Maximilian I of Mexico

Early life

Maximilian was born on 6 July 1832 at the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, capital of the Austrian Empire, and was baptized the following day as Ferdinand Maximilian Josef Maria. His first name honored his godfather and paternal uncle, the future Emperor Ferdinand I; the second honored his late maternal grandfather, Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria. His father was Archduke Franz Karl, second surviving son of Emperor Francis I, and his mother was Princess Sophie of Bavaria of the House of Wittelsbach.

Sophie was described as intelligent, ambitious, and strong-willed, with little in common with her husband, whom historian Richard O'Conner characterized as an amiably dim fellow whose main interest was consuming bowls of dumplings drenched in gravy. Despite their differences, the marriage produced four sons who reached adulthood. Rumors at court alleged Maximilian was the product of an extramarital affair between Sophie and Napoleon II, Duke of Reichstadt, though the existence of such an affair is dubious.

Maximilian's upbringing was closely supervised; until age six he was cared for by Baroness Louise von Sturmfeder-Oppenweiler, then by a tutor. His education included history, geography, law, technology, languages, military studies, fencing, and diplomacy, with weekly class hours increasing from 32 at age seven to 55 by age 17. From an early age, he tried to surpass his older brother Franz Joseph, but primogeniture destined him for secondary status.

Marriage to Charlotte of Belgium, personal life, and family remnants

In May 1856, Franz Joseph asked Maximilian to return from Paris to Vienna, stopping in Brussels to visit King Leopold I of the Belgians. Maximilian arrived in Belgium on 30 May 1856, was received by Prince Philippe, and toured several cities. In Brussels, he met Charlotte, the only daughter of King Leopold and the late Queen Louise of Orleans, and romance blossomed. Leopold I, aware of the couple's feelings, advised Maximilian to propose.

The marriage was advantageous for Belgium, a newly established nation seeking ties to the Great Powers. Having been unlucky in love twice before, Maximilian proposed and was welcomed into the Belgian Court. He later remarked on the contrast between the Belgian Palace of Laeken and the splendor of the Imperial Viennese residences. Prince George of Saxony, previously rejected by Charlotte, warned Leopold of the calculating character of the Viennese archduke, while the Duke of Brabant, future Leopold II, wrote to Queen Victoria that Maximilian was a youth filled with ingenuity, knowledge, talent, and kindness.

The engagement was formally concluded on 23 December 1856, and the couple married on 27 July 1857 at the Royal Palace of Brussels. Distinguished European royals attended, including Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria. The marriage enhanced the prestige of the Belgian dynasty, allying the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha with the House of Habsburg.

Viceroy of Lombardy-Venetia, 1857–1859

On 28 February 1857, Franz Joseph named Maximilian viceroy of Lombardy-Venetia, an Italian-speaking region of the empire. Maximilian and Charlotte made their entrance to the capital Milan on 6 September 1857, living at the Royal Palace of Milan and occasionally at the Royal Villa of Monza. As viceroy, Maximilian lived as a sovereign surrounded by an imposing court. During his two-year tenure, he continued construction of Miramar Castle, which would not be finished until three years later; Charlotte's royal dowry aided the construction, though her brother Leopold remarked in his diary that the construction amounted to endless madness.

Maximilian worked on developing the imperial navy and organized the expedition of the ship Novara, which became the first circumnavigation of the globe by the Austrian Empire, a scientific expedition lasting from 1857 to 1859 involving many Viennese intellectuals. Politically, the archduke was strongly influenced by nineteenth-century liberalism. His appointment as viceroy was made in response to growing discontent among the Italian population with the rule of the older Joseph Radetzky von Radetz, and was intended to encourage personal loyalty to the House of Habsburg.

Charlotte made efforts to win over subjects by speaking Italian, visiting charitable institutions, inaugurating schools, and dressing in native Lombard dress. Despite these efforts, anti-Austrian sentiment continued to spread rapidly.

Emperor of Mexico

The failed monarchy of Agustín I ended with his execution in 1824, but conservatives continued to see monarchy as viable. Monarchist plans were laid out in an 1840 essay by statesman José María Gutiérrez de Estrada, arguing that the republic had failed and a European prince should be invited to establish a Mexican throne. Such ideas received official interest during the presidencies of Mariano Paredes and Santa Anna, but by the late 1850s liberals appeared victorious with the Constitution of 1857, which constrained the powers of the Catholic Church and the army.

Conservatives declared the constitution null and formed a rival government, leading to a three-year civil war (1858–61) won by liberals. After defeat, conservatives regrouped and sought external allies. Mexican diplomat José Hidalgo, who had been tasked by the Santa Anna administration to sound European courts about a Mexican monarchy, continued his efforts independently after losing official accreditation. Through his childhood friend Eugénie de Montijo, wife of Napoleon III, Hidalgo gained the attention of the French ruler.

Did You Know?

• Maximilian's execution was portrayed in a series of three paintings by French painter Édouard Manet, who had Republican sympathies.
• Composer Franz Liszt included a funeral march in memory of Maximilian I in his collection Années de pèlerinage.
• Mementos of Emperor Maximilian I and the Second Mexican Empire are on display at the Schatzkammer Museum in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna.