in the Austrian Navy. He threw himself into this career with so much zeal that he quickly rose to high command.

At the age of twenty-two, Archduke Ferdinand Max took office as Commander-in-Chief of the Austrian Navy in 1854. Like Archduke Friedrich (1821–1847) before him, Ferdinand Max had a keen private interest in the fleet, and with him the Austrian naval force gained an influential supporter from the ranks of the Imperial Family. This was crucial as sea power was never a priority of the Austrian foreign policy and the navy itself was relatively little known or supported by the public. It was only able to draw significant public attention and funds when it was actively supported by an imperial prince. As Commander-in-Chief, Ferdinand Max carried out many reforms to modernise the naval forces, and was instrumental in creating the naval port at Trieste and Pola, now Pula as well as the battle fleet with which admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff would later secure his victories. He also initiated a large-scale scientific expedition (1857–1859) during which the frigate SMS Novara became the first Austrian warship to circumnavigate the globe.

Viceroy of Lombardy-Venetia[link]

In his political views, Archduke Ferdinand Max was very much influenced by the progressive ideas in vogue at the time. He had a reputation as a liberal, and this led, in February 1857, to his appointment as viceroy of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia.

On 27 July 1857, in Brussels (Belgium) Archduke Ferdinand Max married his second cousin, Princess Charlotte of Belgium (later known as Empress Carlota of Mexico), the daughter of Leopold I, King of the Belgians and Louise-Marie of France. She was first cousin to both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Ferdinand Max and Charlotte had no children together.

They lived as the Austrian regents in Milan or Viceroys of Lombardy-Venetia from 1857 until 1859, when Emperor Franz Josef dismissed Ferdinand Max from this post. The emperor was angered by the liberal policies pursued by his brother in Italy. Shortly after his dismissal, Austria lost control of most of its Italian possessions. Ferdinand Max then retired to Trieste, near which he built the castle, Miramare.

Emperor of Mexico[link]

Offer of the Mexican crown[link]

Maximilian receiving a Mexican delegation at Miramar Castle in Trieste, Italy.

Imperial Monogram

In 1859, Ferdinand Maximilian was first approached by Mexican monarchists — members of the Mexican aristocracy, led by local nobleman José Pablo Martínez del Río — with a proposal to become the Emperor of Mexico. He did not accept at first, but sought to satisfy his restless desire for adventure with a botanical expedition to the tropical forests of Brazil. However, after the French intervention in Mexico, under pressure from Napoleon III and after General Élie-Frédéric Forey's capture of Mexico City and the plebiscite which confirmed his proclamation of the empire, he consented to accept the crown in October 1863 (Ferdinand Maximilian was not told of the dubious nature of the plebiscite, which was held while French troops were occupying most of the territory). His decision involved the loss of all his nobility rights in Austria, though he was not informed of this until just before he left. Archduchess Charlotte was thereafter known as "Her Imperial Majesty Empress Carlota".

Reign in Mexico[link]

In April 1864, Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian conceded his duties as Commander-in-Chief of the Austrian Navy. He traveled from Trieste aboard the SMS Novara, escorted by the frigates SMS Bellona (Austrian) and Themis (French), and the Imperial yacht Phantasie led the warship procession from his palace at Miramare out to sea.^[23] They received a blessing from Blessed Pope Pius IX, and Queen Victoria ordered the Gibraltar garrison to fire a salute for Maximilian's passing ship.

The new emperor of Mexico landed at Veracruz on 21 May 1864 to wild enthusiasm from the crowds. He had the backing of Mexican conservatives and Napoleon III, but from the very outset he found himself involved in serious difficulties since the Liberal forces led by President Benito Juárez refused to recognize his rule. There was continuous warfare between his French troops and the Republicans.

Portrait as Emperor of Mexico, Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1864

The Imperial couple chose as their seat Mexico City. The Emperor and Empress set up their residence at Chapultepec Castle, located on the top of a hill formerly at the outskirts of Mexico City that had been a retreat of Aztec emperors. Maximilian ordered a wide avenue cut through the city from Chapultepec to the city center; originally named Paseo de la Emperatriz, it is today Mexico City's famous boulevard, Paseo de la Reforma. He also acquired a country retreat at Cuernavaca. The royal couple made plans to be crowned at the Catedral Metropolitana but, due to the constant instability of the regime, the coronation was never carried out. Maximilian was shocked by the living conditions of the poor in contrast to the magnificent haciendas of the upper class. Empress Carlota began holding parties for the wealthy Mexicans to raise money for poor houses. One of Maximilian's first acts as Emperor was to restrict working hours and abolish child labour. He cancelled all debts for peasants over 10 pesos, restored communal property and forbade all forms of corporal punishment. He also broke the monopoly of the Hacienda stores and decreed that henceforth peons could no longer be bought and sold for the price of their debt.

