Results for Maximilian I of Mexico
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Maximilian

Maximilian (d. 295), martyr. The Acts of this martyr are ancient and authentic; they provide an early example of a Christian conscientious objector, who can be compared with soldier saints such as Marinus or Julian the Veteran. In 295 the proconsul Dion went to Tebessa (Algeria) to recruit soldiers for the third Augustan legion stationed there. At this time the Roman army was recruited mainly from volunteers, but sons of veterans were obliged to serve. Through the advocatus Pompeianus, Fabius Victor presented his son Maximilian, twenty‐one years old, to the recruiting agent. Pompeianus, seeing he would make an excellent recruit, asked for him to be measured: he was five foot ten tall. When asked his name, Maximilian replied: ‘Why do you wish to know my name? I cannot serve because I am a Christian.’ In spite of this, orders were given for him to be measured and given the military seal (or badge). He answered: ‘I will not do it: I cannot be a soldier.’ When told he must either serve or die, he said: ‘You may cut off my head, but I will not be a soldier of this world because I am a soldier of God.’ Dion then said to Victor: ‘Speak to your son.’ He answered: ‘He knows what he believes and can take his own counsel on what is best for him.’ ‘Agree to serve, ’ insisted Dion to Maximilian, ‘and receive the military seal.’ ‘I will not accept the seal’, he replied, ‘I already have the seal of Christ my God…I will not accept the seal of this world; if you give it to me. I will break it for it is worthless. I cannot wear a piece of lead round my neck after I have received the saving sign of Jesus Christ my Lord, the son of the living God. You do not know him; yet he suffered for our salvation; God delivered him up for our sins. He is the one whom all Christians serve; we follow him as the prince of life and author of salvation.’ Dion threatened a miserable death if he would not serve and told him to have regard for his youth; serving in the army was suitable for a young man. When Maximilian answered: ‘My service is for the Lord: I cannot serve the world’, Dion then said: ‘There are soldiers who are Christian who serve in the bodyguard of our lords Diocletian and Maximian.’ Maximilian answered: ‘They know what is best for them. I am a Christian and I cannot do what is wrong.’ Dion continued: ‘What wrong do those commit who serve in the army? Maximilian answered: ‘You know very well what they do.’ The final alternative was then presented: military service or death. ‘I shall not perish’, he said, ‘and if I do depart from this world, my soul shall live with Christ my Lord.’

When Maximilian's name was struck off, he was condemned: ‘Whereas Maximilian has disloyally refused the military oath, he is sentenced to die by the sword.’ Just before execution he encouraged his companions to perseverance and asked his father to give his new clothes to the executioner. A devout woman called Pompeiana obtained his body, brought it to Carthage and buried it close to that of Cyprian. Maximilian's father Victor died soon afterwards. Feast: 26 August.

Bibliography
Click here for a list of abbreviations used in this bibliography.

  • A.C.M., xxxvii. 245–9
  • Propylaeum, p. 94; H. Delehaye, Les passions des martyrs (1921), pp. 104–10; C. J. Cadoux, The Early Christian Attitude to War (1919)
  • B.L.S., viii. 254–6
 
 

Maximilian.
(click to enlarge)
Maximilian. (credit: Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.)
(born July 6, 1832, Vienna, Austria — died June 19, 1867, near Querétaro, Mex.) Archduke of Austria and emperor of Mexico (1864 – 67). The younger brother of Francis Joseph I of Austria-Hungary, he served in the Austrian navy and as governor-general of the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom. He accepted the offer of the Mexican throne, naively believing that the Mexicans had voted him their king. In fact, the offer was a scheme between Mexican conservatives, who wanted to overthrow Pres. Benito Juárez, and Napoleon III, who wanted to collect a debt from Mexico and had imperialist ambitions there. Intending to rule with paternal benevolence, Maximilian upheld Juárez's reforms, to the fury of the conservatives. The end of the American Civil War allowed the U.S. to intervene on Juárez's behalf; French forces that had been supporting Maximilian left at the request of the U.S., and Juárez's army retook Mexico City. Refusing to abdicate, Maximilian was defeated and executed.

For more information on Maximilian, visit Britannica.com.

