#maximiliano de asburgo

[yourmexahistory]

Did u know that mexico was once technically under the french empire?

Yeah, do you know the whole 5th of may thing? well it's a celebration of the battle that the mexican state (with the help of indigenous people) won against the french, but they didn't won the war.

So, context. After mexico got its "independence" there were several other states that wanted to take over it: spain, britain, usa, and france. So the french try first through whats called "the war of the cakes" which sounds so much fun than it actually was (a lawsuit that some french bakers put out against the goverment after some people trashed their business). Anyways things happened and this powers (except the usa) decided that the mexican state owe them money so it started to pay whats called "the foreign debt or la deuda externa" which continues to exist 'till this day. Things happen again and now Benito Juarez, Jalisco native of indigineous heritage, masonero (sortof part of the ilumanti? i think?) and face of the Liberal Party whose motto was "The respect to the right of others makes peace", becames president, and decides to just stop paying said debt.

The european powers were angry and they threaten with invasion, but alas, Benito was like wait "abrazos no balazos or hugs not guns. " (reference to the current president of México) "and you win, I'll pay you the money", and the powers were like, you know what, yeah, and retreated. All except the french. (It was the third french empire? The one with Napoléon the third), who decided to invade México, again with around 6 thousand soldiers, which some die in the battle of puebla but at the end they were able to get into CDMX. Making it now part of the french empire.

However it wasn't like Napoleon the 3rd would've wanted to administrate the state/piece of land/ whatever it was at the time, plus he had wanted to established a local economy. So he talked to the Conservative party in México about what where their ideas for a candidate, and they said, a monarch (european obvs.) that was Catholic, and they ended up finding Maximiliano de Hasburgo, an austrian archiduque. Legend has it that the man was like "I'm not going unless the people in México want me to be their "king" or something like it. To which of course the conservative party was like "of course, they love you" (they didn't?? Like you'll see its weird).

Max de Asburgo arrived to Veracruz two years after the Battle of Puebla (aka 5th of May) in May, 1864 and then later made a big entrance to the Capital and all. He was the one that was like, you know what "we should built a castle near this lake that's called mountain of the crickets" which is why we now have the Castillo de Chapultepec, he put in vogue the fashion of having the president reside in a Castle until the presidential palace? home? in Los Pinos was created, which has been changed once again by the current president, who was like "fuck that, I'm staying at the castle" (i think, memory is a bit illusive). That being said, is important to note that Benito hadn't dissapeared, he still had a goverment, that changed headquarters everytime the conservative/imperial forces knocked, but he was there and he was fighting.

So, the arguments between the liberals and the conservatives, have to do with how the state is administrated in based of three key factors: 1st Republic (aka USA model) vz Monarchy (aka european model) 2nd Centralist vz Federalist and 3rd a lay goverment vz a religious one. And Conservatives where very you know, vocal about their religion and how México should be yk a Catholic State, and it WAS, but freedom of religion allowed to people to persue other spiritual/religious avenues therefore weakening the power of the church. And Max didn't only do that, he also took away the good of the chuch and nationalized them, and ecleciastic juristiction- which limit the role of the church in tribunals and stuff.

Max wasn't what conservatives expected. He did ruled under a monarchy, though I think we should know it wasn't an absolutist one, HE had the executive power and when he wasn't present her wife had it (She's a controversial figure some love her some hate her, she has a corrido in her name titled goodbye mom Carlota which refers to when she was exiled after her husband was murdered, but i'm getting ahead of myself). The lesgislative power was manged by the congress of ministers, and the judicial by the tribunal of accounts. But the most important part was that He made the law under which the empire would be mange in accordance to european LIBERAL principles as: personal freedom, equality under law, personal security, people not being able to enter your home without explicit permission, freedom of expresion (or more acurrately freedom of the press), freedom of work, and the most important for the historical context freedom of RELIGION.

Anyways, 2 years later the French lost against the Gringos in some battle, and they are like "we're out of north america" (they still had the french guayana, and i think still do? so they're still in america but they left México). So they retire the french troops that were in México and practically left Max and Carlota to fend for themselves. Things didn't look great for Max the conservatives hated him for being a liberal and the liberals for being a conservative, Benito had taken the opportunity of the french retiring to seized power and get back into the presidential seat. Benito told Max "Go back to where you came from" or something like it, and Max did wanted to go back to Austria but his mom and brother back there were like "And come back as a COWARD, a fail Monarch. No, you stay there and die like men".

And that's tecnically how México was part of the French empire under austrian administration. As always take anything I say with big excepticism, enjoy your 5th of May celebrations.

And die like men he did. The republican party, the one of Benito, held him a trial found him guilty and tie his hands, blindfolded him, and then shoot him to dead the 19 of July 1867. Legend has it that before he was shot he said the following words "Let the blood spilled by my death heal the wounds of México." His blood, however, did not heal any wounds.