The struggle of the Mexicans for freedom was for the time at an end, and
the French had almost everywhere prevailed, when in 1864 the new emperor
and his young wife Carlotta arrived at Vera Cruz and made their way to the
city of Mexico. This they entered with great show and ceremony and amid
the cheers of many of the lookers on, though the mass of the people, who
had no love for emperors, kept away or held their peace.
The new empire began with imperial display. All the higher society of
Mexico were at the feet of the new monarchs. With French money to pay
their way and a French army to protect them, there was nothing for
Maximilian and Carlotta to do but enjoy the romance and splendor of their
new dignity. On the summit of the hill of Chapultepec, two hundred feet
above the valley, stood the old palace which had been ruined by the
American guns when Scott invaded Mexico. This was rebuilt by Maximilian on
a grand scale, hanging gardens were constructed and walled in by galleries
with marble columns, costly furniture was brought from Europe, and here
the new emperor and empress held their court, with a brilliant succession
of fetes, dinners, dances, and receptions. All was brilliance and gayety,
and as yet no shadow fell on their dream of proud and royal reign.
But the shadow was coming. Maximilian had reached Mexico in June, 1864.
For a year longer the civil war in the great republic of the north
continued; then it came to an end, and the government of the United States
was free to take a hand in the arbitrary doings on the soil of her near
neighbor to the south.
It was a sad blow to the ambitious schemes of Napoleon, it was like the
rumble of an earthquake under the throne of Maximilian, when from
Washington came a diplomatic demand which, translated into plain English,
meant, you had better make haste to get your armies out of Mexico; if they
stay there, you will have the United States to deal with. It hurt Louis
Napoleon's pride. He shifted and prevaricated and delayed, but the hand of
the great republic was on the throat of his new empire, and there was
nothing for him to do but obey. He knew very well that if he resisted, the
armies of the civil war would make very short work of his forces in
Mexico.
Maximilian was strongly advised to give up his dream of an empire and
leave the country with the French. He changed his mind a half-dozen times,
but finally decided to stay, fancying that he could hold his throne with
the aid of the loyal Mexicans. Carlotta, full of ambition, went to Europe
and appealed for help to Napoleon. She told him very plainly what she
thought of his actions; but it was all of no avail, and she left the
palace almost broken-hearted. Soon after Maximilian received the
distressing news that his wife had lost her reason through grief, and was
quite insane. At once he made up his mind to return to Europe, and set out
for Vera Cruz. But before he got there he changed his mind again and
concluded to remain.
At the end of January, 1867, the French army, which had held on until
then, with one excuse after another, left the capital city, which it had
occupied for years, and began its long march to the sea-shore at Vera
Cruz. Much was left behind. Cannon were broken up as useless, horses sold
for a song, and the evacuation was soon complete, the Belgian and Austrian
troops which the new emperor had brought with him going with the French.
Maximilian did not want them; he preferred to trust himself to the loyal
arms of his Mexican subjects, hoping thus to avoid jealousy. As for the
United States, it had no more to say; it was content to leave this shadow
of an empire to its _loyal_ Mexicans.
It cannot be said that Maximilian had taken the right course to make
himself beloved by the Mexicans. Full of his obsolete notion of the
"divine right of kings," a year after he had reached Mexico he issued a
decree saying that all who clung to the republic or resisted his authority
should be shot. And this was not waste paper, like so many decrees, for a
number of prisoners were shot under its cruel mandate, one of them being
General Orteaga. It has been said that Maximilian went so far as to order
that the whole laboring population of the country should be reduced to
slavery.
While all this was going on President Juarez was not idle. During the
whole French occupation he had kept in arms, and now began his advance
from his place of refuge in the north. General Escobedo, chief of his
armies, soon conquered the northern part of the country, and occupied the
various states and cities as soon as they were left by the French.
But neither was Maximilian idle. Agents of the Church party had finally
induced him to remain, and this party now came to his aid. General
Miramon, an able leader, commanded his army, which was recruited to the
strength of eight thousand men, most of them trained soldiers, though
nearly half of them were raw recruits.
With this force Maximilian advanced to Queretaro and made it his
head-quarters. Juarez had meanwhile advanced to Zacatecas and fixed his
residence there with his government about him. But the president and
cabinet came very near being taken captive at one fell swoop, for Miramon
suddenly advanced and captured Zacatecas by surprise, Juarez and his
government barely escaping.
What would have been the result if the whole Mexican government had been
taken prisoners it is not easy to say. Not unlikely, however, General
Escobedo would have done what he now did, which was to advance on
Queretaro and invest it with his army. Thus the empire of Maximilian was
limited to this one town, where it was besieged by an army of Mexican
patriots, while, with the exception of a few cities, the whole country
outside was free from imperial rule.
Soon the emperor and his army found themselves closely confined within the
walls of Queretaro. Skirmishes took place almost daily, in which both
sides fought with courage and resolution. Provisions grew scarce and
foraging parties were sent out, but after each attack the lines of the
besiegers became closer. The clergy had made liberal promises of forces
and funds, and General Marquez was sent to the city of Mexico to obtain
them. He managed to get through the lines of Escobedo, but he failed to
return, and nothing was ever seen by Maximilian of the promised aid. Such
forces and funds as Marquez obtained he used in attacking General Diaz,
who was advancing on Pueblo. Diaz besieged and took Pueblo, and then
turned on Marquez, whom he defeated so completely that he made his way
back to Mexico almost alone under cover of the night. It was the glory
gained by this act that later raised Diaz to the presidency, which he held
so brilliantly for so many years.
The hopes of Maximilian were dwindling to a shadow. For two months the
siege of Queretaro continued, steadily growing closer. During this trying
time Maximilian showed the best elements of his character. He was gentle
and cheerful in demeanor, and brave in action, not hesitating to expose
himself to the fire of the enemy. Plans were made for his escape, that he
might put himself at the head of his troops elsewhere, but he refused,
through a sense of honor, to desert his brave companions.
Daily provisions grew scarcer, and Maximilian himself had only the coarse,
tough food which was served to the common soldiers. Day after day Marquez
was looked for with the promised aid, but night after night brought only
disappointment. At length, on the night of May 14, General Lopez, in
charge of the most important point in the city, turned traitor and
admitted two battalions of the enemy. From this point the assailants
swarmed into the city, where terror and confusion everywhere prevailed.
Lopez had not intended that the emperor should be captured, and gave him
warning in time to escape. He attempted to do so, and reached a little
hill outside the town, but here he was surrounded by foes and forced to
deliver up his sword.
Juarez, the Indian president, was at length full master of Mexico, and
held its late emperor in his hands. The fate of Maximilian depended upon
his word. Plans, indeed, were made for his escape, but always at the last
moment he failed to avail himself of them. His friends sought to win for
him the clemency of Juarez, but they found him inflexible. The traitors,
as he called them, should be tried by court-martial, he said and abide the
decision of the court.
Tried they were, though the trial was little more than a farce, with the
verdict fixed in advance. This verdict was death. The condemned, in
addition to Maximilian, were his chiefs in command, Miramon and Medjia.
The late emperor rose early on the fatal morning and heard mass. He
embraced his fellow victims, and as he reached the street said, "What a
beautiful day! On such a one I have always wished to die."
He was greeted with respect by the people in the street, the women
weeping. He responded with a brief address, closing with the words, "May
my blood be the last spilt for the welfare of the country, and if more
should be shed, may it flow for its good, and not by treason. Viva
Independencia! Viva Mexico!"
In a few minutes more the fatal shots were fired, and the empire of
Maximilian was at an end.