As Maximilian and Carlota had no children, they adopted Agustín de Iturbide y Green and his cousin Salvador de Iturbide y de Marzán, both grandsons of Agustín de Iturbide, who had briefly reigned as Emperor of Mexico in the 1820s. They gave young Agustín the title of "His Highness, the Prince of Iturbide" and intended to groom him as heir to the throne.

To the dismay of his conservative allies, Maximilian upheld several liberal policies proposed by the Juárez administration – such as land reforms, religious freedom, and extending the right to vote beyond the landholding class. At first, Maximilian offered Juárez an amnesty if he would swear allegiance to the crown, even offering the post as Prime Minister, which Juárez refused. Later, Maximilian ordered all captured followers of Juárez to be shot, in response to the Republican practice of executing anyone who was a supporter of the Empire. In the end, it proved to be a tactical mistake that only exacerbated opposition to his regime.

After the end of the American Civil War, the United States began supplying partisans of Juárez and his ally Porfirio Díaz by "losing" arms depots for them at El Paso del Norte at the Mexican border. The prospect of an US invasion to reinstate Juárez, and the inevitable bloodthirsty reprisals that Juárez was so famous for, caused a large number of Maximilian's loyal adherents to abandon the cause and leave the capital. Meanwhile, Maximilian invited ex-Confederates to move to Mexico in a series of settlements called the "Carlota Colony" and the New Virginia Colony with a dozen others being considered, a plan conceived by the internationally renowned U.S. Navy oceanographer and inventor Matthew Fontaine Maury. Maximilian also invited settlers from "any country" including Austria and the other German states.^[24]

Nevertheless, by 1866, the imminence of Maximilian's abdication seemed apparent to almost everyone outside Mexico. That year, Napoleon III withdrew his troops in the face of Mexican resistance and U.S. opposition under the Monroe Doctrine, as well as increasing his military contingent at home to face the ever growing Prussian military and Bismarck. Carlota travelled to Europe, seeking assistance for her husband's regime in Paris and Vienna and, finally, in Rome from Pope Pius IX. Her efforts failed, and she suffered a deep emotional collapse and never went back to Mexico. After her husband was executed by Republicans the following year, she spent the rest of her life in seclusion, never admitting her husband's death, first at Miramare Castle near Trieste, Italy, and then at Bouchout Castle in Meise, Belgium,^[25] where she died on 19 January 1927.^[26]

Downfall[link]

Last moments of Emperor Maximilian I of México.

Though urged to abandon Mexico by Napoleon III himself, whose troop withdrawal from Mexico was a great blow to the Mexican Imperial cause, Maximilian refused to desert his followers. Maximilian allowed his followers to determine whether or not he abdicated. Faithful generals such as Miguel Miramon, Leonardo Márquez, and Tomás Mejía vowed to raise an army that would challenge the invading Republicans. Maximilian fought on with his army of 8,000 Mexican loyalists. Withdrawing, in February 1867, to Santiago de Querétaro, he sustained a siege for several weeks, but on May 11 resolved to attempt an escape through the enemy lines. This plan was sabotaged by Colonel Miguel López who was bribed by the Republicans to open a gate and lead a raiding party though with the agreement that Maximilian would be allowed to escape.

The city fell on 15 May 1867 and Maximilian was captured the next morning after the failure of a courageous attempt to break through Republican lines by a loyal hussar cavalry brigade led by Felix Salm-Salm. Following a court-martial, he was sentenced to death. Many of the crowned heads of Europe and other prominent figures (including the eminent liberals Victor Hugo and Giuseppe Garibaldi) sent telegrams and letters to Mexico pleading for the Emperor's life to be spared. Although he liked Maximilian on a personal level,^[27] Juárez refused to commute the sentence in view of the Mexicans who had been killed fighting against Maximilian's forces, and because he believed it was necessary to send a message that Mexico would not tolerate any government imposed by foreign powers. The sentence was carried out in the Cerro de las Campanas on the morning of 19 June 1867, when Maximilian, along with Generals Miramón and Mejía, were executed by a firing squad. He spoke only in Spanish and gave his executioners a portion of gold not to shoot him in the head so that his mother could see his face. His last words were, "I forgive everyone, and I ask everyone to forgive me. May my blood which is about to be shed, be for the good of the country. Viva Mexico, viva la independencia!" Despite having taken the money, the Juarista firing squad shot him in the face.^[28] The two Mexican generals shot after him both died shouting, "Long live the Emperor."

