Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph von Habsburg (6 July 1832 – 19 June 1867), later Maximilian I of Mexico, was Emperor of the Mexican Empire from 10 April 1864 to 19 June 1867, both succeeding and preceding Benito Juarez. Maximiliano was an archduke of Austria and the commander-in-chief of the Austrian Navy, but in 1859 he agreed to sacrifice his claims to European titles in order to accept an invitation to become the new Emperor of Mexico. In a six-year war, Maximiliano's royalists and the French Army were forced out of Mexico by Benito Juarez's liberal rebels, and he was executed by firing squad.
Biography[]
Maximilian in 1865
Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph von Habsburg was born on 6 July 1832, the son of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and Princess Sophie of Bavaria. Maximilian was the brother of Franz Josef I of Austria, and he served in the Austrian Navy with distinction, serving as commander-in-chief of Austria-Hungary's fleet from 1854 to 1861. In 1859, monarchists in Mexico approached him with an offer of leading the country after the Reform War, and he decided to sacrifice his royal titles in Austria to become Emperor of the Second Mexican Empire. On 29 May 1864, Maximilian and his wife Charlotte of Belgium arrived in Mexico and became Emperor and Empress, with the Mexican royalists and the French Army supporting them. Maximilian's forces fought against Benito Juarez's liberal rebels during the 1860s, resulting in a civil war that led to Maximilian's capture in 1867 after the fall of Mexico City to the Mexican rebels and American filibusters. On 19 June 1867, Maximilian was executed by firing squad in Santiago de Queretaro along with several of the Mexican royalists.