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Second Mexican Empire

The Second Mexican Empire (Spanish: Segundo Imperio Mexicano), officially the Mexican Empire (Spanish: Imperio Mexicano), was a constitutional monarchy established in Mexico by Mexican monarchists in conjunction with the Second French Empire. The period is sometimes referred to as the Second French intervention in Mexico. Emperor Napoleon III of France, with the support of the Mexican conservatives, clergy, and nobility, established a monarchist ally in the Americas intended as a restraint upon the growing power of the United States.[6] It has been viewed as both an independent Mexican monarchy [1][7][8] and as a client state of France.[9][10] Elected as the emperor of Mexico was Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, chosen due to his ancestral link to prior rulers of Mexico. His wife and empress consort of Mexico was the Belgian princess Charlotte of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, known as ‘Carlota’.

Second Mexican Empire
Segundo Imperio Mexicano
Second Empire Mexicain
1864–1867
Flag
Top: State Flag
Bottom: Imperial Standard
Motto: Equidad en la Justicia
"Equity in Justice"
Territory of the Second Mexican Empire upon establishment
StatusIndependent monarchy,[1][2][3] Client state of France
CapitalMexico City
Common languagesSpanish
Religion
Roman Catholicism (official religion)[4]
GovernmentFederal parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Emperor 
• 1864–1867
Maximilian I
Regency 
• 1863–1864
Juan Almonte, José Salas, Pelagio de Labastida
Prime Minister[5] 
• 1864–1866
José María Lacunza
• 1866–1867
Teodosio Lares
• 1867
Santiago Vidaurri
Historical eraNew Imperialism
8 December 1861
• Maximilian I accepts Mexican crown
10 April 1864
• Emperor Maximilian I executed
19 June 1867
CurrencyPeso
ISO 3166 codeMX
Today part ofMexico

Mexican conservatives, including many in the Mexican nobility, had played a role in instigating the re-birth of the Empire—adding an element of civil war to the French Intervention. The Imperialists were able to gain control of most of the nation but supporters of the Mexican Republic continued to wage war against the Empire. During his short reign, Maximilian's liberal ideals alienated him from his conservative supporters, but he gained limited support from moderate liberals, and attempted to pass sweeping reforms for the nation.

Maximilian I of Mexico by Winterhalter, 1864. This portrait hangs in Chapultepec Castle.

French troops began to withdraw in 1866, after considering the war to be unwinnable and due to the priority of addressing a rising Prussia in the aftermath of its victory in the Austro-Prussian War. The United States refused to recognize the Empire, and after the end of its own civil war in 1865, began to provide support to Mexican republican forces and the Empire came to an end on 19 June 1867 when Maximilian was executed by the government of the restored Mexican republic, along with his two leading Mexican generals, Mejía and Miramón.

History

Mexican monarchism

After a decade of warfare, Mexico gained its independence under the leadership of Agustín de Iturbide who united insurgents and Spanish loyalists with the Plan of Iguala, a compromise which promised independence for Mexico as a monarchy (First Mexican Empire), and also invited a member of Spanish royalty to assume the newly established Mexican throne. After the offer was refused by the Spanish government, congress began to search for an emperor within the country. After an armed demonstration by his regiment from the War for Independence, the Mexican congress elected Iturbide as the first Mexican emperor. Iturbide in his attempts to govern, struggled to find funds to pay the army and the rest of the government, and shut congress down, accusing them of obstructionism and idleness, eventually leading to a military uprising against Iturbide and his subsequent abdication. The idea of a monarchy had been discredited for a time, but the idea did not disappear, as many of the disorders associated with the First Empire continued well into the Republican era.

French observers began expressing interest in the idea of a Mexican monarchy as early as 1830. Lorenzo de Zavala claimed that in that year, he was approached by a foreign agent hoping to recruit him in a plan to place an Orléans monarch upon a Mexican throne.[11] In 1840 José María Gutiérrez Estrada wrote a monarchist essay endorsing the idea of a legitimate European monarch being invited to govern Mexico. The pamphlet was addressed to the conservative president Bustamante, who rejected the idea.[12] French diplomats tended to sympathize with the Conservatives in Mexico, Victor de Broglie opining that monarchy was a form of government more suited to Mexico at the time and François Guizot giving a positive review of Estrada's pamphlet. [13]

A monarchist faction in 1846 promoted the idea of establishing a foreign prince at the head of the Mexican government, and president Paredes was viewed as being sympathetic to monarchism, but the project was not pursued due to the more pressing matter of the American invasion of Mexico. The candidate being proposed at the time was the Spanish prince, Don Enrique. [14]

The last official Mexican effort to explore the possibility of establishing a monarchy occurred under the presidency of Santa Anna in the early 1850s, when conservative minister Lucas Alamán directed monarchist diplomats José María Gutiérrez de Estrada and Jose Manuel Hidalgo to seek a European candidate for the Mexican throne. With the overthrow of Santa Anna's government in 1855, these efforts lost their official support and yet Estrada and Hidalgo continued their efforts independently.

Role of France

 
Mexican Delegation: Back Row: José Hidalgo, Antonio Escandón, Ángel Domínguez, Antonio Peredo, Adrian Woll, Jose Maria de Landa. Front Row: Ignacio Marocho, José María Gutiérrez de Estrada, Francisco Morfi, Joaquín de León.

Estrada and Hidalgo managed to get the attention of Napoleon III, and the Emperor eventually came to support the idea of reviving the Mexican monarchy. Prior to 1861 any interference in the affairs of Mexico by European powers would have been viewed in the U.S as a challenge to the Monroe Doctrine. In 1861 however, the U.S. was embroiled in its own conflict, the American Civil War, which made the U.S. government powerless to intervene. When on July, 1861 Mexican President Benito Juárez declared a two-year moratorium on Mexican debt to France among other nations, Napoleon finally had a pretext. Encouraged by Empress Eugenie, who saw herself as the champion of the Catholic Church in Mexico, Napoleon III took advantage of the situation.

 
The Offering of the Mexican Crown by a Mexican delegation, Miramare Castle, 1863.

Napoleon III saw the opportunity to make France the great modernizing influence in the Western Hemisphere, as well as enabling the country to capture the South American markets. To give him further encouragement, there was his half brother, the duc de Morny, who was the largest holder of Mexican bonds.

French troops landed in December, 1861, and began military operations on April, 1862. They were eventually joined by conservative Mexican generals who had never been entirely defeated in the War of Reform.[15] After Charles de Lorencez's small expeditionary force was repulsed at the Battle of Puebla, reinforcements were sent and placed under the command of Élie Forey. The capital was taken by June, 1863 and the French now sought to establish a friendly Mexican government. Forey appointed a committee of thirty five Mexicans, the Junta Superior who then elected three Mexican citizens to serve as the government's executive: Juan Nepomuceno Almonte, José Mariano Salas, and Pelagio Antonio de Labastida. In turn this triumvirate then selected two hundred fifteen Mexican citizens to form together with the Junta Superior, an Assembly of Notables.[16]

The Assembly met on July, 1863 and resolved to invite Ferdinand Maximilian to be Emperor of Mexico. The executive triumvirate was formally changed into the Regency of the Mexican Empire. An official delegation left Mexico and arrived in Europe on October. Meanwhile in Europe, Maximilian was making final arrangements with France. He requested a plebiscite to ratify the establishment of the Empire by the Assembly of Notables. The referendum was granted, and the result was affirmative, although critics viewed it as illegitimate and suspect due to being conducted by the occupying French authorities. Maximilian also rebuffed French efforts to outright annex the state of Sonora, an act which would later be used in his trial to defend against the accusation that Maximilian had been a French puppet.[17] Maximilian formally accepted the crown on 10 April 1864, and set sail for Mexico, arriving in Veracruz on 28 May and reaching the capital on 12 June.

