Archduke of
Austria and
Emperor of
Mexico; born in
Vienna, July 6, 1832, and, having entered the naval service, was made rearadmiral and chief of the Austrian navy in 1854.
In 1857 he was made governor of the Lombardo-
Venetian kingdom, and in the same year married Charlotte, daughter of Leopold I., of
Belgium.
He departed for
Mexico in April, 1864, and landed, with his wife, at
Vera Cruz in May.
The French army had already taken possession of the country.
The archduke assumed the crown of
Mexico, with the title of Maximilian I., and, being childless, adopted a son of
Iturbide (q. v.) as his presumptive successor on the throne.
Juarez, the
President, who had been driven from the capital, and, with his followers, declared by the new
Emperor to be an outlaw and usurper, made such strong resistance that
Maximilian had to struggle for his throne from the very beginning.
When the
American Civil War was ended, Napoleon was given to understand, by the United States government, that the empire in
Mexico and the presence of French troops there could not be regarded with favor by the citizens of the
United States.
The Emperor of the
French acted upon this hint.
He suggested the propriety of the abdication of
Maximilian, but the latter would not consent, for he relied upon French arms to sustain him. His wife went to
Europe to have an interview with the
Emperor and also with the
Pope, but the boon was refused, and her mind gave way under the pressure of her anxiety.
Napoleon perfidiously abandoned
Maximilian by withdrawing his troops, and left the latter to his fate, who, after struggling for a while to maintain his power, was captured by the Mexicans at
Queretaro on May 14, 1867.
He was shot, with two of his generals, on June 19.
A vessel was sent from
Austria, under the command of a vice-admiral, to convey his remains to his native country, and they were interred in the imperial vault in January, 1868.
His wife yet (1901) lives, hopelessly insane.