 
1832–67, emperor of Mexico (1864–67). As the Austrian archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, he was denied a share in the imperial government by his reactionary brother, Emperor Francis Joseph. Maximilian served as commander in chief of the Austrian fleet and was governor-general of Lombardo-Venetia (1857–59), but he found no outlet for his dreams of liberal reform. When Mexican conservatives negotiated with Napoleon III to found a Mexican empire, Maximilian was persuaded to accept the crown. He and his wife, Carlotta, left their palace near Trieste and sailed (1864) to Mexico. The empire was a failure from the start. Maximilian, who had no real understanding of Mexico, found most of the country hostile to him and loyal to Benito Juárez. He alienated the conservatives by his liberal tendencies and others of his supporters by his decree (1865) ordering the summary execution of all followers of Juárez. Indeed, Maximilian's tenure rested solely on French soldiers, who drove Juárez and his liberal army to the north. The European monarchs, except Napoleon III, were lukewarm. The United States, irked by this violation of the Monroe Doctrine, was frankly hostile and was prevented from interfering only by the American Civil War. When affairs in France and the cessation of the Civil War impelled Napoleon III to withdraw (1866–67) the French troops from Mexico, the flimsy fabric of the empire dissolved. For a time Maximilian considered abdication, but he was irresolute. In 1866, Empress Carlotta went to Europe and vainly sought aid from Napoleon III and the pope. Maximilian, in desperation, assumed personal command of his forces, then mostly concentrated at Querétaro. There, after a siege (March-May, 1867), he was captured and shot. He wrote Aus meinem Leben (1865, tr. Recollections of My Life, 1868).

Bibliography

See J. Musser, The Establishment of Maximilian's Empire in Mexico (1918, repr. 1976); E. Corti, Maximilian and Charlotte of Mexico (1928, repr. 1968); Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico: Memoirs of His Private Secretary, José Luis Blasio (tr. and ed. by R. H. Murray, 1934).

 
Dictionary: Max·i·mil·ian  (măk'sə-mĭl'yən) pronunciation, 1832–1867.

Austrian archduke and emperor of Mexico (1864–1867). Appointed emperor by the French, who had recently captured Mexico, he lacked popular support and was captured and executed by Mexican republicans when France withdrew from the country under American pressure.


 
Wikipedia: Maximilian I of Mexico
Maximilian I
Emperor of Mexico
Maximilian_I_of_Mexico_portrait_standing.jpg
Reign April 10, 1864May 15, 1867
Coronation April 10, 1864
Born July 6 1832(1832--)
Schönbrunn, Vienna, Austria
Died June 19 1867 (aged 34)
Cerro de las Campanas, Querétaro, Mexico
Buried Imperial Crypt, Vienna, Austria
Predecessor Benito Juárez as President of Mexico
Successor Benito Juárez as President of Mexico
Consort Princess Charlotte of Belgium
Issue Prince Agustín de Iturbide
Salvador de Iturbide y de Marzán
Both Adopted
Royal House Habsburg
Father Archduke Franz Karl of Austria
Mother Princess Sophie of Bavaria

Maximilian I, Emperor of Mexico (Emperador Maximiliano I de México) (July 6, 1832June 19, 1867) (born Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph) was a member of Austria's Imperial Habsburg-Lorraine family. With the backing of Napoleon III of France and a group of Mexican conservatives, he was proclaimed Emperor of Mexico on April 10, 1864. Many foreign governments refused to recognize his government, especially the United States; this ensured the success of Republican forces led by Benito Juárez, and Maximilian was executed, after his capture by Mexican Republicans, in Querétaro in 1867.

Early life

Maximiliaan_van_Oostenrijk.jpg

Maximilian was born in Schönbrunn, Vienna, Austria, the second son of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and his wife Sophie Friederike Dorothee Wilhelmine, Princess of Bavaria. His siblings were Emperor Franz Josef of Austria (sometimes identified by the English spelling Francis Joseph), Karl Ludwig, Archduchess Maria Anna Caroline Pia and Archduke Ludwig Viktor. Maximilian was born as His Imperial and Royal Highness Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph, Prince Imperial and Archduke of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia.

He was a particularly clever boy, showing considerable taste for the arts and displaying an early interest in science, especially botany. He was trained for the navy, and threw himself into this career with so much zeal that he quickly rose to high command, and was instrumental in creating the naval port of Trieste [citation needed] and the fleet with which Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff won his victories in the Italian War. Very much influenced by the progressive ideas in vogue at the time, he had some reputation as a liberal, and this led, in February 1857, to his appointment as viceroy of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia.

He married Princess Charlotte of Belgium (also known as Empress Carlota of Mexico), daughter of Leopold I, King of the Belgians, on July 27, 1857, in Brussels, Belgium.

