Maximilian of Austria, Emperor of Mexico |
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BORN 6 Jul 1832, Wien - DIED 19 Jun 1867, Santiago de Querétaro: Cerro de las Campanas BIRTH NAME Ferdinand Maximiliaan von Habsburg CAUSE OF DEATH executed by firing squad GRAVE LOCATION Wien: Kapuzinergruft, Tegetthoffstraße 2 |
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Maximilian was a younger brother of emperor Francis Joseph of Austria. He was commander-in-chief of the small Imperial Austrian Navy. After the Crimean War had ended in 1856, he travelled to Paris where he met Napoleon III (1808-1873) and empress Eugénie (1826-1920), He also met Mexican conservatives in Paris. On his way back to Vienna, he met king Leopold I (1790-1865) of the new kingdom Belgium in Brussels. He also met the King's daughter Charlotte (1840-1927), and romance started. Leopold I noticed it and despite the warning by her former suitor George von Sachsen (1832-1904) for the 'calculating character of the Archduke', he advised Maximilian to propose. They were engaged on 23 December 1856 and married on 27 July 1857 in Brussels. In 1857 his brother made him governor of Lombardy and Venice. Maximilian had already started the construction of what is now called Miramare Castle near Trieste in 1856 and after its completion he lived there with Charlotte. In 1864 emperor Napoleon III offered Maximilian the crown of Mexico. He accepted and left for Mexico in 1864. He installed a court in Mexico and his valet de chambre Anton Grill wrote that the emperor's bedchamber was visited by the most elegant ladies of the court who arrived and disappeared along mysterious paths. But the opposition against the monarchy was worse than expected and Maximilian was completely dependent on the French army under Bazaine (1811-1888). Napoleon III decided to withdraw his troops from Mexico, and Maximilian was advised to abdicate. He decided not to do so and in 1866 Charlotte went to Europe to look for support. After Napoleon III refused to let the French troops stay in Mexico, she was showing symptoms of insanity and did not return to Mexico. In February 1867, the French troops left Mexico City. Maximilian remarked that he was glad that he was 'finally free', but three months later he was imprisoned by the rebels and the former liberal president Benito Juárez (1806-1872) was restored to power. Despite requests by European kings and by liberals including Victor Hugo (1802-1885) and Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882), Maximilian was executed by a firing squad on 19 June 1867. Napoleon III burst into tears when he heard the news on June 30th and Francis Joseph immediately returned to Vienna from a holiday in Bavaria. The new Mexican government would only release Maximilian's body if Austria recognized it. On November 26th his remains were finally released to admiral Tegetthoff (1827-1871) who brought them back to Austria on the Navara, the same ship that had taken Maximilian to Mexico in 1864. Maximilian's remains reached the Südbahnhof in Vienna on January 17th, 1868. The entire imperial family was present, except for Empress Elisabeth (1837-1898). He was laid to rest on January 18th in the Kapuzinergruft, next to Napoleon I's son, the Duke of Reichstadt (1811-1832). Family • Mother: Sophie von Bayern • Wife: Charlotte, Empress of Mexico, Princess of Belgium (1857-1867) • Brother: Franz Joseph von Habsburg, Emperor of Austria • Brother: Ludwig Viktor, Erzherzog von Österreich Related persons • has a connection with Bazaine, François Achille • was pupil of Clairmont, Charles Gaulis • has a connection with Salm-Salm, Agnes zu • employed Salm-Salm, Felix zu • was painted by Stieler, Joseph • was painted by Winterhalter, Franz Xaver Events |
| 28/2/1857 | Franz Joseph appoints Maximilian as Governor of Venice. In a handwritten letter, he appointed him governor of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia. [Franz Joseph von Habsburg, Emperor of Austria] |
| 20/3/1857 | Prince Maximilian makes his entry into Venice. To his disappointment, the new Governor-General was received coolly. |
| 10/4/1864 | Maximilian of Austria accepts the crown of Mexico. Two months later, he would arrive in Mexico City. |
| 14/4/1864 | Maximilian of Austria leaves Trieste and departs for Mexico. He had managed to make himself popular in Trieste. He could not hold back his tears when he departed for Veracruz on the ship Novara. His wife, Charlotte, was with him. [Charlotte, Empress of Mexico, Princess of Belgium] |
| 28/5/1864 | The Novara reaches Veracruz[. On board were Maximilian of Austria and his wife Carlotta, who had come to Mexico to assume the imperial throne. The reception in this republican-leaning port city was chilly. Maximilian outwardly remained unperturbed, whereas Carlotta regarded it as a grave insult. Later, in the capital, Mexico City, they would indeed be cheered, especially by minority groups, but it soon became apparent that the country was only partially under control and in a dire financial state. [Charlotte, Empress of Mexico, Princess of Belgium] |
| 13/7/1866 | Empress Charlotte leaves Mexico for France. She went to France to ask for support for her husband, Emperor Maximilian. [Charlotte, Empress of Mexico, Princess of Belgium] |
| 21/8/1866 | Napoleon III formally refuses further support to Mexico. He informs Empress Charlotte, who is staying in Paris, and her husband Maximilian of this by letter. Charlotte sends a telegram to Max with the text "Todos es inutil" (everything is meaningless). [Charlotte, Empress of Mexico, Princess of Belgium][Napoleon III Bonaparte] |
