Maximilian, EMPEROR OF MEXICO.

Maximilian, EMPEROR OF MEXICO. Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph, Archduke of Austria, was born on July 6, 1832, and was the son of the Archduke Francis-Charles, and the younger brother of Francis-Joseph I. He became an admiral of the Austrian navy, and in 1857-59 he was popular as governor of the Lombardo-Venetian territory. In 1862 the French were induced to interfere in the affairs of Mexico, and in 1863 called together an Assembly of Notables, which offered the crown of Mexico to Maximilian. After deliberation he solemnly accepted it; and in June 1864 he entered Mexico. For a time all went well; but he vainly tried to reconcile the Mexican parties. Juarez (q.v.) again raised the standard of independence; and soon after (1866) Louis Napoleon had to contemplate the withdrawal of his troops. In vain the Empress Charlotte, a daughter of Leopold I. of Belgium, went to Europe to enlist support for her husband; her reason gave way under the continued grief and excitement brought on by disappointment. The French were most anxious that Maximilian should leave with their troops; but he felt bound as a man of honour to remain, and share the fate of his followers. At the head of 8000 men he made a brave defence of Queretaro against a Liberal army under Escobedo. In May 1867 he was betrayed and tried by court-martial, and on June 19 he was shot. His body was conveyed to Europe in an Austrian frigate. His death was directly due to his own fatal edict of October 3, 1865, that all Mexicans taken in arms against the empire should be shot without trial. After the death of Maximilian, his writings were published under the title of Aus Meinem Leben; Reisskizzen, Aphorismen, Marinebilder (7 vols. 1867). See MEXICO.