Maximilian's reign

Maximilian and Carlota were crowned at the Cathedral of Mexico City.[18][19][20] On his arrival in the summer of 1864 Maximilian declared a political amnesty for all liberals who wished to join the Empire, and his conciliation efforts eventually won over moderate liberals such as José Fernando Ramírez, José María Lacunza, Manuel Orozco y Berra, and Santiago Vidaurri.[21] His first priorities included reforming his ministries and reforming the Imperial Mexican Army, the latter of which was impeded upon by Bazaine in an effort to consolidate French control of the nation.[22]

On August, Maximilian took a state trip through the nation while Carlota reigned as regent, going to Querétaro, Guanajuato, and Michoacán, giving public audiences and visiting officials, even celebrating Mexican independence by commemorating the Cry of Dolores, in the actual town where it took place.[23]

In December a Papal Nuncio arrived in order to arrange a concordat with the Empire to revise the Reform laws previously passed by the Mexican government that had nationalized Catholic Church property. Maximilian wished to maintain Catholicism as the state religion, and yet preferred to keep the reform laws intact, and also introduce religious toleration, measures which disillusioned his conservative and clerical supporters.[24]

Military hostilities

In April 1865, the U.S. Civil War ended, and while the American government was reluctant at the time to enter upon a conflict with France to enforce the Monroe Doctrine, official American sympathy remained with the deposed Mexican president Benito Juárez. The U.S. government refused to recognize the Empire and also ignored Maximilian's correspondence.[25] In December, a thirty million dollar private American loan was approved for Juarez, and American volunteers kept joining the Mexican republican troops.[26] An unofficial American raid occurred near Brownsville, and Juarez's minister to the United States, Matías Romero, proposed that General Grant or General Sherman intervene in Mexico to help the liberals.[27] The United States refrained from direct military intervention, but put diplomatic pressure on France to leave Mexico. [28]

A concentration of French troops in the northern republican strongholds of Mexico only led to a surge of republican guerrilla activity in the south. While French troops controlled major cities, guerrillas continued to be a major military threat in the countryside. In an effort to combat the increasing violence and in a belief that Juarez was outside of the nation already, Maximilian in October signed a decree authorizing the court martial and execution of anyone found either aiding or participating with the guerrillas. The harsh measure was hardly unprecedented in Mexican history even resembling an 1862 measure by Juarez,[29] but it proved to be widely reviled, being branded the Black Decree, and contributing to the growing unpopularity of the Empire.[30]

Fall of the Empire

 
Photograph of the Execution of Maximilian I of Mexico, and Generals Miramón and Mejía. Left to right: Mejía, Miramón, and Maximilian.

In January 1866, seeing the war as unwinnable Napoleon declared to the French Chambers that he intended to withdraw the French military from Mexico. Maximilian's request for more aid or at least a delay in troop withdrawals was declined because a possible war against Prussia was coming. Carlota arrived in Europe in an attempt to plead for the Empire's cause, but was unable to gain more support. The failure of her mission apparently caused her to go insane, and she would spend the rest of her life in Belgium, living until 1927.

In October Maximilian moved his cabinet to Orizaba and was widely rumored to be leaving the nation. He contemplated abdication, and on 25 November held a council of his ministers to address the crisis faced by the Empire. They narrowly voted against abdication and Maximilian headed back towards the capital.[31] He intended to appeal to the nation in order to hold a national assembly which would then decide what form of government the Mexican nation was to take. Such a measure however would require a ceasefire from Juarez who had no intention of conceding to someone whom he viewed as a usurper.

As the national assembly project fell through Maximilian decided to focus on military operations and in February as the last of the French troops were leaving, the Emperor headed for the city of Querétaro to join the bulk of his Mexican troops, numbering about 10,000 men. The liberal generals Escobedo and Corona converged on Querétaro with 40,000 men and yet the city held out until being betrayed by an imperial officer who opened the gates to the liberals on 15 May.[32]

Maximilian was captured and placed on trial with his leading generals Mejía and Miramon. All three were tried, sentenced to death and later executed on 19 June.

Government

 
A delegation of the Kickapoo people being received at the royal court.

A provisional statute was published in 1865, which laid the basic framework of the government. The emperor was to govern through nine ministries: of the Imperial Household, of State, of Foreign Relations, of War, of Government or Interior, of the Treasury, of Justice, of Public Instruction and Worship, and of Development. These ministries (except that of the Imperial Household) composed the Council of Ministers, which discussed the affairs that the emperor referred to them. The emperor had the power to appoint the Minister of the Imperial Household and the Minister of State, and in turn, the Minister of State, which was ex officio the President of the Council of Ministers, was to appoint the rest of the Ministers.[33] A Council of State was given the power to frame bills and give advice to the emperor, and a separate private cabinet, serving as the emperor's liaison, was divided into civil and military affairs. Empress Carlota was given the right to serve as regent if under certain circumstances Maximilian was to be unavailable,[34] making her the first woman to ever govern Mexico.[35][36][37]

During his short reign, Maximilian issued eight volumes of laws covering all aspects of government, including forest management, railroads, roads, canals, postal services, telegraphs, mining, and immigration.[38][39] The emperor passed legislation guaranteeing equality before the law and freedom of speech, and laws meant to defend the rights of laborers, especially that of the Indians. Maximilian attempted to pass a law guaranteeing the natives a living wage and outlawing corporal punishment for them, along with limiting their inheritance of debts. The measures faced backlash from the cabinet, but were ultimately passed during one of Carlota's regencies.[40] Labor laws in Yucatán actually became harsher on workers after the fall of the Empire.[41] A national system of free schools was also planned based on the German gymnasia and the emperor founded an academy of science and literature.[42] Laws were published both in Spanish and in Nahuatl, the Aztec language, and Maximilian appointed leading Nahuatl scholar Faustino Galicia as an advisor to his government.[43]

On Sundays at Chapultepec Palace, Maximilian and Carlota frequently held audiences with people from all social and economic segments, including Mexico's Indigenous Communities.[44] The Empire placed an emphasis on culture, and Maximilian commissioned Mexican painters Rafael Flores, Santiago Rebull, Juan Urruchi, and Petronilo Monroy, to produce works depicting Mexican history, religious subjects, and portraits of Mexican rulers, including the imperial sovereigns themselves.[45] The prefects governing the provinces were instructed to protect archeological artifacts and Maximilian wrote to Europe asking the return of native artifacts that had been taken out of the country during the Spanish conquest, including articles that had belonged to Moctezuma II, and an Aztec codex.[46]

Maximilian intended to aid the development of the country by opening up the nation to immigration, regardless of race. An immigration agency was set up to promote immigration from the United States, the Confederate States, Europe, and Asia. Colonists were to be granted citizenship at once, and gained exemption from taxes for the first year, and an exemption from military services for five years.[47] Some of the most prominent colonization settlements were the Villa Carlota and the New Virginia Colony.

Emperor Maximilian also established the Imperial Order of the Mexican Eagle as an award for extraordinary merits and services to the empire, for outstanding civil or military service, and outstanding achievements in the fields of science and art. It was considered the highest and most exclusive award during the Second Mexican Empire.

Economy

Railways

 
Mexican Railway, Bridge by José María Velasco Gómez 1877.

