Bancroft, Hubert Howe (1888). History of Mexico Volume VI 1861–1887. The Bancroft Company. pp.183–184. After Charles de Lorencez's expeditionary force was repulsed at the Battle of Puebla on 5 May 1862, Napoleon III sent reinforcements, ultimately numbering about 38,900, and placed them under the command of General Élie Forey. Even so, it took the French a year to take Puebla, and then the capital in June 1863. The French now sought to establish a friendly Mexican provisional 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. In turn this triumvirate then selected 215 Mexicans to form together with the Junta Superior, an Assembly of Notables. [75] 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. Bancroft, Hubert Howe (1887). History of Mexico Volume VI 1861–1887. San Francisco: The History Company. p. 51.

McAllen, M.M (8 January 2014). Maximilian and Carlota: Europe's Last Empire in Mexico. Trinity University Press. p.182. ISBN 9781595341853. Maximilian was born on 6 July 1832 in the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, capital of the Austrian Empire. [8] [9] He was baptized the following day as Ferdinand Maximilian Josef Maria. The first name honored his godfather and paternal uncle, Emperor Ferdinand I, and the second honored his maternal grandfather, Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria. [10] [11] His father was Archduke Franz Karl, the second surviving son of Emperor Francis I, during whose reign he was born. Maximilian was thus a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. [12] His mother was Princess Sophie of Bavaria, a member of the House of Wittelsbach. [13] Intelligent, ambitious and strong-willed, Sophie had little in common with her husband, whom historian Richard O'Conner characterized as "an amiably dim fellow whose main interest in life was consuming bowls of dumplings drenched in gravy". [14] Despite their different personalities, the marriage was fruitful, and after four miscarriages, four sons – including Maximilian – would reach adulthood. [15] Rumors at the court alleged that Maximilian was the product of an extramarital affair between his mother and Napoleon II, Duke of Reichstadt. [16] The existence of an illicit affair between Sophie and the duke, and any possibility that Maximilian was conceived from such a union, are dubious. [A] Maximilian as a boy, 1838, by Joseph Karl Stieler Charlotte was used to being the popular petty girl in the palace, and her move to Vienna shook those very foundations. Suddenly, every day she was waking up and standing next to the formidably gorgeous Empress Elisabeth, who just so happened to be BFFs with her husband Maximilian. It was a recipe for disaster, and it started cooking immediately.The bizarre and little known story of how a hubristic Archduke became the puppet Emperor of Mexico - with tragic results and pivotal historical consequences for Europe and America. McAllen, M. M. (April 2015). Maximilian and Carlota: Europe's Last Empire in Mexico. Trinity University Press. pp.354–355. ISBN 978-1-59534-263-8.

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. But the truth is, this whole Mexican Hapsburg affair marks not only the passing of an old world, but the start of ours. Beyond the farce and the violence, the deeper significance of Maximilian’s execution in Mexico is that it marks the victory of democracy over monarchy, modernity over tradition, state over church and the Americas over Europe.

See also: Monarchism in Mexico At Miramar castle the Mexican Delegation appoints Ferdinand Maximilian of Habsburg as Emperor of Mexico by Cesare Dell'Acqua (1864) In 1864, Emperor Franz Joseph met Maximilian at his idyllic Miramare to sign the so-called “Family Pact.” This was ominous and devastating. In the pact, Maximilian reluctantly renounced all his rights to the Austrian throne should his brother ever pass. It was the final nail in the coffin for any of his hopes of becoming an Austrian monarch, but at least he had the Mexican throne to look forward to…right? 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.

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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, besieging it with 40,000 men and yet the city held out. In the face of an increasing number of Republican troops, however, on 11 May, Maximilian resolved to attempt an escape through the enemy lines and make a break for the coast. This plan was sabotaged by Colonel Miguel López who had come to an agreement with Republican General Escobedo to open the gate to the Republican forces. López appears to have assumed that Maximilian would be allowed to escape. [127] For cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the “Settings & Account” section. If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial. 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. (April 2015). Maximilian and Carlota: Europe's Last Empire in Mexico. Trinity University Press. p.165. ISBN 978-1-59534-263-8. This book tells the story of this unique path that led a second son of an illustrious lineage from the golden-spoon-in-mouth youth as an Austrian archduke living in the splendid palaces of his family to the subservient role as rather powerless Viceroy of Lombardy-Venetia (of his brother’s grace) to Emperor of Mexico who only ever ruled over and controlled bits and patches of that huge country. It inevitably (or so it seems) leads to this man’s tragic and gory death in Querétaro, Mexico, in 1867, where he was executed by a Republican firing squad at the age of only 34.