In 1861 the government of Benito Juárez was very close to bankruptcy as a result of two previous war conflicts: the Ayutla Revolution and the War of Reform. This situation caused the suspension of payments related to the foreign debt to be announced. The countries affected by this measure were Spain, Great Britain and France.
Napoleon III of France wanted to establish a Colonial Empire in America
Initially the three nations created an alliance and proposed a military intervention in Mexican territory to reestablish economic commitments. The Spanish and British did not finally join the invasion, but French troops arrived in the town of Veracruz in 1862 with the purpose of invading Mexico.
By then, the Mexican government had renounced the suspension of payments, but France maintained its objective because Napoleon III wanted to create a new colonial empire on the American continent that would serve as a counterweight to the expansionism of the United States.
Although the US protested the military intentions of the French, they did not intervene directly in the conflict since at that time the nation was immersed in the midst of a civil war.
During the French intervention a foreign monarchy was imposed as a form of government
The first battle took place in May 1862 in Puebla and in it the French troops were defeated by the Mexican army.
With the arrival of more troops, the French occupied the cities of Tampico and Tamaulipas and in June 1863 they took the Mexican capital. This circumstance forced President Juárez to establish an itinerant government in different localities. At that time, the Mexican conservatives and the French agreed that the nation would be governed by Maximiliano, the Archduke of Austria. At the same time, the liberals did not accept the imposition of a European monarch.
The Empire of Maximiliano did not have popular support and the conservatives were not satisfied with the liberal reforms imposed by the monarch.
On the other hand, the United States government backed the Liberals led by Juárez. The monarch's situation was so unstable that Napoleon III himself proposed that he leave power, but Maximilian did not accept and tried to become the symbol of national integration.
Finally, the French troops withdrew and this circumstance favored the Mexican army to regain control of the nation.
The French intervention came to an end in June 1867 when Maximilian was captured and finally executed along with the conservative generals who had supported him. Before dying before the firing squad, the monarch remained serene and listened to mass in a small chapel.
Fotolia photos: Demerzel21 / Tapper11 / Georgios Kollidas