One of the main challenges encountered by the Emperor was the lack of sufficient infrastructure to link the different parts of the realm. The main goal was connecting the port of Veracruz and the capital in Mexico City. In 1857, Don Antonio Escandón secured the right to build a line from the port of Veracruz to Mexico City and on to the Pacific Ocean. Revolution and political instability stifled progress on the financing or construction of the line until 1864, when, under the regime of Emperor Maximilian, the Imperial Mexican Railway Company began construction of the line. Political upheaval continued to stifle progress, and the initial segment from Veracruz to Mexico City was inaugurated nine years later on 1 January 1873 by President Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada.[citation needed]

In 1857 the original proprietors of the government concession, the Masso Brothers, inaugurated on 4 July the train service from Tlatelolco, in México City, to the nearby town of Guadalupe Hidalgo.[48] Eventually they ran out of funds and decided to sell it to Manuel Escandón and Antonio Escandón.[49] The Escandón Brothers continued working and the project, and Antonio Escandón visited the United States and England in the last months of the year. In the first country, he hired Andrew Talcott, and in the latter, he sold company stock. Exploration of a route from Orizaba to Maltrata was performed by engineers Andrew H. Talcott and Pascual Almazán.[citation needed]

During the French intervention, part of the railways were destroyed. The only option available was the establishment of a pact between the French Army, and the two companies of the Escandón Brothers. The French Army was to provide a subsidy to the companies of 120 000 francs a month for the works, and the companies were to establish service from Veracruz to Soledad para by May, actually concluding on 15 August 1862, concluding 41 kilometres of tracks. Next they reached the Camarón station, with a length of 62 kilometres. By 16 October 1864 they reached Paso del Macho with a length of 76 kilometres.[50]

On 19 September 1864, the Imperial Mexican Railway Company (Compañía Limitada del Ferrocarril Imperial Mexicano) was Incorporated in London to complete the earlier projects and continued construction on this line. Escandón ceded his privileges to the new company. Smith, Knight and Co. was later contracted in 1864 by the Imperial Mexican Railway to continue work on the line from Mexico City to Veracruz.[51] William Elliot was employed as Chief Assistant for three years on the construction of about 70 miles of the heaviest portion of the Mexican Railway, after which he returned to England. He had several years of experience building railways in England, India, and Brazil. In this last country, he held the position of Engineer-in-Chief of the province of São Paulo.[52]

Maximiliano I hired engineer M Lyons for the construction of the line from La Soledad to Monte del Chiquihuite, later on joining the line from Veracruz to Paso del Macho.[53] Works were begun in Maltrata, at the same time that the works from Veracruz and Mexico City kept moving forward. By the end of the Empire in June 1867, 76 kilometers from Veracruz to Paso del Macho were functional (part of the concession to Lyons) and the line from Mexico City reached Apizaco with 139 km.[54][circular reference]

Banking

 
Maximillian planned the monument to Christopher Columbus for the grand boulevard, now called Paseo de la Reforma. It was built during the regime of Porfirio Díaz.

Before 1864, there was no banking in Mexico. Credits were obtained from religious orders and merchant guilds. During the French Intervention, the branch of a British bank was opened. The London Bank of Mexico and South America Ltd began operations with a capital of two and a half million pesos. It belonged to the Baring Brothers Group, and had its head office in the corner of the Capuchinas and Lerdo Streets in Downtown Mexico City.[55]

Foreign trade

At the beginning of the American Civil War, the city of Matamoros was simply a sleepy little border town across the Rio Grande from Brownsville.[56] It had, for several years, been considered a port, but it had relatively few ships arriving. Previous to the war, accounts mention that not over six ships entered the port each year.[57] Nevertheless, in about four years, Matamoros, due to its proximity to Texas, was to assume state as a port, and multiply its inhabitants in number. Following is a quote from a Union general in 1865 describing the importance of the port in Matamoros:

Matamoros is to the rebellion west of the Mississippi what New York is to the United States—its great commercial and financial center, feeding and clothing the rebellion, arming and equipping, furnishing it materials of war and a specie basis of circulation that has almost displaced Confederate paper...The entire Confederate Government is greatly sustained by resources from this port.[58]

The cotton trade brought together in Bagdad, Tamaulipas and Matamoros over 20,000 speculators from the Union and the Confederacy, England, France, and Germany.[59] Bagdad had grown from a small, seashore town to a "full-pledge town."[60] The English-speaking population in the area by 1864 was so great that Matamoros even had a newspaper printed in English—it was called the Matamoros Morning Call.[61] In addition, the port exported cotton to England and France, where millions of people needed it for their daily livelihood,[62] and it was possible to receive fifty cents per pound in gold for cotton, when it cost about three cents in the Confederacy, "and much more money was received for it laid down in New York and European ports."[63] Other sources mention that the port of Matamoros traded with London, Havana, Belize, and New Orleans.[64][65] The Matamoros and New York City trade agreement, however, continued throughout the war and until 1864, and it was considered "heavy and profitable."[66]

By 1865, Matamoros was described as a prosperous town of 30,000 people,[67] and Lew Wallace informed General Ulysses S. Grant that neither Baltimore or New Orleans could compare itself to the growing commercial activity of Matamoros.[57] Nevertheless, after the collapse of the Confederacy, "gloom, despondency, and despair" became evident in Matamoros—markets shut down, business almost ceased to exist, and ships were rarely seen.[68] "For Sale" signs began to sprout up everywhere, and Matamoros returned to its role of a sleepy little border town across the Rio Grande.[69]

The conclusion of the American Civil War brought a severe crisis to the now abandoned Port of Bagdad, a crisis that until this day the port has never recovered from.[70] In addition, a tremendous hurricane in 1889 destroyed the desolated port. This same hurricane was one of the many hurricanes during the period of devastating hurricanes of 1870 to 1889, which reduced the population of Matamoros to nearly half its size, mounting with it another upsetting economic downturn.[71][72]

Territorial division

 
Departments of the Second Mexican Empire.

Maximilian I wanted to reorganize the territory following scientific criteria, instead of following historical ties, traditional allegiances and the interests of local groups. The task of designing this new division was given to Manuel Orozco y Berra.

This task was realized according to the following criteria:

  • The territory should be divided in at least fifty departments,
  • Whenever possible, natural boundaries shall be preferred,
  • For the territorial extension of each department, the configuration of the terrain, climate and elements of production were taken into consideration so that in due time, they could have a roughly equal number of inhabitants.[73]

On 13 March 1865, the new Law on the territorial division of the Mexican Empire was published.[74] The Empire was divided into 50 departments, though not every department was ever able to be administered due to the ongoing war.

Legacy

In spite of the Empire lasting only a few years, the results of Maximilian's construction projects survived him and remain prominent Mexico City landmarks in the present day.

For his royal residence, Maximilian decided to renovate a former viceregal villa in Mexico City, which was also notable for being the site of a battle during the U.S. invasion of Mexico. The result would be Chapultepec Castle, the only castle in North America ever to be used by actual royalty. After the fall of the empire, Chapultepec Castle served as the official resident of the Mexican president up until 1940, when it was converted into a museum.[75]

In order to connect the palace to the government offices in Mexico city, Maximilian also built a prominent road which he called Paseo de la Emperatriz (The Empress' Promenade). After the fall of the Empire, the government renamed it Paseo de la Reforma (Promenade of the Reform) to commemorate La Reforma. In the present, it continues to be one of the most prominent avenues of the capital and is lined with civic monuments.[76]

The bolillo, a type of bread widespread in Mexican cuisine, was brought to the country by Maximilian's cooks, and remains another legacy of the Imperial Era.[77]

Today, the Second Mexican Empire is advocated by small far-right groups like the Nationalist Front of Mexico, whose followers believe the Empire to have been a legitimate attempt to deliver Mexico from the hegemony of the United States. They are reported to gather every year at Querétaro, the place where Maximilian and his generals were executed.[78]

In popular culture

The 1970 film Two Mules for Sister Sara was set in Mexico during the years of the Second Mexican Empire. The two main characters, played by Clint Eastwood and Shirley MacLaine, aided a Mexican resistance force and ultimately led them to overpower a French garrison.