They lived as the Austrian regents in Milan until 1859 when Emperor Franz Josef dismissed Maximilian. The emperor was angered by the liberal policies pursued by his brother in Italy. Shortly after Maximilian's dismissal, Austria lost control of most of its Italian possessions. He then retired into private life, chiefly at Trieste, near which he built the beautiful castle Miramar.

Offer of a Mexican crown

Portrait of Maximilian I of Mexico, by Franz Xaver Winterhalter
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Portrait of Maximilian I of Mexico, by Franz Xaver Winterhalter

In 1859 he was first approached by Mexican monarchists with a proposal to become the Emperor of Mexico. He did not accept at first, but sought to satisfy his restless desire for adventure with a botanical expedition to the tropical forests of Brazil. However, after the French intervention in Mexico, under pressure from Napoleon III and after General Élie-Frédéric Forey's capture of Mexico City and the plebiscite which confirmed his proclamation of the empire, he consented to accept the crown in 1863 (Maximilian was not told of the dubious nature of the plebiscite, which was held while French troops were occupying most of the territory). His decision involved the loss of all his noble rights in Austria, though he was not informed of this until just before he left. Archduchess Charlotte was thereafter known as "Her Imperial Majesty Empress Carlota".

Emperor of Mexico

Maximilian and Carlota were crowned in 1864 at La Catedral Metropolitana in Mexico City.
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Maximilian and Carlota were crowned in 1864 at La Catedral Metropolitana in Mexico City.

Maximilian landed at Veracruz on May 28, 1864 with the backing of Mexican conservatives and Napoleon III; but from the very outset he found himself involved in serious difficulties since the Mexican liberals, led by Benito Juárez, refused to recognize his rule. There was continuous warfare between his French troops and the Mexican republicans.

The Imperial couple were crowned at the Catedral Metropolitana in 1864 and chose as their seat Mexico City. The Emperor and Empress set up their residence at Chapultepec Castle, located on the top of a hill formerly at the outskirts of Mexico City that had been a retreat of Aztec emperors. Maximilian ordered a wide avenue cut through the city from Chapultepec to the city center; originally named Avenue of the Empress, it is today Mexico City's famous Paseo de la Reforma (The Reform Promenade).

As Maximilian and Carlota had no children, they adopted Agustín de Iturbide y Green and his cousin Salvador de Iturbide y de Marzán, both grandsons of Agustín de Iturbide, who had briefly reigned as Emperor of Mexico in the 1820s. They gave young Agustín the title of "His Highness, the Prince of Iturbide" and intended to groom him as heir to the throne.

To the dismay of his conservative allies, Maximilian upheld several liberal policies proposed by the Juárez administration – such as land reforms, religious freedoms, and extending the right to vote beyond the landholding class. At first Maximilian offered Juárez an amnesty if he would swear allegiance to the crown, which Juárez refused. Later Maximilian ordered all captured followers of Juárez to be shot: a tactical mistake that only exacerbated opposition to his regime.

After the end of the American Civil War the United States began supplying arms to the republicans. By 1866 the imminence of Maximilian's abdication was apparent to almost everyone outside Mexico.

In 1866 Napoleon III withdrew his troops in the face of Mexican resistance and U.S. opposition under the Monroe Doctrine. Carlota travelled to Europe, seeking assistance for her husband's regime in Paris and Vienna and, finally, in Rome from Pope Pius IX. Her efforts failed, and she suffered a profound emotional collapse (some say insanity) and never went back to Mexico. After her husband was executed by Mexican republicans the following year, she spent the rest of her life in seclusion, first at Miramare Castle near Trieste, Italy, and then at Bouchout Castle in Meise, Belgium, where she died on January 19, 1927.

Downfall

Execution of the Emperor by Édouard Manet (this depiction is inaccurate, as Maximilian did not stand in the center at his execution, nor did he wear a hat). However, Miramón (right) and Mejía (left) are depicted according to photographic portraits
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Execution of the Emperor by Édouard Manet (this depiction is inaccurate, as Maximilian did not stand in the center at his execution, nor did he wear a hat). However, Miramón (right) and Mejía (left) are depicted according to photographic portraits

Though urged to abandon Mexico by Napoleon III himself, whose withdrawal from Mexico was a great blow to the Mexican Imperial cause, Maximilian refused to desert his followers. Withdrawing, in February 1867, to Querétaro, he sustained a siege for several weeks, but on 11 May resolved to attempt an escape through the enemy lines. However the city fell on May 15, 1867, before he could carry out this plan, and he was captured. Following a court-martial, he was sentenced to death. Many of the crowned heads of Europe and other prominent figures (including the eminent liberals Victor Hugo and Giuseppe Garibaldi) sent telegrams and letters to Mexico pleading for Maximilian's life to be spared, but Juárez refused to commute the sentence, believing that it was necessary to send a message that Mexico would not tolerate any government imposed by foreign powers.