| 23/8/1866 | Empress Charlotte leaves Paris after failed mission to ask support for Mexico. She had been unable to secure support from Napoleon III. She was completely distraught and now hated Napoleon fiercely. She wrote a confused letter to her husband, Emperor Maximilian, calling Napoleon the devil with hell within him and Paris Babylon. She suffered from paranoia and feared that Napoleon III would burn her to ashes. She was happy to leave the region where "Napoleon poisoned the air with his villainy." Those around her were still willing to assume that her strange behavior was due to disappointment. In reality Napoleon was ill and stricken by guilt that he could not afford to help Maximilian. [Charlotte, Empress of Mexico, Princess of Belgium][Napoleon III Bonaparte] |
| 1/10/1866 | Empress Charlotte writes a farewell letter to her husband Maximilian. She was convinced she would be murdered within days. In Rome, it was announced that a woman (she) had spent the night in the Vatican; this overshadowed the news that the Empress of Mexico (also she) had gone mad. [Charlotte, Empress of Mexico, Princess of Belgium] |
| 11/10/1866 | Emperor Maximilian leaves Mexico City. He intended to resign but was persuaded otherwise, which would have fatal consequences for him. |
| 21/1/1867 | Juárez and the cabinet temporarily make Zacatecas the capital of Mexico. They were at war with Emperor Maximilian. |
| 5/2/1867 | The French army evacuates Mexico City. French troops were in Mexico to uphold the reign of Emperor Maximilian. When they left, Maximilian remarked that he and his followers were 'finally free'. A few months later, he would be captured by the insurgents and executed by a firing squad. |
| 15/5/1867 | Emperor Maximilian of Mexico is captured. He had rushed to the aid of the conservative city of Querétaro with his small army of 1,600 men. However, Republican troops subsequently besieged the city, and Commander Escobedo surrendered his sword to the Republicans. The Emperor was taken to the Cruz monastery along with some of his aides. Two days later, he was transferred to the La Teresita Carmelite convent. |
| 12/6/1867 | The trial of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico begins |
| 19/6/1867 | Maximilian of Austria is executed in Mexico. This marked the end of his short-lived empire. Maximilian was executed alongside two of his associates, Miramón and Mejía. General Miramón was permitted to stand in the center. Maximilian gave each of the seven marksmen a coin and asked them to aim carefully. He was struck by five bullets and died instantly. Initially, the execution was scheduled to take place immediately after the sentencing on June 16, 1867, but the intervention of the Prussian envoy, Baron Anton von Magnus, led to a brief postponement. |
| 30/6/1867 | Napoleon III bursts out in tears after hearing of Maximilian's death. Maximilian of Austria, emperor of Mexico, was executed on 19 June 1867. The news reached France by telegram from Washington. The young Count of Gontaut-Biron received the message and gave it to Napoleon, who burst out in tears. Eugénie had seen it coming but took it badly as well, because she felt responsible. The news was kept silent for the moment because the closing ceremony for the Exhibition Universelle was planned for the next day and Paris was full of festivities. [Napoleon III Bonaparte] |
| 30/6/1867 | Franz Joseph learns of the death of his brother Maximilian. He was just taking one of his rare vacations with Empress Elisabeth and the children in Bavaria when the news reached him completely unexpectedly. He returned to Vienna immediately to break the news to his parents. Sophie of Bavaria, Max's mother, refused to read the letter of condolence from Napoleon III. [Franz Joseph von Habsburg, Emperor of Austria][Napoleon III Bonaparte][Sophie von Bayern] |
| 26/11/1867 | Mexico hands over the body of former Emperor Maximilian to Austria. It was handed over to the Austrian Admiral Tegetthoff, who was to transport it back to Austria aboard the ship Novara. This was the same ship that had brought Maximilian to Mexico in 1864. The handover had been preceded by lengthy negotiations, and Austria had been forced to recognize the new Mexican government. |
| 18/1/1868 | Maximilian of Austria is buried in Vienna. On 17 January his body had arrived at the Südbahnhof (Southern Railway Station) in Vienna. Apart from the empress Elisabeth the entire imperial family was there. The next day he was buried in the Kapuzinergruft, where he was laid to rest next to the Duke of Reichstadt, Napoleon's son. Because it was cold in Vienna and it was carnival, the service at the Hofburg on the 17th had received little visitors. Maximilian's mother Sophia insisted on accompanying the body to the Kapuzinergruft through the cold. [Franz Joseph von Habsburg, Emperor of Austria][Sophie von Bayern] |
| Images | ||
 The coffin of Maximilian of Austria, emperor of Mexico, at the Kapuzinergruft, Vienna. Picture by Androom (13 Aug 1995) |
 Statue of Maximilian, emperor of Mexico, in Hietzing, Vienna. Picture by androom (15 Aug 2006) |
 The statue of Maximilian, emperor of Mexico, in Trieste. It was created by Johannes Schilling and unveiled in 1875. Picture by Androom (24 Aug 2022) |
Sources • Vincent, Benjamin, Haydn's Dictionary of Dates, and Universal Information, Ward, Lock & Co, London, 1906 • Haslip, Joan, Imperial Adventurer: Emperor Maximilian of Mexico and his empress, Cardinal, London, 1974 • Haslip, Joan, The Lonely empress, A Biography of Elizabeth of Austria, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1965 • Mexican Almanac • Reformer, Republikaner und Rebellen, Das andere Haus Habsburg-Lotharingen, Piper, München, 1995 • Maximilian I of Mexico - Wikipedia (EN) |
