The Last Emperor of Mexico: A Disaster in the New World

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You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here. Just seconds before the guns went off, Maximilian told his executioners, "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 México, viva la independencia!" Apparently, his words and gestures paid off: The men’s aim was true, and he perished almost instantly. The aftermath, however, was so much messier. At the end of 1855, he sought refuge for his ship in the Gulf of Trieste during poor sailing weather. He was impressed enough to immediately consider building a residence there, a goal which he actually carried out in March 1856, when he began construction of what would later be called Miramare Castle, located near the city of Trieste. With Maximilian's execution in 1867 by a firing squad of the Restored Republic, schemes and dreams of a royal head of state came to an end in Mexico. Historians are still assessing the period in Mexican history and Maximilian's role as well as that of the man he unsuccessfully aimed to depose, liberal president of the Mexican Republic, Benito Juárez. With Maximilian's execution, the second emperor of Mexico to have met that fate following that of Agustín I of Mexico, monarchism in Mexico ceased to be a goal of Mexican conservatives. [ citation needed]

Since Maximilian was a descendant of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain when the Spaniards conquered the Aztecs (1519–21) and brought Mexico into the Spanish Empire, until Mexican independence in 1821, Maximilian would seem to be a perfect candidate for the conservatives' plans for monarchy in Mexico, with his royal pedigree. [3] Maximilian was interested in assuming the throne, but with guarantees of French support. Mexican conservatives did not take sufficient account of Maximilian's embrace of liberalism, and Maximilian took insufficient account of being a foreign outsider, no matter how high-minded his plans might be. [4] At the time the idea of Maximilian as emperor of Mexico was first raised, it seemed farfetched, but circumstances changed making it a viable plan. His tenure as emperor was just three years, ending with his execution by firing squad by forces of the Restored Republic on 19 June 1867. Mexican diplomat José Hidalgo had been officially tasked by the Santa Anna administration to sound European courts for interest in establishing a Mexican monarchy, but after the fall of Santa Anna in 1853 with the successful liberal Revolution of Ayutla, Hidalgo had lost his official accreditation and continued his efforts independently. Hidalgo's childhood friend, the Spanish noblewoman Eugénie de Montijo was now wife of Napoleon III, Emperor of France, and it was through her that Hidalgo managed to gain the attention of the French ruler. Art 3 °. The crown prince will be called "Prince Imperial" and will have the treatment of Imperial Highness.

38. His Men Double-Crossed Him

Richter, William (2012). Historical Dictionary of the Civil War and Reconstruction. The Bancroft Company. p.429. Blasio, Jose Luis (1905). Maximiliano Intimo: El Emperador Maximiliano y su Corte. C. Bouret. p.96. Hyde, H. Montgomery (1946). Mexican Empire: The History of Maximilian and Carlota of Mexico. London: Macmillan & Co. The ensuing saga would feature the great world leaders of the day, popes, bandits and queens; intrigue, conspiracy and cut-throat statecraft, as Mexico became the pivotal battleground in the global balance of power, between Old Europe and the burgeoning force of the New World: American imperialism. McAllen, M. M. (April 2015). Maximilian and Carlota: Europe's Last Empire in Mexico. Trinity University Press. p.165. ISBN 978-1-59534-263-8.

The uber competitive Maximilian was probably over the moon about besting his brother in the bridal sweeps, but he was about to taste the bitterness of defeat. Maximilian's efforts in administering the province included a revision of the tax registry, a more equitable distribution of tax revenue, the establishment of medical districts, dredging the Venetian canals, expanding the port of Cuomo, draining swamps to put a stop to malaria, fertilization projects and the irrigation of the plains of Friuli. There was also a series of urban development projects. The Riva degli Schiavoni was extended to the royal gardens of Venice, while in Milan, the avenues gained priority, the Piazza del Duomo was widened, and a new piazza was built between the Teatro alla Scala and the Palazzo Marino. The Biblioteca Ambrosiana library was also restored. [63]Reuter, Paul H. (1965). "United States-French Relations Regarding French Intervention in Mexico: From the Tripartite Treaty to Querétaro". Southern Quarterly. 6 (4): 469–489. The engagement was formally concluded on 23 December 1856. On 27 July 1857 Maximilian and Charlotte were married in the Royal Palace of Brussels. Distinguished European royals attended the ceremony, including the first cousin of Charlotte and husband of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert. The marriage also enhanced the prestige of the newly established Belgian dynasty as the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha once more found itself allied with the powerful House of Habsburg. [45] McAllen, M.M. (8 January 2014). Maximilian and Carlota: Europe's Last Empire in Mexico. Trinity University Press. p.142. ISBN 9781595341853. Harding, Bertita (1934). Phantom Crown: The Story of Maximilian & Carlota of Mexico. New York: Blue Ribbon Books. ISBN 1434468925.