The 1969 film The Undefeated starring John Wayne and Rock Hudson portrays events during the French Intervention in Mexico and was also loosely based on the escape of Confederate General Sterling Price to Mexico after the American Civil War and his attempt to join with Maximilian's forces.

The 1965 film Major Dundee starring Charlton Heston and Richard Harris featured Union cavalry (supplemented by Galvanized Yankees) crossing into Mexico and fighting French forces towards the end of the American Civil War.

The 1954 film Vera Cruz was also set in Mexico and has an appearance of Maximilian having a target shooting competition with Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster's character at Chapultepec Castle. Maximilian was played by George Macready, who at 54 was twenty years older than the Emperor was in 1866.

The 1939 film Juarez featured Paul Muni as Benito Juárez, Bette Davis as Empress Carlota, and Brian Aherne as Emperor Maximilian. It was based, in part, on Bertita Harding's novel The Phantom Crown (1937).

In the Southern Victory Series by Harry Turtledove, Maximilian's Empire survives the turmoil of the 1860s into the 20th century due to the Confederate States emerging victorious in its battle against the United States in the "War of Secession".

The 1990 novel The Difference Engine, co-authored by William Gibson and Bruce Stirling, is set in an alternate 1855 where the timeline diverged in 1824 with Charles Babbage's completion of the difference engine. One consequence is the occupation of Mexico by the Second French Empire with Napoleon III as the de facto emperor instead of the installation of Emperor Maximilian.

In Mexican popular culture, there have been soap operas like "El Carruaje" (1967), plays, films, and historical novels such as Fernando del Paso's Noticias del Imperio (1987). Biographies, memoirs, and novels have been published since the 1860s, and among the most recent have been Prince Michael of Greece's The Empress of Farewells, available in various languages.

See also

References

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Bibliography

  • Bancroft, Hubert Howe (1887). History of Mexico Volume VI 1861-1887. San Francisco: The History Company. pp. 171–173.
  • Barker, Nancy N. : The Factor of 'Race' in the French Experience in Mexico, 1821–1861", in: HAHR, no. 59:1, pp. 64–80.
  • Blumbeg. Arnold: The Diplomacy of the Mexican Empire, 1863–1867. Florida: Krueger, 1987.
  • Corti, Egon Caesar: Maximilian and Charlotte of Mexico, translated from the German by Catherine Alison Phillips. 2 Volumes. New York: Knopf, 1928.
  • Cunningham, Michele. Mexico and the Foreign Policy of Napoleon III (2001) 251p. online PhD version
  • Pani, Erika: "Dreaming of a Mexican Empire: The Political Projects of the 'Imperialist'", in: HAHR, no. 65:1, pp. 19–49.
  • Hanna, Alfred Jackson, and Kathryn Abbey Hanna. Napoleon III and Mexico: American triumph over monarchy (1971).
  • Ibsen, Kristine (2010). Maximilian, Mexico, and the Invention of Empire. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press. ISBN 978-0-8265-1688-6.
  • McAllen, M. M. (2015). Maximilian and Carlota: Europe's Last Empire in Mexico. San Antonio: Trinity University Press. ISBN 978-1-59534-183-9. excerpt
  • Ridley, Jasper (2001). Maximilian & Juarez. London: Phoenix Press. ISBN 1-84212-150-2.

