The Last Emperor of Mexico: A Disaster in the New World

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McAllen, M.M. (8 January 2014). Maximilian and Carlota: Europe's Last Empire in Mexico. Trinity University Press. p.142. ISBN 9781595341853. Palmer, Alan (1994). Twilight of the Habsburgs: The Life and Times of Emperor Francis Joseph. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press. ISBN 0-87113-665-1. Wooster, Robert (2006). "John M. Schofield and the 'Multipurpose' Army". American Nineteenth Century History. 7 (2): 173–191. doi: 10.1080/14664650600809305. S2CID 143091703. All is told in detail, yet not overwhelmingly so. For example, I find the description of battles, even though they’re often very important, a rather dull reading experience; yet here, I didn’t get bored one second. I also always say that good history-telling demands the same talent as good story-telling, and the author has that talent. He spins his (historical) yarn skilfully and entertainingly. What I could see perfectly well was the ludicrous character the whole Mexico-enterprise had from the start, the wobbly base upon which the empire was built, the unsavoury helpers and builders of that scheme, and the helpless credulity of both Maximilian and his wife, who (and that can maybe only be understood after the facts, of course) were doomed from the start.

In Italy, news of Maximilian's dismissal was received with sarcastic enthusiasm by statesmen there. A pivotal figure in the movement for Italian unification, the Count of Cavour, who declared that Maximilian lived for the most part at Chapultepec Castle, making occasional retreats to his villa at Cuernavaca, where he had also taken a mistress named Concepción Sedano. [49] He preferred to dress plainly and also enjoyed wearing traditional Mexican clothing. [112] He enjoyed the Mexican countryside and would often go horse-riding, walking, and swimming. [113] On Sundays at Chapultepec Palace, Maximilian and Carlota frequently held audiences with people from all social and economic segments, including Mexico's Indigenous peoples. [114] The royal couple also hosted multiple balls for Mexican high society. [115] Deteriorating military situation [ edit ] Hyde, H. Montgomery (1946). Mexican Empire: The History of Maximilian and Carlota of Mexico. London: Macmillan & Co. Maximilian worked on developing the imperial navy, and he organized the expedition of the ship Novara, which would turn out to be the first circumnavigation of the globe conducted by the Austrian Empire, a scientific expedition, which lasted more than two years from 1857 to 1859, and which involved the participation of many Viennese intellectuals. [60] Politically, the Archduke was strongly influenced by nineteenth-century liberalism, generally not a political position that those of royal blood adhered to. The appointment of the young progressive Maximilian to the office of viceroy was made in response to the growing discontent of the Italian population with the rule of the older Joseph Radetzky von Radetz. The appointment of an Archduke, indeed the Emperor's own brother, was also intended to encourage the local population's personal loyalty to the House of Habsburg. [ citation needed]O'Connor, Richard (1971). The Cactus Throne: The Tragedy of Maximilian and Carlotta. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. ISBN 0-04-972005-8.

Since Maximilian and Carlota had no offspring, there are no direct descendants. However, today members of the House of Habsburg consider Maximilian an important ancestor. But in terms of the Mexican political reality, they are not in the spotlight. The nearest living agnatic relative to Maximilian is the head of the Habsburg family, Karl von Habsburg, [52] and members of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine still reside in Mexico, among them Carlos Felipe de Habsburgo, the first male of the former ruling house to be born in the country. [53] Carlos Felipe is an academic who has given many interviews, conferences, and presentations regarding his family's history, Maximilian and Carlota, and the Second Mexican Empire. [54] [55] Viceroy of Lombardy-Venetia, 1857–59 [ edit ] Royal Palace of Milan 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. Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Hessen (1865), "Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen" p. 10 Günter, Treffer (1973). Molden (ed.). Die Weltumsegelung der Novara, 1857–1859 (in German). Viena. {{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher ( link) If 19th-century geopolitics and Latin American literature were put in a blender together, something like this book would emerge. It all feels like a novel from a time gone by. And this is a tale of another world—of violent Wild West frontier towns like Brownsville in Texas and Matamoros across the river in Mexico, of European empires trying to paint more of the map their color and of a monarch more concerned with remodeling his castle than governing, even as his empire begins to collapse around him.Cibrario, Luigi (1869). Notizia storica del nobilissimo ordine supremo della santissima Annunziata. Sunto degli statuti, catalogo dei cavalieri (in Italian). Eredi Botta. p.120 . Retrieved 4 March 2019. Although there’s no suggestion that Maximilian and Elisabeth’s friendship developed beyond platonic affection, it was a huge slap in the face for Maximilian’s beloved mother Princess Sophie. See, Sophie grew to dislike Elisabeth, finding her disobedient and stubborn, and she hardly could have relished seeing her sweetiekins Maximilian getting up close and personal with the new girl in court.

With Maximilian's execution in 1867 by a firing squad of the Restored Republic, schemes and dreams of a royal head of state came to an end in Mexico. Historians are still assessing the period in Mexican history and Maximilian's role as well as that of the man he unsuccessfully aimed to depose, liberal president of the Mexican Republic, Benito Juárez. With Maximilian's execution, the second emperor of Mexico to have met that fate following that of Agustín I of Mexico, monarchism in Mexico ceased to be a goal of Mexican conservatives. [ citation needed] Although he respected Maximilian on a personal level, [131] Juárez refused to commute the sentence because he believed it was necessary to send a message that Mexico would not tolerate any more foreign invasions. [ citation needed] Chisholm, Hugh (1911). "The Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and General Information".

23. His Family Thought He Was Insane

This whole Mexican Hapsburg affair marks not only the passing of an old world, but the start of ours. In truth, although Maximilian was a golden boy in his mother’s eyes, his birth had ignited a dark scandal. The ball-breaking Sophie had never been in love with her husband the Archduke, who one historian described as "an amiably dim fellow whose main interest in life was consuming bowls of dumplings." Instead, many people whispered that Maximilian was the princess’s lovechild with another man, Napoleon II. McAllen, M.M. (April 2015). Maximilian and Carlota: Europe's Last Empire in Mexico. Trinity University Press. p.126. ISBN 978-1-59534-263-8. While Maximilian tried to fan the flames of sibling rivalry with Franz, his own mother wasn’t helping matters. Princess Sophie was a notoriously headstrong woman—people dubbed her “the only man at court” in Vienna for her commanding air—and she made it very clear that Maximilian was her favorite of her brood of children. Then again, some say there was a disturbing reason for this.