Burial[link]

After his execution, Maximilian's body was embalmed and displayed in Mexico. Early the following year, the Austrian admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff was sent to Mexico aboard the SMS Novara to take the former emperor's body back to Austria. After arriving in Trieste, the coffin was taken to Vienna and buried in the Imperial Crypt on 18 January 1868.

Legacy[link]

Today Maximilian is considered somewhat of a Quixotic figure by Mexicans. Some thought he had no business being Emperor of Mexico, but he tried hard nonetheless, and most modern Mexicans think of him not as a hero or villain but as a man who tried to unite a country that did not want to be united.^{[citation needed]} The most lasting effect of his brief rule is the Paseo de la Reforma, an important street in Mexico City that he had ordered built.

Maximilian is portrayed in the 1934 Mexican film Juárez y Maximiliano by Enrique Herrera and the 1939 American film Juarez by Brian Aherne.

Titles, styles, honours and arms[link]

Styles of Maximilian I, Emperor of Mexico
Reference style	His Imperial Majesty
Spoken style	Your Imperial Majesty
Alternative style	Sire

Titles and styles[link]

• 6 July 1832 – 10 April 1864: His Imperial and Royal Highness The Serene Prince and Lord Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph, Archduke and Imperial Prince of Austria, Royal Prince of Hungary and Bohemia, Count of Habsburg, Prince of Lorraine, etc.
• 10 April 1864 – 19 June 1867: His Imperial Majesty The Emperor

Full title as Emperor[link]

His Imperial Majesty Don Maximiliano I (Maximilian I), By the Grace of God and will of the people, Emperor of Mexico.

Honors[link]

Emperor Maximilian I was Grand Master of the following Mexican Orders:

• Order of the Mexican Eagle
• Order of Saint Charles
• Order of Guadalupe

He was a recipient of the following foreign honors:

• Grand Cross of the Brazilian Order of the Southern Cross.
• Grand Cross of the Portuguese Order of the Tower and Sword.
• Grand Cross (First Class) of the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle.
• Grand Cross of the Hanoverian Royal Guelphic Order.
• Grand Cross of the Dutch Order of the Netherlands Lion.
• Grand Cross of the Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen.
• Grand Cross of the French Légion d'honneur.
• Grand Cross of the Sicilian Order of Saint Ferdinand and of Merit.
• Grand Cordon (military) of the Belgian Order of Leopold.
• Grand Cross of the Greek Order of the Redeemer.
• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Joseph of Tuscany.
• Grand Cross of the House Order of Henry the Lion of Brunswick.
• Grand Cross of the Philip the Magnanimous of Hesse.
• Grand Cross of the Order of Malta.
• Knight of the Prussian Order of the Black Eagle.
• Knight of the Sicilian Order of Saint Januarius.
• Knight of the House Order of Fidelity of Baden.
• Knight of the Bavarian Order of Saint Hubert.
• Knight (with collar) of the Swedish Royal Order of the Seraphim.
• Knight of the Austrian Order of the Golden Fleece.
• Knight of the Saxonian Order of the Rue Crown.
• Knight of the Hanoverian Order of St. George.
• Knight of the Russian Order of St. Alexander Nevsky.
• Knight (First Class) of the Russian Order of Saint Stanislaus.
• Knight of the Russian Order of the White Eagle.
• Knight of the Russian Order of St. Andrew.
• Knight (First Class) of the Russian Order of St. Anna.
• Knight (with collar) of the Prussian Order of the Black Eagle.

Genealogy[link]

Ancestry[link]

Endnotes[link]

Footnotes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Media related to Maximilian I of Mexico at Wikimedia Commons

• Recollections of my life by Maximilian I of Mexico Vol. I at archive.org
• Recollections of my life by Maximilian I of Mexico Vol. II at archive.org
• Recollections of my life by Maximilian I of Mexico Vol. III at archive.org