External links

  Media related to Second Mexican Empire at Wikimedia Commons

  • Mexico: the French intervention and the 2nd Empire, 1862-1867

second, mexican, empire, earlier, monarchy, mexico, first, mexican, empire, spanish, segundo, imperio, mexicano, officially, mexican, empire, spanish, imperio, mexicano, constitutional, monarchy, established, mexico, mexican, monarchists, conjunction, with, se. For the earlier monarchy in Mexico see First Mexican Empire The Second Mexican Empire Spanish Segundo Imperio Mexicano officially the Mexican Empire Spanish Imperio Mexicano was a constitutional monarchy established in Mexico by Mexican monarchists in conjunction with the Second French Empire The period is sometimes referred to as the Second French intervention in Mexico Emperor Napoleon III of France with the support of the Mexican conservatives clergy and nobility established a monarchist ally in the Americas intended as a restraint upon the growing power of the United States 6 It has been viewed as both an independent Mexican monarchy 1 7 8 and as a client state of France 9 10 Elected as the emperor of Mexico was Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian of the House of Habsburg Lorraine chosen due to his ancestral link to prior rulers of Mexico His wife and empress consort of Mexico was the Belgian princess Charlotte of the House of Saxe Coburg and Gotha known as Carlota Second Mexican EmpireSegundo Imperio Mexicano Second Empire Mexicain1864 1867FlagTop State FlagBottom Imperial Standard Imperial Coat of armsMotto Equidad en la Justicia Equity in Justice Territory of the Second Mexican Empire upon establishmentStatusIndependent monarchy 1 2 3 Client state of FranceCapitalMexico CityCommon languagesSpanishReligionRoman Catholicism official religion 4 GovernmentFederal parliamentary constitutional monarchyEmperor 1864 1867Maximilian IRegency 1863 1864Juan Almonte Jose Salas Pelagio de LabastidaPrime Minister 5 1864 1866Jose Maria Lacunza 1866 1867Teodosio Lares 1867Santiago VidaurriHistorical eraNew Imperialism Second French Intervention8 December 1861 Maximilian I accepts Mexican crown10 April 1864 Emperor Maximilian I executed19 June 1867CurrencyPesoISO 3166 codeMXPreceded by Succeeded bySecond Federal Republic of Mexico Restored RepublicToday part ofMexicoMexican conservatives including many in the Mexican nobility had played a role in instigating the re birth of the Empire adding an element of civil war to the French Intervention The Imperialists were able to gain control of most of the nation but supporters of the Mexican Republic continued to wage war against the Empire During his short reign Maximilian s liberal ideals alienated him from his conservative supporters but he gained limited support from moderate liberals and attempted to pass sweeping reforms for the nation Maximilian I of Mexico by Winterhalter 1864 This portrait hangs in Chapultepec Castle French troops began to withdraw in 1866 after considering the war to be unwinnable and due to the priority of addressing a rising Prussia in the aftermath of its victory in the Austro Prussian War The United States refused to recognize the Empire and after the end of its own civil war in 1865 began to provide support to Mexican republican forces and the Empire came to an end on 19 June 1867 when Maximilian was executed by the government of the restored Mexican republic along with his two leading Mexican generals Mejia and Miramon Contents 1 History 1 1 Mexican monarchism 1 2 Role of France 1 3 Maximilian s reign 1 4 Military hostilities 1 5 Fall of the Empire 2 Government 3 Economy 3 1 Railways 3 2 Banking 3 3 Foreign trade 4 Territorial division 5 Legacy 6 In popular culture 7 See also 8 References 9 Bibliography 10 External linksHistory EditSee also Second French intervention in Mexico Mexican monarchism Edit Main article Monarchism in Mexico See also First Mexican Empire First Mexican Republic and Centralist Republic of Mexico After a decade of warfare Mexico gained its independence under the leadership of Agustin de Iturbide who united insurgents and Spanish loyalists with the Plan of Iguala a compromise which promised independence for Mexico as a monarchy First Mexican Empire and also invited a member of Spanish royalty to assume the newly established Mexican throne After the offer was refused by the Spanish government congress began to search for an emperor within the country After an armed demonstration by his regiment from the War for Independence the Mexican congress elected Iturbide as the first Mexican emperor Iturbide in his attempts to govern struggled to find funds to pay the army and the rest of the government and shut congress down accusing them of obstructionism and idleness eventually leading to a military uprising against Iturbide and his subsequent abdication The idea of a monarchy had been discredited for a time but the idea did not disappear as many of the disorders associated with the First Empire continued well into the Republican era French observers began expressing interest in the idea of a Mexican monarchy as early as 1830 Lorenzo de Zavala claimed that in that year he was approached by a foreign agent hoping to recruit him in a plan to place an Orleans monarch upon a Mexican throne 11 In 1840 Jose Maria Gutierrez Estrada wrote a monarchist essay endorsing the idea of a legitimate European monarch being invited to govern Mexico The pamphlet was addressed to the conservative president Bustamante who rejected the idea 12 French diplomats tended to sympathize with the Conservatives in Mexico Victor de Broglie opining that monarchy was a form of government more suited to Mexico at the time and Francois Guizot giving a positive review of Estrada s pamphlet 13 A monarchist faction in 1846 promoted the idea of establishing a foreign prince at the head of the Mexican government and president Paredes was viewed as being sympathetic to monarchism but the project was not pursued due to the more pressing matter of the American invasion of Mexico The candidate being proposed at the time was the Spanish prince Don Enrique 14 The last official Mexican effort to explore the possibility of establishing a monarchy occurred under the presidency of Santa Anna in the early 1850s when conservative minister Lucas Alaman directed monarchist diplomats Jose Maria Gutierrez de Estrada and Jose Manuel Hidalgo to seek a European candidate for the Mexican throne With the overthrow of Santa Anna s government in 1855 these efforts lost their official support and yet Estrada and Hidalgo continued their efforts independently Role of France Edit Mexican Delegation Back Row Jose Hidalgo Antonio Escandon Angel Dominguez Antonio Peredo Adrian Woll Jose Maria de Landa Front Row Ignacio Marocho Jose Maria Gutierrez de Estrada Francisco Morfi Joaquin de Leon Estrada and Hidalgo managed to get the attention of Napoleon III and the Emperor eventually came to support the idea of reviving the Mexican monarchy Prior to 1861 any interference in the affairs of Mexico by European powers would have been viewed in the U S as a challenge to the Monroe Doctrine In 1861 however the U S was embroiled in its own conflict the American Civil War which made the U S government powerless to intervene When on July 1861 Mexican President Benito Juarez declared a two year moratorium on Mexican debt to France among other nations Napoleon finally had a pretext Encouraged by Empress Eugenie who saw herself as the champion of the Catholic Church in Mexico Napoleon III took advantage of the situation The Offering of the Mexican Crown by a Mexican delegation Miramare Castle 1863 Napoleon III saw the opportunity to make France the great modernizing influence in the Western Hemisphere as well as enabling the country to capture the South American markets To give him further encouragement there was his half brother the duc de Morny who was the largest holder of Mexican bonds French troops landed in December 1861 and began military operations on April 1862 They were eventually joined by conservative Mexican generals who had never been entirely defeated in the War of Reform 15 After Charles de Lorencez s small expeditionary force was repulsed at the Battle of Puebla reinforcements were sent and placed under the command of Elie Forey The capital was taken by June 1863 and the French now sought to establish a friendly Mexican government Forey appointed a committee of thirty five Mexicans the Junta Superior who then elected three Mexican citizens to serve as the government s executive Juan Nepomuceno Almonte Jose Mariano Salas and Pelagio Antonio de Labastida In turn this triumvirate then selected two hundred fifteen Mexican citizens to form together with the Junta Superior an Assembly of Notables 16 The Assembly met on July 1863 and resolved to invite Ferdinand Maximilian to be Emperor of Mexico The executive triumvirate was formally changed into the Regency of the Mexican Empire An official delegation left Mexico and arrived in Europe on October Meanwhile in Europe Maximilian was making final arrangements with France He requested a plebiscite to ratify the establishment of the Empire by the Assembly of Notables The referendum was granted and the result was affirmative although critics viewed it as illegitimate and suspect due to being conducted by the occupying French authorities Maximilian also rebuffed French efforts to outright annex the state of Sonora an act which would later be used in his trial to defend against the accusation that Maximilian had been a French puppet 17 Maximilian formally accepted the crown on 10 April 1864 and set sail for Mexico arriving in Veracruz on 28 May and reaching the capital on 12 June Maximilian s reign Edit Maximilian and Carlota were crowned at the Cathedral of Mexico City 18 19 20 On his arrival in the summer of 1864 Maximilian declared a political amnesty for all liberals who wished to join the Empire and his conciliation efforts