Second Mexican Empire
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The Second Mexican Empire was the name of the State governed by Maximilian of Habsburg as Emperor of Mexico, formed after the second French intervention between 1863 and 1867. The term "second" refers to the natural succession of the previous First Mexican Empire. After the death of the first Mexican imperial prince, Agustín Jerónimo de Iturbide, the succession to the throne would normally have passed to the prince's brother, Ángel de Iturbide y Huarte. However, due to Emperor Maximilian's request, he abdicated his rights to his son, Agustín, who by then had already been adopted by the emperor himself as his successor to the Mexican throne. Thus, on September 15, 1865, Maximilian concluded an agreement with the family with some reluctance from the mother, by which he acquired the adoption of the grandchildren of Emperor Agustín I, Agustín de Iturbide y Green and his cousin Salvador de Iturbide y Marzán.. As a consequence, the young Agustín was designated crown prince, unifying the first empire and the second.
On September 9, 1865, Maximilian and the heads of the Iturbide family signed the Pact of Chapultepec, a treaty pursuant to adoption, honors, and pensions for family members. The Emperor was signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and head of the Ministry of State, José Fernando Ramírez. Agustín Gerónimo, Salvador, Ángel María José and Alicia Green de Iturbide signed for the Iturbide family.
History
Background
The cause of the French intervention in Mexico was the suspension of payments to France, Spain and the United Kingdom, which the government of the liberal Benito Juárez was forced to announce after the Three Years War (1858-1861), between liberals and conservatives. This caused the three European powers to meet in London (London Agreement of 1861) and agree to pay off the debts. To put pressure on the Mexican authorities, these powers landed troops in the Port of Veracruz in 1862, entering into negotiations with the Juárez government. Diplomatic negotiations were held in the town of Soledad. As a result of these, the Mexican foreign minister Manuel Doblado managed to persuade the governments of Spain and Great Britain that the suspension of debts was temporary, which resulted in the withdrawal of English and Spanish troops from the country. Mexican territory.
However, the French troops refused to leave because Napoleon III intended to establish a monarchy in Mexico, in order to support the Confederates in the American Civil War (Civil War) and thus drastically reduce the power of the United States in the region. For this reason, the French advanced from the coast to the center of the country and after suffering a setback in the battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, they continued forward until they occupied Mexico City on June 10, 1863. Then and until the arrival of Maximilian in the capital, the government was headed by a regency made up of Generals Juan Nepomuceno Almonte (natural son of the revolutionary priest José María Morelos y Pavón), Mariano Salas and Archbishop Pelagio Antonio de Labastida.
Another cause of the establishment of the monarchy was that the Mexican conservatives, dissatisfied with the failure of their government (1837-1841) that promulgated the Seven Constitutional Laws issued in December 1836, had turned their eyes towards Europe with in order to impose a purely conservative government of a monarchical nature in Mexico. With this purpose, these —after visiting Napoleon III and assuring his support for the intervention— sent a commission to Trieste, headed by José María Gutiérrez de Estrada (plenipotentiary minister of the conservatives in the old continent), to convince the archduke that he accepted the throne of Mexico.
Offering of the crown
A commission of people related to the Conservative Party and the Catholic Church, displeased with the Juárez government and the 1857 Constitution, arrived in 1863 at the Miramar Castle, in Trieste. This was the place where Ferdinand Maximilian of Habsburg and his wife, Carlota of Belgium, lived. The commission was headed by José María Gutiérrez de Estrada, Francisco Javier Miranda and Mr. José Manuel Hidalgo Esnaurrízar.
On July 10, 1863, the Board of Notables issued the following opinion:
- 1.- The Mexican nation adopts the moderate, hereditary monarchy in the form of government with a Catholic prince.
- 2.- The sovereign will take the title of Emperor of Mexico.
- 3.- The imperial crown of Mexico is offered to S.A. I. and R., Prince Maximilian, Archduke of Austria, for himself and his descendants.
- 4.- In the event that, by circumstances impossible to foresee, the Maximilian Archduke did not come to take possession of the throne offered to him, the Mexican nation refers to the benevolence of S. M. Napoleon III, emperor of the French, to be instructed by another Catholic prince.
Development
First months
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Maximiliano and Carlota arrived at the port of Veracruz on the frigate Novara on May 28, 1864. The emperors' arrival in Mexico City was lavish: a te deum in the Metropolitan Cathedral and great parties in his honor. They established their residence in the castle of Chapultepec, which Maximilian ordered to be linked directly with the cathedral and the National Palace through the Paseo de la Emperatriz, today called Paseo de la Reforma. During his ephemeral government, he promulgated the Provisional Statute of the Mexican Empire, antecedent of the Constitution that would govern the constitutional monarchy that the Mexican Empire would have become if it had survived. The Statute did not come into force, although it had legal validity because it gave rise to extensive and important legislation of a liberal and social nature that guaranteed the rights of man and worker.
In accordance with the commitment that the archduke had acquired to place the monarchy under constitutional laws, Maximilian issued on April 10, 1865 said Statute that was not properly a constitutional regime but a working system for his government (prior to the form definitive that the empire would adopt when the Constitution was approved), was issued a year after accepting the throne.
The commission of Mexican conservatives that had invited Maximilian knew perfectly well the liberal background of the archduke and also knew about the additional and secret pact, by virtue of which the emperor accepted the declarations of Forey (commander general of the French expeditionary force at the beginning intervention) in its program of June 12, 1863, recognizing the nationalization and confiscation of clergy property. Consequently, and in accordance with such precedents and his own conviction, Maximiliano, a European liberal in the style of the time, developed upon his arrival a policy at odds with the traditional position of the conservative class and the Mexican clergy.
