Donald W. Miles (2006), Cinco de Mayo: What is Everybody Celebrating?: the Story Behind Mexico's Battle of Puebla, iUniverse, p.196, ISBN 9780595392414 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? On 28 February 1857, Franz Joseph named Maximilian as viceroy of Lombardy-Venetia, an Italian-speaking region of the empire. [56] On 6 September 1857, Maximilian and Charlotte made their entrance to the capital Milan. During their stay there the couple lived at the Royal Palace of Milan and occasionally resided at the Royal Villa of Monza. [57] As viceroy, Maximilian lived as a sovereign surrounded by an imposing court of chamberlains and servants. [58] During his two years as viceroy, Maximilian continued the construction of Miramar Castle, which would not be finished until three years later. Charlotte's royal dowry aided in the construction. Her brother Leopold would remark in his diary that “the construction of that palace amounts to endless madness.” [59] Far from a resounding victory, Maximilian’s last stand turned into a brutal betrayal. The plan was for the precarious Emperor to sneak through enemy lines in mid-May, 1867. Yet before this could happen, his colonel Miguel López flipped sides. The results were disastrous: In the still of the night, the traitorous López left a gate open, letting the enemy army right into the city.

Maximilian learned to command sailors and received a solid education regarding the technical aspects of navigation. On 10 September 1854, he was named Commander-in-Chief of the Austrian Navy and was granted the rank of counter admiral. As commander-in-chief, Maximilian carried out several reforms to modernize the naval forces. He was instrumental in creating the naval ports at Trieste and Pola (now Pula), as well as the battle fleet with which Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff would later secure his victories. He was however criticized for diverting massive funds to ship building from the training, sea going experience, and morale of sailors. [39] He also initiated a large-scale scientific expedition (1857–1859). Evocările de Miercuri: Mitul iubirii sau Îngerul cu aripi demontate". 19 February 2020 . Retrieved 15 May 2023.Much of my enjoyment of the book stems from its fantastical juxtaposition of places and cultures. Hungarian hussars are ambushed by Mexican peasants. Belgian and Austrian royalty dine with Indigenous chiefs, trying pulque and mole. And there can be no greater juxtaposition than the titular character, an Austrian prince born into luxury, with his rival Benito Juárez, Mexico’s legitimate president and a Oaxacan man born into poverty. The titular character is Maximilian I. Born in Vienna, at the invitation of Napoleon III and exiled Mexican conservatives he chose to become emperor of Mexico, a country he had never seen. His only serious claim to the throne was that his Hapsburg ancestor was the king of Spain when Cortez conquered the Aztecs. Even more problematic, Mexico had long since embraced a republican system of government. Independent Mexico’s only previous monarch had been executed shortly after Mexico gained its independence from Spain. Duncan, Robert H. (2020). " "Beneath a Rich Blaze of Golden Sunlight": The Travels of Archduke Maximilian through Brazil, 1860". Terrae Incognitae. 52 (1): 37–64. doi: 10.1080/00822884.2020.1726025. ISSN 0082-2884. S2CID 213261011. 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.

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 a b McAllen, M.M (8 January 2014). Maximilian and Carlota: Europe's Last Empire in Mexico. Trinity University Press. p.222. ISBN 9781595341853.Smith, Gene (1973). Maximilian and Carlota: A Tale of Romance and Tragedy. Morrow. p.157. ISBN 0-688-00173-4.

Richter, William (2012). Historical Dictionary of the Civil War and Reconstruction. The Bancroft Company. p.429. 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. 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. A member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, Maximilian was the younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. Prior to his becoming Emperor of Mexico, he was commander-in-chief of the small Imperial Austrian Navy and briefly the Austrian viceroy of Lombardy–Venetia, but was removed by the emperor. Two years before his dismissal, he briefly met with French emperor Napoleon III in Paris, where he was approached by conservative Mexican monarchists seeking a European royal to rule Mexico. [2] Initially Maximilian was not interested, but following his dismissal as viceroy, the Mexican monarchists' plan was far more appealing to him.

8. He Always One-Upped His Brother

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.

Blasio, Jose Luis (1905). Maximiliano Intimo: El Emperador Maximiliano y su Corte. C. Bouret. p.96. H. Tarlier (1854). Almanach royal officiel, publié, exécution d'un arrête du roi (in French). Vol.1. p. 37.Shawcross: The defeat of the French begins and ends with Benito Juárez; however, US support played an important role. This was especially the case after the end of the US Civil War in 1865. Prior to this, Washington feared European intervention in its own conflict and, apart from refusing to recognize Maximilian’s government, offered little more than sympathy to the Mexican republic. During this period even Juárez’s supporters, including his former minister of foreign affairs, Manuel Doblado, urged the president to surrender to the combined forces of the French and their Mexican allies because defeat seemed inevitable. Juárez refused. He retreated ever further northward, eventually reaching El Paso del Norte, a city that is today known as Ciudad Juárez, in the summer of 1865.