eventually won over moderate liberals such as Jose Fernando Ramirez Jose Maria Lacunza Manuel Orozco y Berra and Santiago Vidaurri 21 His first priorities included reforming his ministries and reforming the Imperial Mexican Army the latter of which was impeded upon by Bazaine in an effort to consolidate French control of the nation 22 On August Maximilian took a state trip through the nation while Carlota reigned as regent going to Queretaro Guanajuato and Michoacan giving public audiences and visiting officials even celebrating Mexican independence by commemorating the Cry of Dolores in the actual town where it took place 23 In December a Papal Nuncio arrived in order to arrange a concordat with the Empire to revise the Reform laws previously passed by the Mexican government that had nationalized Catholic Church property Maximilian wished to maintain Catholicism as the state religion and yet preferred to keep the reform laws intact and also introduce religious toleration measures which disillusioned his conservative and clerical supporters 24 Military hostilities Edit In April 1865 the U S Civil War ended and while the American government was reluctant at the time to enter upon a conflict with France to enforce the Monroe Doctrine official American sympathy remained with the deposed Mexican president Benito Juarez The U S government refused to recognize the Empire and also ignored Maximilian s correspondence 25 In December a thirty million dollar private American loan was approved for Juarez and American volunteers kept joining the Mexican republican troops 26 An unofficial American raid occurred near Brownsville and Juarez s minister to the United States Matias Romero proposed that General Grant or General Sherman intervene in Mexico to help the liberals 27 The United States refrained from direct military intervention but put diplomatic pressure on France to leave Mexico 28 A concentration of French troops in the northern republican strongholds of Mexico only led to a surge of republican guerrilla activity in the south While French troops controlled major cities guerrillas continued to be a major military threat in the countryside In an effort to combat the increasing violence and in a belief that Juarez was outside of the nation already Maximilian in October signed a decree authorizing the court martial and execution of anyone found either aiding or participating with the guerrillas The harsh measure was hardly unprecedented in Mexican history even resembling an 1862 measure by Juarez 29 but it proved to be widely reviled being branded the Black Decree and contributing to the growing unpopularity of the Empire 30 Fall of the Empire Edit Photograph of the Execution of Maximilian I of Mexico and Generals Miramon and Mejia Left to right Mejia Miramon and Maximilian In January 1866 seeing the war as unwinnable Napoleon declared to the French Chambers that he intended to withdraw the French military from Mexico Maximilian s request for more aid or at least a delay in troop withdrawals was declined because a possible war against Prussia was coming Carlota arrived in Europe in an attempt to plead for the Empire s cause but was unable to gain more support The failure of her mission apparently caused her to go insane and she would spend the rest of her life in Belgium living until 1927 In October Maximilian moved his cabinet to Orizaba and was widely rumored to be leaving the nation He contemplated abdication and on 25 November held a council of his ministers to address the crisis faced by the Empire They narrowly voted against abdication and Maximilian headed back towards the capital 31 He intended to appeal to the nation in order to hold a national assembly which would then decide what form of government the Mexican nation was to take Such a measure however would require a ceasefire from Juarez who had no intention of conceding to someone whom he viewed as a usurper As the national assembly project fell through Maximilian decided to focus on military operations and in February as the last of the French troops were leaving the Emperor headed for the city of Queretaro to join the bulk of his Mexican troops numbering about 10 000 men The liberal generals Escobedo and Corona converged on Queretaro with 40 000 men and yet the city held out until being betrayed by an imperial officer who opened the gates to the liberals on 15 May 32 Maximilian was captured and placed on trial with his leading generals Mejia and Miramon All three were tried sentenced to death and later executed on 19 June Government Edit A delegation of the Kickapoo people being received at the royal court A provisional statute was published in 1865 which laid the basic framework of the government The emperor was to govern through nine ministries of the Imperial Household of State of Foreign Relations of War of Government or Interior of the Treasury of Justice of Public Instruction and Worship and of Development These ministries except that of the Imperial Household composed the Council of Ministers which discussed the affairs that the emperor referred to them The emperor had the power to appoint the Minister of the Imperial Household and the Minister of State and in turn the Minister of State which was ex officio the President of the Council of Ministers was to appoint the rest of the Ministers 33 A Council of State was given the power to frame bills and give advice to the emperor and a separate private cabinet serving as the emperor s liaison was divided into civil and military affairs Empress Carlota was given the right to serve as regent if under certain circumstances Maximilian was to be unavailable 34 making her the first woman to ever govern Mexico 35 36 37 During his short reign Maximilian issued eight volumes of laws covering all aspects of government including forest management railroads roads canals postal services telegraphs mining and immigration 38 39 The emperor passed legislation guaranteeing equality before the law and freedom of speech and laws meant to defend the rights of laborers especially that of the Indians Maximilian attempted to pass a law guaranteeing the natives a living wage and outlawing corporal punishment for them along with limiting their inheritance of debts The measures faced backlash from the cabinet but were ultimately passed during one of Carlota s regencies 40 Labor laws in Yucatan actually became harsher on workers after the fall of the Empire 41 A national system of free schools was also planned based on the German gymnasia and the emperor founded an academy of science and literature 42 Laws were published both in Spanish and in Nahuatl the Aztec language and Maximilian appointed leading Nahuatl scholar Faustino Galicia as an advisor to his government 43 On Sundays at Chapultepec Palace Maximilian and Carlota frequently held audiences with people from all social and economic segments including Mexico s Indigenous Communities 44 The Empire placed an emphasis on culture and Maximilian commissioned Mexican painters Rafael Flores Santiago Rebull Juan Urruchi and Petronilo Monroy to produce works depicting Mexican history religious subjects and portraits of Mexican rulers including the imperial sovereigns themselves 45 The prefects governing the provinces were instructed to protect archeological artifacts and Maximilian wrote to Europe asking the return of native artifacts that had been taken out of the country during the Spanish conquest including articles that had belonged to Moctezuma II and an Aztec codex 46 Maximilian intended to aid the development of the country by opening up the nation to immigration regardless of race An immigration agency was set up to promote immigration from the United States the Confederate States Europe and Asia Colonists were to be granted citizenship at once and gained exemption from taxes for the first year and an exemption from military services for five years 47 Some of the most prominent colonization settlements were the Villa Carlota and the New Virginia Colony Emperor Maximilian also established the Imperial Order of the Mexican Eagle as an award for extraordinary merits and services to the empire for outstanding civil or military service and outstanding achievements in the fields of science and art It was considered the highest and most exclusive award during the Second Mexican Empire Economy EditRailways Edit Mexican Railway Bridge by Jose Maria Velasco Gomez 1877 One of the main challenges encountered by the Emperor was the lack of sufficient infrastructure to link the different parts of the realm The main goal was connecting the port of Veracruz and the capital in Mexico City In 1857 Don Antonio Escandon secured the right to build a line from the port of Veracruz to Mexico City and on to the Pacific Ocean Revolution and political instability stifled progress on the financing or construction of the line until 1864 when under the regime of Emperor Maximilian the Imperial Mexican Railway Company began construction of the line Political upheaval continued to stifle progress and the initial segment from Veracruz to Mexico City was inaugurated nine years later on 1 January 1873 by President Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada citation needed In 1857 the original proprietors of the government concession the Masso Brothers inaugurated on 4 July the train service from Tlatelolco in Mexico City to the nearby town of Guadalupe Hidalgo 48 Eventually they ran out of funds and decided to sell it to Manuel Escandon and Antonio Escandon 49 The Escandon Brothers continued working and the project and Antonio Escandon visited the United States and England in the last months of the year In the first country he hired Andrew Talcott and in the latter he sold company stock Exploration of a route from Orizaba to Maltrata was performed by engineers Andrew H Talcott and Pascual Almazan citation needed During the French intervention part of the railways were destroyed