Although Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph von Habsburg-Lothringen (July 6, 1832 – June 19, 1867) was born as an Austrian archduke, he became the emperor of Mexico. He was politically astute, educated, and well-traveled. He almost ascended to the Austrian throne and could have become the king of Greece and Poland. Thanks to French Emperor Napoleon III, he became the second emperor of Mexico 160 years ago. He wanted to be a reformist ruler. His liberal policies alienated many an ally. His reign culminated in 1867 with a personal tragedy for Maximilian and his loyal followers.
He was the central figure of the Second Mexican Empire. Before he took the Mexican imperial throne 160 years ago, he dreamt of a great and modern empire. He did not anticipate that it would lead to his demise. Before arriving in Mexico and being crowned, he organized a much-questioned plebiscite. While major European states recognized the Mexican Empire, the USA still acknowledged President Benito Juárez as the legitimate ruler. Likely because Napoleon III’s plans to restore France’s presence in America and the regime change aimed at limiting US power conflicted with the Monroe Doctrine.
Complicated times
Maximilian took the throne during tumultuous times in Mexican history. Bloody political conflicts during the civil war culminated in foreign intervention efforts after the defeat of the conservatives. The situation deteriorated when President Benito Juárez decided to suspend the repayment of foreign debts to three European creditors led by France. This opened the way for France to intervene militarily, politically, and economically in Mexico and, with the support of local conservatives, establish a new puppet regime. The Mexican Catholic Church, part of the nobility, and some indigenous communities welcomed Maximilian Habsburg‘s nomination and later installation as emperor of Mexico.
He built the fairytale Miramare Castle near Trieste.
Equality and justice
The civil war tensions marked the entire period of the empire. Moreover, Maximilian did not retain the support of the church and conservatives for long. The reason was his liberal policies and reforms, which continued in the vein of the major liberal measures of Juárez’s government. Maximilian dreamed of building a successful and modern monarchy in Mexico characterized by equality, justice, and prosperity for all. He also prepared many humanitarian projects, which later fell apart due to the war. His reforms touched on administrative division and systems of governance, but mainly focused on the social and economic spheres. He advocated several political ideas proposed by liberals during Juárez’s administration. These included agrarian reforms, freedom of religion and press, and the expansion of suffrage. He supported the expropriation of church properties and returning land to the indigenous people, as well as equality for all before the law. He introduced progressive labor legislation, limited working hours, and abolished child labor. He also took an interest in the living conditions of indigenous people on large farming estates. He reformed the education system, which he wanted to make accessible to all Mexicans. He also built palaces with gardens, established an academy of sciences, several museums, and an imperial theater. Maximilian wanted to join forces with Benito Juárez for the good of his nation, but Juárez refused.
End of his dreams
When the USA grew stronger after the Civil War, Napoleon III changed his rhetoric and withdrew from Mexico. Maximilian considered abdication but first sought support from the Pope and Napoleon again. Although help did not arrive, the emperor stayed in Mexico and continued fighting alongside volunteers with a handful of supporters until he was captured in Querétaro on May 15, 1867. He was brought before a military court. European rulers and prominent figures asked Juárez for clemency. In vain. Maximilian was executed along with Mexican generals Miramón and Mejía on the morning of June 19, 1867. Emperor Franz Joseph requested his brother’s body from the Mexican government, which arrived in Vienna only several months later. It was brought to the Austrian capital under the leadership of Admiral Tegetthoff through Trieste. However, rumors persist to this day that Maximilian lived out his life in San Salvador as the successful but mysterious Justo Armas.
Maximilian was a philanthropist and an educated man. He spoke ten languages, including Spanish, Czech, and Hungarian. He wanted his decrees to be understood by ordinary people, so he also published them in the Aztec language Nahuatl.
DREAM OF AN ENDLESS EMPIRE
In 1863, Napoleon III, together with the Mexican aristocracy in exile, organized an official meeting of
the future emperor with a delegation of Mexican nobility at Miramare Castle in Trieste. The nobles offered him the crown, which he accepted. He sent his aide Juan del Valle, a descendant of the prominent Mexican family Suárez de Peredo, to Mexico to thoroughly examine Maximilian’s new homeland and its social, political, economic, and cultural conditions. The following period was marked not only by preparations for the journey and dreams of reforms but also by a difficult struggle about his succession rights to the Austrian throne. Ultimately, although reluctantly, Maximilian agreed to relinquish his rights. Franz Joseph I allowed him to recruit a volunteer corps, as did King Leopold I of Belgium, Maximilian’s father-in-law.
