Maximilian I of Mexico

1832 – 1867 · Generation XX · Emperor of Mexico (r. 1864–1867) · Habsburg-Lorraine

Maximilian (1832 – 1867). Emperor of Mexico (r. 1864–1867). Married Carlota in 1857. Brother of Franz Joseph; executed by firing squad at Querétaro; no legitimate issue. Before Mexico he commanded Austria’s small imperial navy and served briefly as viceroy of Lombardy–Venetia until the emperor removed him. Mexican monarchists, defeated at home and backed by Napoleon III’s army, offered him a throne, and he accepted after a bogus referendum staged to show the people wanted him. His hold was never firm: instead of restoring the conservatives who had summoned him he pursued liberal policies, losing their support, while the United States kept recognising Benito Juárez and, once its Civil War ended, supplied his republican forces. When Napoleon III withdrew the French troops, the empire collapsed. Mexican historians have since softened his portrait — less the villain of the national story, more a liberal alongside the republic’s own presidents.

One of 20 people of Habsburg-Lorraine (from 1736) in this archive. Maria Theresa’s marriage carried the inheritance into a new name, which its heirs still bear.

Parents

Archduke Franz Karl of Austria (1802 – 1878)
Princess Sophie of Bavaria (1805 – 1872)

Siblings

Franz Joseph I of Austria (1830 – 1916)
Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria (1833 – 1896)

Partners

Married Carlota of Mexico (1840 – 1927) in 1857

Life

1832 — Born
1857 — Married Carlota
1867 — Died