The sentence was carried out on June 19, 1867, when Maximilian was executed (together with his generals Miguel Miramón and Tomás Mejía) by a firing squad. His last words were reported to be "Poor Carlota!" (referring to his wife, who was absent in Europe seeking help for him, and was driven to madness when she learned of his death). [1] Although he bribed the seven riflemen not to shoot him in the head, one did anyway. Maximilian's body was embalmed and displayed in Mexico before being buried in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria, early the following year.

Titles from birth

Titles Maximilian held from birth, in chronological order:

Ancestry

Maximilian's ancestors in three generations
Maximilian I,
Emperor of Mexico
Father:
Archduke Francis Charles of Austria
Paternal Grandfather:
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Paternal Great-grandfather:
Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor
Paternal Great-grandmother:
Maria Louisa of Spain
Paternal Grandmother:
Maria Teresa of the Two Sicilies
Paternal Great-grandfather:
Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies
Paternal Great-grandmother:
Marie Caroline of Austria
Mother:
Princess Sophie of Bavaria
Maternal Grandfather:
Maximilian I of Bavaria
Maternal Great-grandfather:
Count Palatine Frederick Michael of Zweibrücken
Maternal Great-grandmother:
Countess Palatine Maria Franziska of Sulzbach
Maternal Grandmother:
Karoline of Baden
Maternal Great-grandfather:
Margrave Charles Louis of Baden
Maternal Great-grandmother:
Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt

Further reading

Execution of Maximilian
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Execution of Maximilian

Maximilian's papers were published at Leipzig in 1867, in seven volumes, under the title Aus meinem Leben, Reiseskizzen, Aphorismen, Gedichte (In My Life: Travelogues, Aphorisms & Poems).
Other works:

  • The Cactus Throne by Richard O'Connor, ISBN 0-380-00641-3
  • The Crown of Mexico by Joan Haslip, ISBN 0-03-086572-7
  • Maximilian and Juarez by Jasper Ridley, ISBN 1-84212-150-2
  • La Corona de Sombra by Rodolfo Usigli ISBN-10: 0390891509 ISBN-13: 978-0390891501
Tomb in the Imperial Crypt, Vienna, Austria
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Tomb in the Imperial Crypt, Vienna, Austria

See also

Franz Liszt wrote a Funeral March in Maximilian's honour in 1867, which was published as No. 6 of Années de Pèlerinage, Troisieme Année in 1883.

In the 1939 film Juarez, Brian Aherne gave a very sympathetic portrayal of Maximilian. His portrayal in 1954's Vera Cruz, by George Macready, was less sympathetic.

Fernando del Paso's novel Noticias del Imperio concerns the life of Maximiliano I and Carlota during their reign in Mexico.

French composer Darius Milhaud wrote an opera entitled Maximilien, which was premiered at the Palais Garnier in 1932.

External links

Maximilian I of Mexico
Cadet branch of the House of Habsburg
Born: July 6 1832 Died: June 19 1867
Regnal titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Agustín I
Emperor of Mexico
April 10, 1864May 15, 1867
Monarchy abolished
Vacant
Title last held by
Franz Joseph I
Viceroy of Lombardy-Venetia
18571859
Succeeded by
Franz Joseph I
in Venetia
Succeeded by
Victor Emmanuel II
in Lombardy
Political offices
Preceded by
Juan Nepomuceno Almonte
José Mariano Salas
as Regents
Mexican head of state
as Emperor of Mexico

April 10, 1864May 15, 1867
Succeeded by
Benito Juárez
as President of Mexico
Titles in pretence
Vacant
Title last held by
Prince Agustin Jerónimo
— TITULAR —
Emperor of Mexico
May 15June 19, 1867
Succeeded by
Prince Agustín
Pretenders to the Mexican
throne since 1823

Emperor Agustín I (1823-1824)
Prince Imperial Agustín (1824-1864)

Emperor Maximilian I (1867)
Prince Agustín (1867-1925)
Princess Maria (1925-1949)
Prince Maximilian (1949-)


 
 

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Saints. The Oxford Dictionary of Saints. Copyright © David Hugh Farmer 1978, 1987, 1992, 1997, 2003, 2004. All rights reserved.  Read more
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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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