Dec 24 201410 The Habsburg and Juarez, Part Two

Maximilian’s rule over Mexico was never truly solidified or legitimized, and the would-be emperor faced relentless resistance from liberal Mexican forces led by reformist president Benito Juarez. Eventually the emperor (always just a puppet of the French) would lose his foreign backing, get holed up in a siege, get captured, and eventually die ingloriously in front of a firing squad.

The painting below by Edouard Manet shows the execution of Maximilian and two of his generals by Juarez’s republican forces.

Edouard Manet 022

Related Links:

The New York Times in 1865 on the Second Mexican Empire.

The New York Times’ Disunion Blog on the Battle of Puebla and Mexican foreign policy in the Second Empire.

The Grey River Argus on the Queretaro.

A photo purporting to show the execution of Maximilian and two of his generals.

Dec 18 201409 The Habsburg and Juarez, Part One

One of the most definitive and dramatic struggles against European monarchy happened in Mexico. France attempted to install Maximilian, a member of Austrian royal family as a puppet emperor of Mexico in the 1860s. The would-be emperor, though, was resisted by one of Mexico’s most successful and well-known presidents, Benito Juarez. The liberal leader led an opposition government, fought against both foreign powers and Mexican conservatives, and destroyed the Second Mexican Empire.

The 1867 painting beleow by Cesare Dell’Acqua, depicts Maximilian accepting the Mexican throne in Trieste, Italy.

Dell'Acqua Ernennung Maximilians zum Kaiser Mexikos

Related Links:
Political Legitimation and Maximilian’s Second Empire in Mexico, 1864-1867

Embracing a Sutable Past: Independence Celebrations Under Mexico’s Second Empire, 1864-6

Maximilian and His Mexican Empire

Some images of the flag and coat of arms of Maximilian’s Mexico