#maximilian i of mexico
On the following morning of 10 April, the Mexican deputation, headed by Gutierrez and Hidalgo, were driven in the Archduke’s state carriages from Trieste to Miramar. It was a Sunday when the gardens were open to the public, and they had never been more crowded than on this day. The Mexicans were welcomed with cheers and flowers, a happy change after those winter months of uncertainty and gloom, waiting in a Paris hotel for Maximilian to make up his mind. Count Zichy, the newly-appointed master of ceremonies, conducted them to the state apartments, where Maximilian and Charlotte, the latter spectacularly beautiful in a rose-colored dress and diamond crown, stood surrounded by their household. Maximilian, who as usual was wearing naval uniform, looked so white and strained that his doctor feared that he was going to faint. Beside him on a small table was a parchment roll containing a list of all the Mexican towns which had given their adhesion to the Empire and he kept nervously fingering this roll as if it was the only justification for acceptance. It was again Gutierrez who acted as spokesman, speaking in the name of a country he had not visited for a quarter of a century, rolling off rhetorical phrases in French, which came more naturally than his mother tongue. Maximilian took care to reply in Spanish, which he and Charlotte had learned and mastered in the last two years. Thanks to the decision of the notables of Mexico, he said, he could now justly regard himself as the elect of the Mexican people. This was the first condition he had made when, in October, they had honored him with the offer of the throne. Thanks to the magnanimity of the Emperor of the French, the guarantees he had mentioned at the time of his first visit had also been provided, and he was therefore able to accept the crown and would endeavor, once he was on the throne, to devote himself “heart and soul to work for the freedom, prosperity and greatness of Mexico”.
His speech aroused the greatest enthusiasm. The Mexicans, who had waited so long in suspense, broke into loud cheers, “Long live the Emperor and Empress of Mexico!” And Charlotte, who was now the “Empress Carlota”, raised her proud little head still higher as she acknowledged their homage. Maximilian swore by the Holy Gospels to “assure by all the means in my power the prosperity and well-being of the nation and to defend the independence and integrity of its territory”. As he spoke, the Mexican Imperial Standard was hoisted on the flagstaff and twenty-one cannon shots were fired in salute from the warships anchored in the bay. The Mexican Empire was bom.
Haslip, Joan (1971). The Crown of Mexico: Maximilian and his Empress Carlota
ON THIS DAY, IN 1864, ARCHDUKE FERDINAND MAXIMILIAN OF AUSTRIA WAS PROCLAIMED EMPEROR OF MEXICO. He was the second son of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and Princess Sophie of Bavaria, and therefore a younger brother of Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria. Maximilian had accepted the crown of Mexico, at that time intervened by France, after being reassured that the Mexicans had voted in favor of establishing a monarchy - although in reality, the voting had been rigged. His position as emperor was unstable from the beginning, since Benito Juarez was still considered the President of Mexico by many and only the presence of French troops in Mexico could guarantee that he stayed in power. Maximilian’s imperial adventure ended up being short lived, since the empire crumbled down only three years later and after being captured by the forces of Juarez he was convicted for treason and executed by a firing squad.
At eight o'clock on the morning of Saturday, 9 April, the Imperial train with Franz Josef on board drew up at the private station at Miramar, where Maximilian was waiting to receive him. The Emperor was accompanied by an impressive retinue: seven Archdukes, including his two brothers, Karl Ludwig and Ludwig Viktor; three ministers, one of them Count Rechberg; the Chancellors of Hungary, Croatia and Transylvania; the Chief of the General Staff and the civil and military governors of Venetia and of Istria, accompanied by a bevy of secretaries and aides-de-camp. But not even Count Rechberg was witness to the private conversation between the two brothers, which lasted for nearly two hours. Officers of the Themis and the Novara, anchored off Miramar, assert that at one time during the interview they saw the Archduke come out on to the terrace and pace up and down in an obvious state of agitation, till he was recalled by one of the Emperor’s aides-de-camp. It was past eleven when the two brothers returned to the state apartments to put the final signature to the “Family Pact”, witnessed by the highest dignitaries of the Empire. And though Maximilian was later to declare that he had been forced to sign under duress, it was noted at the time that not only the Archduke but also the Emperor had reddened eyes, as if he regretted what he had been forced to do.
The “pact” was signed. The naval band playing ouftide the castle struck up “Gott Erhalte Unser Kaiser” and Charlotte, her radiant composure in striking contrast to that of her husband and brother-in-law, came forward to take the Emperor’s arm and lead him into the state banqueting hall. At half past one, Franz Josef was already at the station. The farewells had been formal and correct. But at the moment of boarding the train, he appears to have felt a twinge of tenderness and regret. All the dissensions of the last years, all the bitterness and suspicions were forgotten. He knew only that he was parting, perhaps for ever, from a once-beloved brother. In a voice broken with emotion, he called out, “Maxl”, holding out his arms to embrace him for the last time.Ministers and generals looked away, for both the brothers were in tears.
Haslip, Joan (1971). The Crown of Mexico: Maximilian and his Empress Carlota
ON THIS DAY, IN 1864, ARCHDUKE FERDINAND MAXIMILIAN OF AUSTRIA RENOUNCED TO HIS HEREDITARY RIGHTS IN ORDER TO BECOME EMPEROR OF MEXICO. Archduke Maximilian was the second son of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and his wife Princess Sophie of Bavaria, and therefore, a younger brother of Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria. Maximilian had been offered the crown of Mexico, at that time under French intervention, assured that the people had voted in favor of establishing a monarchy. Renouncing to his Habsburg rights was the condition that his brother Franz Josef put forward if he accepted the Mexican offer, which he did. When Maximilian signed the deal, he was second in the line of succesion to the throne of the Austrian Empire.
Archduchess Sophie when she requested that Archduke Max’s coffin was laid next to the Duke of Reichstadt’s
Death mask of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico
Daguerreotype of Archduke Maximilian in villa lazarovich, 1852
Archdukes Franz Joseph, Ferdinand Maximilian, Karl Ludwig and Archduchess Maria Anna
