Studious, persevering, polyglot, good sailor although dreamer, romantic and dilettante, he would have been a good king in any European nation, but Mexico was not Europe and in those latitudes, the claim of the Monroe theory of “America for Americans” it was not a prank. The Americans were not going to tolerate a European power on the other side of their border. At first they had to resign themselves because the Americans were killing each other to decide whether they wanted to be a federation or a confederation. After the civil war, the Americans decided to carry out their slogan. Maximilian was not so sure of North American vehemence but he was sure of European power, in full era of imperialist expansionism and embarked on this adventure that ended in the worst possible way, when the French, overwhelmed by Mexican superiority, abandoned Maximilian to his fate, despite the pleas of Carlota who traveled to Europe to make Napoleon desist from the withdrawal of the French forces.
After begging the French, the Belgians, the Austrians and even the Pope, Carlota sent her husband a telegram: “Everything is useless.”
Faced with this abandonment, Maximilian chose to abdicate the Mexican throne and return to Europe, but in the end he decided to resist the onslaught of the Juarists with an army of loyalists. After almost three months of resisting, Maximiliano and his staff were captured. All negotiations failed He was tried along with his faithful generals Miramón and Mejía and sentenced to be shot, an order that was carried out despite requests for mercy from several European monarchs.. Maximiliano’s last days were disastrous, his jailers made fun of him and he was even denied medical attention. He was finally shot on June 19, 1867 at three in the afternoon along with his two loyal generals. The place chosen for the execution was the “Hill of the Bells”, where he had resisted the harassment of the juarista troops. Before being executed, he handed over a handkerchief to be given to his mother and a watch for his “Dear woman… my eyes close with your image that I will take to the afterlife.”
He gave each of the soldiers who made up the firing squad a gold coin asking them not to point it at his face so that he could be seen one last time by his loved ones. Maximiliano fell alive to Mexico and received a coup de grâce.
Everyone present knew that this drama was France’s fault. For this reason, in Manet’s famous painting, the members of the squad that shot the monarch wear French uniforms.
Maximilian the execution of the emperor painting.jpg
One last outrage was reserved for the Austrian prince. His body had to be embalmed to return to his homeland, the preservation process was carried out in the Capuchin convent.
The person in charge of preserving the corpse was a certain dr lycia that not only did he do it wrong and too quickly, but that he also disrespected the body of the deceased. “What a delight it is to wash your hands in the blood of an emperor”he exclaimed as he removed Maximilian’s entrails. A Mexican official known as “La hiena” put the viscera around the former monarch’s head. “Did you want a crown? For this is your crown now.”
As the liquid used for embalming was not suitable, Maximiliano’s body began to decompose. Instead of using light blue ocular prostheses, such as the emperor’s eye color, the glass eyes of a black virgin from the Querétaro Cathedral were used.
Locks of Maximiliano’s beard and hair were sold at a good price by Dr. Licia for his own benefit.
News of Maximilian’s death reached Austria on July 1 through the American embassy. Francisco José demanded the immediate return of his brother’s remains so that they could be buried in the family crypt, but Benito Juárez refused. This attitude forced to send Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff with a frigate to convince the Mexicans that it was better to come to their senses…
As we have already said, the embalmed body was in terrible condition, which is why it was made up and put on a false beard and then submerged in arsenic for its conservation. The Mexican government donated a richly decorated coffin.
On November 26, Maximilian returned to Austria on the same ship that had taken him on this Mexican adventure.
Carlota spent the rest of her days confined for psychiatric disorders. According to legend, she was poisoned by the Teyhuinti mushroom, better known as “meat of the gods”, a hallucinogenic fungus that triggered the madness of the empress. Charlotte died at the age of 87.
His last words were “Mexico”.
Source: Ambito