The only option available was the establishment of a pact between the French Army and the two companies of the Escandon Brothers The French Army was to provide a subsidy to the companies of 120 000 francs a month for the works and the companies were to establish service from Veracruz to Soledad para by May actually concluding on 15 August 1862 concluding 41 kilometres of tracks Next they reached the Camaron station with a length of 62 kilometres By 16 October 1864 they reached Paso del Macho with a length of 76 kilometres 50 On 19 September 1864 the Imperial Mexican Railway Company Compania Limitada del Ferrocarril Imperial Mexicano was Incorporated in London to complete the earlier projects and continued construction on this line Escandon ceded his privileges to the new company Smith Knight and Co was later contracted in 1864 by the Imperial Mexican Railway to continue work on the line from Mexico City to Veracruz 51 William Elliot was employed as Chief Assistant for three years on the construction of about 70 miles of the heaviest portion of the Mexican Railway after which he returned to England He had several years of experience building railways in England India and Brazil In this last country he held the position of Engineer in Chief of the province of Sao Paulo 52 Maximiliano I hired engineer M Lyons for the construction of the line from La Soledad to Monte del Chiquihuite later on joining the line from Veracruz to Paso del Macho 53 Works were begun in Maltrata at the same time that the works from Veracruz and Mexico City kept moving forward By the end of the Empire in June 1867 76 kilometers from Veracruz to Paso del Macho were functional part of the concession to Lyons and the line from Mexico City reached Apizaco with 139 km 54 circular reference Banking Edit Maximillian planned the monument to Christopher Columbus for the grand boulevard now called Paseo de la Reforma It was built during the regime of Porfirio Diaz Before 1864 there was no banking in Mexico Credits were obtained from religious orders and merchant guilds During the French Intervention the branch of a British bank was opened The London Bank of Mexico and South America Ltd began operations with a capital of two and a half million pesos It belonged to the Baring Brothers Group and had its head office in the corner of the Capuchinas and Lerdo Streets in Downtown Mexico City 55 Foreign trade Edit At the beginning of the American Civil War the city of Matamoros was simply a sleepy little border town across the Rio Grande from Brownsville 56 It had for several years been considered a port but it had relatively few ships arriving Previous to the war accounts mention that not over six ships entered the port each year 57 Nevertheless in about four years Matamoros due to its proximity to Texas was to assume state as a port and multiply its inhabitants in number Following is a quote from a Union general in 1865 describing the importance of the port in Matamoros Matamoros is to the rebellion west of the Mississippi what New York is to the United States its great commercial and financial center feeding and clothing the rebellion arming and equipping furnishing it materials of war and a specie basis of circulation that has almost displaced Confederate paper The entire Confederate Government is greatly sustained by resources from this port 58 The cotton trade brought together in Bagdad Tamaulipas and Matamoros over 20 000 speculators from the Union and the Confederacy England France and Germany 59 Bagdad had grown from a small seashore town to a full pledge town 60 The English speaking population in the area by 1864 was so great that Matamoros even had a newspaper printed in English it was called the Matamoros Morning Call 61 In addition the port exported cotton to England and France where millions of people needed it for their daily livelihood 62 and it was possible to receive fifty cents per pound in gold for cotton when it cost about three cents in the Confederacy and much more money was received for it laid down in New York and European ports 63 Other sources mention that the port of Matamoros traded with London Havana Belize and New Orleans 64 65 The Matamoros and New York City trade agreement however continued throughout the war and until 1864 and it was considered heavy and profitable 66 By 1865 Matamoros was described as a prosperous town of 30 000 people 67 and Lew Wallace informed General Ulysses S Grant that neither Baltimore or New Orleans could compare itself to the growing commercial activity of Matamoros 57 Nevertheless after the collapse of the Confederacy gloom despondency and despair became evident in Matamoros markets shut down business almost ceased to exist and ships were rarely seen 68 For Sale signs began to sprout up everywhere and Matamoros returned to its role of a sleepy little border town across the Rio Grande 69 The conclusion of the American Civil War brought a severe crisis to the now abandoned Port of Bagdad a crisis that until this day the port has never recovered from 70 In addition a tremendous hurricane in 1889 destroyed the desolated port This same hurricane was one of the many hurricanes during the period of devastating hurricanes of 1870 to 1889 which reduced the population of Matamoros to nearly half its size mounting with it another upsetting economic downturn 71 72 Territorial division EditSee also Departments of the Second Mexican Empire Departments of the Second Mexican Empire Maximilian I wanted to reorganize the territory following scientific criteria instead of following historical ties traditional allegiances and the interests of local groups The task of designing this new division was given to Manuel Orozco y Berra This task was realized according to the following criteria The territory should be divided in at least fifty departments Whenever possible natural boundaries shall be preferred For the territorial extension of each department the configuration of the terrain climate and elements of production were taken into consideration so that in due time they could have a roughly equal number of inhabitants 73 On 13 March 1865 the new Law on the territorial division of the Mexican Empire was published 74 The Empire was divided into 50 departments though not every department was ever able to be administered due to the ongoing war Legacy Edit Chapultepec Castle In spite of the Empire lasting only a few years the results of Maximilian s construction projects survived him and remain prominent Mexico City landmarks in the present day For his royal residence Maximilian decided to renovate a former viceregal villa in Mexico City which was also notable for being the site of a battle during the U S invasion of Mexico The result would be Chapultepec Castle the only castle in North America ever to be used by actual royalty After the fall of the empire Chapultepec Castle served as the official resident of the Mexican president up until 1940 when it was converted into a museum 75 In order to connect the palace to the government offices in Mexico city Maximilian also built a prominent road which he called Paseo de la Emperatriz The Empress Promenade After the fall of the Empire the government renamed it Paseo de la Reforma Promenade of the Reform to commemorate La Reforma In the present it continues to be one of the most prominent avenues of the capital and is lined with civic monuments 76 The bolillo a type of bread widespread in Mexican cuisine was brought to the country by Maximilian s cooks and remains another legacy of the Imperial Era 77 Today the Second Mexican Empire is advocated by small far right groups like the Nationalist Front of Mexico whose followers believe the Empire to have been a legitimate attempt to deliver Mexico from the hegemony of the United States They are reported to gather every year at Queretaro the place where Maximilian and his generals were executed 78 In popular culture EditThe 1970 film Two Mules for Sister Sara was set in Mexico during the years of the Second Mexican Empire The two main characters played by Clint Eastwood and Shirley MacLaine aided a Mexican resistance force and ultimately led them to overpower a French garrison The 1969 film The Undefeated starring John Wayne and Rock Hudson portrays events during the French Intervention in Mexico and was also loosely based on the escape of Confederate General Sterling Price to Mexico after the American Civil War and his attempt to join with Maximilian s forces The 1965 film Major Dundee starring Charlton Heston and Richard Harris featured Union cavalry supplemented by Galvanized Yankees crossing into Mexico and fighting French forces towards the end of the American Civil War The 1954 film Vera Cruz was also set in Mexico and has an appearance of Maximilian having a target shooting competition with Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster s character at Chapultepec Castle Maximilian was played by George Macready who at 54 was twenty years older than the Emperor was in 1866 The 1939 film Juarez featured Paul Muni as Benito Juarez Bette Davis as Empress Carlota and Brian Aherne as Emperor Maximilian It was based in part on Bertita Harding s novel The Phantom Crown 1937 In the Southern Victory Series by Harry Turtledove Maximilian s Empire survives the turmoil of the 1860s into the 20th century due to the Confederate States emerging victorious in its battle against the United States in the War of Secession The 1990 novel The Difference Engine co authored by William Gibson and Bruce Stirling is set in an alternate 1855 where the timeline diverged in 1824 with Charles Babbage s completion of the difference engine One consequence is the occupation of Mexico by the Second French Empire with Napoleon III as the de facto emperor instead of the installation of Emperor Maximilian In Mexican popular culture there have been soap operas like El Carruaje 1967 plays films and historical novels such as Fernando