Monarch Profile: Emperor Maximilian of Mexico

The man who would be the last Emperor of Mexico was born Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph von Hapsburg-Lorraine on July 6, 1832 to Archduke Francis Charles of Austria (son of Emperor Francis II) and his wife Princess Sophie of Bavaria in Vienna, Austria at the Schoenbrunn Palace. His older brother, Francis Joseph, would go on to be the Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary but unlike his very disciplined and conservative brother, Archduke Max, from the very beginning, was known for being warm, friendly, romantic and keeping his head ever in the clouds. He loved the arts, botany, cataloging plants and flowers and catching butterflies. However, duty demanded military service and he joined the Austrian Imperial Navy.
The Archduke was only 22 when he took command with the rank of Grand Admiral but he took his position seriously, sincerely wanting to do his best in all endeavors. His leadership saw the creation of the port at Trieste, greatly reformed, modernized and improved the fleet, undertook a number of scientific expeditions, and a circumnavigation of the globe. The fleet he built would later be led to victory by Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff but the Archduke would not be around to see it. In 1857 he married Princess Charlotte of Belgium, daughter of Belgian King Leopold I, and although different in many ways the two seemed to complement each other and were utterly devoted to one another. With their, rather liberal for the time and place, ideas it was thought they might be a good match for Austria’s troublesome Italian possessions and the Archduke was made viceroy of Lombardy-Venetia.

However, though Maximilian loved the area and lavished his attention on it, his hands were often tied from Vienna and he could not rule his corner of the Hapsburg empire as he saw fit. This made him more susceptible to the offer of the throne of Mexico where the French troops of Napoleon III had recently taken Mexico City and allowed the return of a conservative government. A delegation arrived under leading Mexican traditionalists to offer the throne to the young Hapsburg, a descendant of Emperor Charles V. Emperor Francis Joseph did everything he could to stop his brother from accepting while his wife urged him to do so. The Archduke wavered for a time but was much more in-line with the thinking of his wife than his brother. He accepted and boarded ship for Mexico.

His doubts and worries melted away as he learned Spanish, adopted Mexican dress and customs and did everything he could to make himself thoroughly Mexican. This would be his great chance to prove himself and his ideas. With his supportive wife and the stabilizing presence of the French he would be the savior of Mexico and open a new era of enlightened monarchy in the New World. He would be grand without being remote, dignified without being snobby, he would stand apart and unite the feuding factions; bring unity out of division, order out of chaos, advancement from stagnation, prosperity from penury; his dreams for Mexican greatness were boundless. He would establish peaceful relations with the United States and the Empire of Brazil (which he had visited and much admired). Imperial Mexico would expand into Central America in his vision and he would build a powerful navy that would rule the Gulf of Mexico. As the USA dominated North America and the Brazilian Empire dominated South America his Mexican Empire would balance the two by dominating the middle. He would make Mexico City the most magnificent city in the world. Even his arrival on the Mexican coast and viewing the sad state of affairs did not interfere with his magnificent dream for the future.

Emperor Maximilian was welcomed by many but his impartial attitude and fair-mindedness often resulted in making enemies of both sides. Liberals dismissed him outright, even though they could be charmed by him and greatly admire him personally his status and his nationality made them oppose him. A number of conservatives also turned against him after he did not give in to all their demands and restore all of their favored status. The US never recognized his government and ignored all of his efforts to establish friendly relations. Thus, as soon as the War Between the States ended in a Union victory, the US was able to apply pressure to the French to get out of Mexico and start sending massive amounts of money, supplies, weapons, uniforms and even (unofficially) thousands of volunteers to Maximilian’s republican enemies. The Emperor tried to make peace with his leading antagonist, Benito Juarez, but his overtures were spurned.

After 1865 pressure from the US, financial problems and approaching difficulties at home caused Emperor Napoleon III to abandon Mexico and withdraw the French army. It was a betrayal of the agreement signed with Maximilian before he accepted the throne but nothing could be done about it. Napoleon advised Maximilian to leave with the French forces for his own safety as they was a vast segment of the population that shifted allegiance to whichever side seemed to be winning. Maximilian, however, refused. He may not have ever grasped the monotony of administration, the art of political intrigue, he certainly never understood finances and he may have been happier designing new avenues and monuments than dealing with government corruption, but, he was a Hapsburg and a man of honor. He had sworn an oath to God at his coronation and he refused to abandon his country and his people no matter the odds. He sent his wife to Europe in an effort to rally support and then marched north with his small army of Mexican loyalists for a climactic battle with the republicans that would settle the issue.

Between March and May of 1867 Emperor Maximilian and his army were besieged at Queretaro by a massive republican force. The Emperor displayed his generosity and courage on this occasion, many times exposing himself to danger and often sleeping wrapped in a blanket alongside the frontline soldiers. Finally, he was betrayed by Colonel Miguel Lopez who allowed a republican column to enter the city and the imperial defenses fell apart. Maximilian was given the opportunity to escape but would not abandon his faithful generals who would be killed because of their loyalty to him. After a short military show trial he was sentenced to death with his generals Tomas Mejia and Miguel Miramon. The three men were taken to the ‘Hill of Bells’ and executed by firing squad on June 19, 1867. Maximilian, who was only 34 years old, died shouting “Viva Mexico!” while his generals died shouting, “Viva el Emperador!”

People mourned across the world. For some it reiterated their prejudice that Mexico was simply a backward and barbaric country that Maximilian should have avoided. For others, even those who opposed the empire and supported republicanism and the revolution against Maximilian, it was a stain on their cause. In France it was a black mark on the record of Napoleon III who was held by many to have had the blood of Maximilian on his own hands just as much as Benito Juarez. However, the pain did not end there. The republican government in Mexico refused to return the body of the fallen emperor until the next year when an Austrian frigate carried his ruined remains back to Vienna to bury in the Hapsburg crypt. The Mexico he envisioned would never come to be and immediately after his downfall the country fell back again into the cycle of presidential tyrants, military coups, civil wars and revolutions.