Maximilian I. (1832-1867)

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https://term.museum-digital.de/md-de/persinst/223811
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Name (English)
Maximilian I. (1832-1867)
Short name
Maximilian I of Mexico
Year of birth
1832
Year of death
1867
Short Description
Maximilian I (German: Ferdinand Maximilian Josef Maria von Habsburg-Lothringen, Spanish: Fernando Maximiliano José María de Habsburgo-Lorena; 6 July 1832 – 19 June 1867) was an Austrian archduke who became emperor of the Second Mexican Empire from 10 April 1864 until his execution by the Mexican Republic on 19 June 1867. A member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, Maximilian was the younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. Previous to his election as emperor of Mexico, he was commander-in-chief of the small Imperial Austrian Navy and briefly the Austrian viceroy of Lombardy–Venetia, then removed. With nationalist sentiments rising in the Italian region of the empire, Maximilian unsuccessfully sought to temper them, resulting in the emperor removing him from the post in 1859. Maximilian was affronted at the act, damaging to the "good name of an archduke." 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. Initially Maximilian was not interested, but following his dismissal as viceroy by his brother, the Mexican monarchists´ plan was far more appealing to him. Since Maximilian was a descendant of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, ruler of Spain when Spain conquered the Aztecs (1519-21) and brought Mexico into the Spanish Empire, until Mexican independence in 1821, Maximilian would seem to be a perfect candidate for the conservatives´ plans for monarchy in Mexico, with his alluring royal pedigree. Maximilian was interested in assuming the throne, but with guarantees from France of support. Mexican conservatives did not take sufficient account of Maximilian´s embrace of liberalism, and Maximilian took insufficient account of being a foreign outsider, no matter how high-minded his plans might be. At the time the idea of Maximilian as emperor of Mexico was first raised, it seemed farfetched, but circumstances changed making it a viable plan. But big forces continued to be at play, so that his tenure as emperor was just three years, ending with his execution by firing squad by forces of the Restored Republic on 19 June 1867.
Entity Encoding
pik

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