del Paso s Noticias del Imperio 1987 Biographies memoirs and novels have been published since the 1860s and among the most recent have been Prince Michael of Greece s The Empress of Farewells available in various languages See also EditFirst Mexican Empire Second French intervention in Mexico Imperial Crown of Mexico Emperor of Mexico Mexican Imperial Orders Nationalist Front of Mexico Cabinet of Maximilian I of MexicoReferences Edit a b Kirkpatrick F A Latin America A brief history 2013 Cambridge University Press pg 339 Duncan Robert H Rodriguez Jaime E The Divine Charter Constitutionalism and Liberalism in Nineteenth Century Mexico Rowman and Littlefield Publishers Pgs 134 138 Bancroft Hubert Howe 1887 History of Mexico Volume VI 1861 1887 San Francisco The History Company pp 136 Hyde H Montgomery 2013 Mexican Empire The History of Maximilian and Carlota of Mexico Read Books Ltd p 50 ISBN 9781447485537 Covarruvias Jose Enciclopedia Politica de Mexico TOMO IV Edit Belisario Dominguez 2010 Guedalla Philip 1923 The Second Empire Hodder and Stoughton p 322 Duncan Robert H Rodriguez Jaime E The Divine Charter Constitutionalism and Liberalism in Nineteenth Century Mexico Rowman and Littlefield Publishers Pgs 134 138 Bancroft Hubert Howe 1887 History of Mexico Volume VI 1861 1887 San Francisco The History Company pp 136 Miquel de la Rosa 2022 French Liberalism and Imperialism in the Age of Napoleon III Springer Nature p 3 ISBN 9783030958886 Roger D Price 2002 Napoleon III and the Second Empire Routledge ISBN 9781134734689 de Zavala Lorenzo 1832 Ensayo Historico de las Revoluciones de Megico Desde 1808 Hasta 1830 New York Elliott and Palmer p 248 Bancroft Hubert Howe 1852 History of Mexico Vol 5 The Bancroft Company pp 224 225 Shawcross Edward 2018 France Mexico and Informal Empire in Latin America Springer International pp 105 106 ISBN 9783319704647 Manuel Hidalgo y Esnaurrizar Jose 1864 Apuntes para escribir la historia de los proyectos de monarquia en Mexico in Spanish pp 26 27 Bancroft Hubert Howe 1887 History of Mexico Volume VI 1861 1887 San Francisco The History Company p 51 Bancroft Hubert Howe 1887 History of Mexico Volume VI 1861 1887 San Francisco The History Company pp 77 78 Bancroft Hubert Howe 1887 History of Mexico Volume VI 1861 1887 San Francisco The History Company pp 136 Butler John Wesley 1918 History of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Mexico University of Texas Campbell Reau 1907 Campbell s New Revised Complete Guide and Descriptive Book of Mexico Rogers amp Smith Company Pg 38 Putman William Lowell 2001 Arctic Superstars Light Technology Publishing LLC Pg XVII Bancroft Hubert Howe 1888 History of Mexico Volume VI 1861 1887 The Bancroft Company p 150 Bancroft Hubert Howe 1888 History of Mexico Volume VI 1861 1887 The Bancroft Company p 152 Bancroft Hubert Howe 1888 History of Mexico Volume VI 1861 1887 The Bancroft Company pp 154 155 Bancroft Hubert Howe 1888 History of Mexico Volume VI 1861 1887 The Bancroft Company pp 157 158 Bancroft Hubert Howe 1888 History of Mexico Volume VI 1861 1887 The Bancroft Company p 181 Bancroft Hubert Howe 1888 History of Mexico Volume VI 1861 1887 The Bancroft Company pp 206 207 Wooster Robert 2006 John M Schofield and the Multipurpose Army American Nineteenth Century History 7 2 173 191 doi 10 1080 14664650600809305 S2CID 143091703 Richter William 2012 Historical Dictionary of the Civil War and Reconstruction The Bancroft Company p 429 Mayer Brantz 1906 Mexico Central America and West Indies John D Morris and Company p 391 Bancroft Hubert Howe 1888 History of Mexico Volume VI 1861 1887 The Bancroft Company pp 183 184 Bancroft Hubert Howe 1888 History of Mexico Volume VI 1861 1887 The Bancroft Company p 241 Fehrenbach T R 1995 Fire and Blood A History of Mexico Da Capo Press p 438 ISBN 9780306806285 de Habsburgo Maximiliano Estatuto Provisional del Imperio Mexicano PDF Orden Juridico Gobierno de Mexico Retrieved 12 January 2023 Bancroft Hubert Howe 1887 History of Mexico Volume VI 1861 1887 San Francisco The History Company p 171 Triedo Nicolas 12 July 2018 Carlota la emperatriz de Mexico Mexico Desconocido in Spanish Ella es la primera mujer que goberno en Mexico pero no tuvo un final feliz El Sol de Hermosillo in Spanish 24 January 2022 Brooks Dario Carlota de Mexico quien fue la emperatriz y primera gobernante del pais y que legado dejo BBC News Mundo in Spanish La legislacion del Segundo Imperio PDF in Spanish p 9 McAllen M M 8 January 2014 Maximilian and Carlota Europe s Last Empire in Mexico Trinity University Press p 143 ISBN 9781595341853 McAllen M M 8 January 2014 Maximilian and Carlota Europe s Last Empire in Mexico Trinity University Press p 182 ISBN 9781595341853 Richmond Douglas W 15 April 2015 Conflict and Carnage in Yucatan Liberals the Second Empire and Maya Revolutionaries 1855 1876 University of Alabama Press p 70 ISBN 9780817318703 Bancroft Hubert Howe 1887 History of Mexico Volume VI 1861 1887 San Francisco The History Company p 173 McAllen M M 8 January 2014 Maximilian and Carlota Europe s Last Empire in Mexico Trinity University Press p 142 ISBN 9781595341853 McAllen M M 8 January 2014 Maximilian and Carlota Europe s Last Empire in Mexico Trinity University Press p 169 ISBN 9781595341853 McAllen M M 8 January 2014 Maximilian and Carlota Europe s Last Empire in Mexico Trinity University Press p 166 ISBN 9781595341853 McAllen M M 8 January 2014 Maximilian and Carlota Europe s Last Empire in Mexico Trinity University Press p 167 ISBN 9781595341853 Bancroft Hubert Howe 1887 History of Mexico Volume VI 1861 1887 San Francisco The History Company p 174 Ferrocarril de Mexico a La Villa La historia del tren en Mexico Chapman John Gresham La construccion del Ferrocarril Mexicano 1985 The Railroads of Mexico William Elliot 1827 1892 Grace s Guide to British Industrial History Historia del Ferrocarril es Ferrosur Banco de Londres Mexico y Sudamerica el primer banco comercial de Mexico Forbes Delaney Robert W 1955 Matamoros Port for Texas during the Civil War The Southwestern Historical Quarterly Texas State Historical Association 58 4 487 ISSN 0038 478X JSTOR 30241907 a b The War of the Rebellion a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies Washington United States War Dept 1880 1901 JSTOR 30241907 Underwood Rodman L 2008 Waters of Discord The Union Blockade of Texas During the Civil War McFarland p 200 ISBN 9780786437764 Matamoros New Orleans Times 1 June 1865 JSTOR 30241907 New York Herald 9 January 1865 JSTOR 30241907 The Southwestern Historical Quarterly New Orleans Daily True Delta 16 December 1864 Official Records of the War of the Rebellion Washington United States Department of War 1894 1922 JSTOR 30241907 Henry Robert S 22 August 1989 The State of the Confederacy New York Da Capo Paperback p 342 JSTOR 30241907 Matamoros and Belize From powder and caps to a needle New Orleans Times 12 November 1864 JSTOR 30241907 Hanna Alfred J May 1947 The Immigration Movement of the Intervention and Empire as Seen Through the Mexican Press The Hispanic American Historical Review Duke University 27 2 246 doi 10 1215 00182168 27 2 220 JSTOR 2508417 Matamoros and New York Heavy and profitable New Orleans Era 1 November 1864 JSTOR 30241907 Matamoros port 30 000 inhabitants New Orleans Times 3 March 1865 JSTOR 30241907 Port of Matamoros gloom despondency and despair New York Herald 17 March 1865 Port of Matamoros New Orleans Times 1 June 1865 JSTOR 30241907 Buenger Walter L November 1984 Reviewed work The Matamoros Trade Confederate Commerce Diplomacy and Intrigue James W Daddysman The Journal of Southern History Southern Historical Association 50 4 655 656 doi 10 2307 2208496 ISSN 0022 4642 JSTOR 2208496 Schober Otto Cuando el rio Bravo era navegable Zocalo Saltillo Beezley William H 2011 A Companion to Mexican History and Culture John Wiley amp Sons p 688 ISBN 978 1 4443 4057 0 Ruben Garcia Biografia bibliografia e iconografia de don Manuel Orozco y Berra en Boletin de la Sociedad Mexicana de Geografia y Estadistica Mexico Compania Editora e Impresora La Aficion 1934 p 233 Diario del Imperio Tomo I Numero 59 13 de marzo de 1865 Chapultepec Castle The only castle in North America to ever house actual sovereigns Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City 25 June 2022 Historia del origen del bolillo 5 November 2019 Homage to the Martyrs of the Second Mexican Empire Archived from the original on 3 May 2014 Bibliography EditBancroft Hubert Howe 1887 History of Mexico Volume VI 1861 1887 San Francisco The History Company pp 171 173 Barker Nancy N The Factor of Race in the French Experience in Mexico 1821 1861 in HAHR no 59 1 pp 64 80 Blumbeg Arnold The Diplomacy of the Mexican Empire 1863 1867 Florida Krueger 1987 Corti Egon Caesar Maximilian and Charlotte of Mexico translated from the German by Catherine Alison Phillips 2 Volumes New York Knopf 1928 Cunningham Michele Mexico and the Foreign Policy of Napoleon III 2001 251p online PhD version Pani Erika Dreaming of a Mexican Empire The Political Projects of the Imperialist in HAHR no 65 1 pp 19 49 Hanna Alfred Jackson and Kathryn Abbey Hanna Napoleon III and Mexico American triumph over monarchy 1971 Ibsen Kristine 2010 Maximilian Mexico and the Invention of Empire Nashville Vanderbilt University Press ISBN 978 0 8265 1688 6 McAllen M M 2015 Maximilian and Carlota Europe s Last Empire in Mexico San Antonio Trinity University Press ISBN 978 1 59534 183 9 excerpt Ridley Jasper 2001 Maximilian amp Juarez London Phoenix Press ISBN 1 84212 150 2 External links Edit Media related to Second Mexican Empire at Wikimedia Commons Mexico the French intervention and the 2nd Empire 1862 1867 Imperial House of Mexico Provisional Constitution of the Mexican Empire in Spanish Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Second Mexican Empire amp oldid 1135484566, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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