The emperor's liberalism pitted him against those who had brought him to power. This was because he recognized the reformist legislation and even invited Benito Juárez to be part of his government as Minister of Justice —although he did not accept—, and he integrated distinguished liberals into his cabinet such as the two constituents of 1856: Pedro Escudero and Jose Maria Cortes y Esparza. On the other hand, he ratified the laws that stripped the Church of his assets despite the pressures received from the Holy See and the Bishop of Mexico, and promulgated many norms in accordance with the liberalism of the time.
The foundation of his liberal legislation was a law of June 16, 1863, where an Assembly of Notables was established, followed by some bases for the government of the new empire on August 11 of the same year. Among the successes of this legislation, derived from the Statute, were the law for the organization of the ministries, the organic law that divided the territory into departments for its better administration and government, the one that created the Official Newspaper, the one that regulated the general police of Empire, the electoral law of the municipalities, the law of individual guarantees, the decree of freedom of work, favoring the indigenous people who worked as laborers by declaring them "free" and by proposing the extinction of the debts they had contracted with their masters, as well as by declaring that the punishments of imprisonment, stocks, whippings and in general all corporal sanctions were abolished on the haciendas. Also the rules on how to promulgate the laws and those of organization of the diplomatic and consular corps, that of the notary, the law on administrative litigation and its regulations, the laws on the administration of justice and organization of the courts and tribunals of the empire, that of the Court of Accounts, that of the establishment of the Bank of Mexico as the issuing bank, and the law and regulations on immigration.
The government's liberalism and progressivism
In the field of culture, he created the Imperial Academy of Sciences and Literature, passed a law on public education eliminating free education, which was highly criticized, and various laws on promoting culture, among which stands out the law of July 16, 1864 on the conservation of historical documents.
Several laws and decrees in agrarian matters, stand out among them, the law of November 1, 1865 that settled conflicts between peoples in land and water matters, the law of July 26, 1866 that ordered that the lands that belonged to the towns collectively were adjudicated as individual property to the neighbors, preferring the poor to the rich, the married to the single, and those who had families to those who did not. By this law, the distribution of land to peasants would be free up to the limit of half a caballeria per family and certain lands for collective use would continue under a communal property regime. There was in her a liberalism—the preference for private property—tempered by considerations of common sense and respect for local traditions. These were the main legislative provisions of Maximilian issued, few, before the Statute and many after.
An example of Maximilian's attempt to achieve good administration through his legislative activity is that on December 8, 1865, he sent Napoleon III five volumes of laws, decrees and regulations that formed the administration of the empire, to the which would soon be followed by two other volumes that were already being bound. Another, the elaboration of a Civil Code of which the first two books of it were promulgated.
The aforementioned legislation, together with the rules on freedom of worship, abolition of ecclesiastical jurisdiction, nationalization of Church assets, the requirement of an imperial pass for pontifical documents, and all those that ratified Juarist legislation, such as the of civil registration and cemeteries, led the emperor to a confrontation with the clergy. Because of this, relations between State and Church were always strained during the Second Empire. Maximilian always had a complicated relationship, not so much with the Mexican clergy, as with the Roman Curia. From the private audience that he had with Pope Pius IX on April 18, 1864, already with the imperial title for having accepted the Crown of Mexico days before, the ties with the Church began to deteriorate. During said special visit, both discussed, among other issues, the possible recovery of the clergy's assets; goods that he had lost according to the juarist reform laws. However, in that meeting they did not reach any agreement, since the emperor put the interests of the nation that he was going to govern before the designs of the Holy See. In addition, he asked the pope to send to Mexico "a good nuncio with reasonable principles", that is, an ambassador capable of negotiating with the imperial government the demands of the Church; request that the pope did not fulfill. The tension continued throughout the emperor's government and worsened when the emperor embodied absolute "freedom of worship" in the Statute, and in his subsequent legislation he ratified some reformist laws, such as those for the confiscation of farms —rural and urban—, of ecclesiastical corporations, the nationalization of the assets of the secular and regular clergy, and the secularization of institutions that, for centuries, had been in the hands of the Church. A good relationship between Maximilian and the Holy See was not possible, which demanded at all times, through his nuncio, that the emperor rectify his position, given that the matter of the Church's assets had to be resolved in Rome, at which point which the emperor refused. For this reason, Maximilian was qualified by the Roman Curia as "a dangerous liberal".
In addition, in the Statute, Maximilian explicitly enumerated the rights of man and citizen; these were: equality before the law, personal security, property, free exercise of religion and freedom of the press. These rights were guaranteed, along with others, for all the inhabitants of the empire. Together with personal liberty —any individual who set foot on Mexican territory would be free by the mere fact of being in it—, property, which was considered inviolable, although forced expropriation for reasons of public utility was recognized through prior and competent compensation, the freedom of opinion and the press, which consisted in the fact that no one could be bothered by their opinions or prevented from expressing them in the press. He also established the guarantee of a hearing, by which every Mexican had the right to obtain an audience with the emperor to present his petitions and complaints.
The Habeas Corpus, the right intended to protect personal liberty against arbitrary or illegal arrests, was consigned when determining that no one could be detained —except in the case of in flagrante delicto— but by mandate of a competent authority and only when sufficient evidence is found against the defendant to presume him to be the author of a crime. When the competent authority made the apprehension, it had to place the presumed prisoner within the third day at the disposal of the judge, and if the judge found grounds for declaring him imprisoned, he would do so no later than the following five days, being a case of responsibility the detention that took place. of these terms. Likewise, the Statute recognized the principle of non-retroactivity of the law by establishing that no person could be tried except by virtue of laws prior to the act for which he was tried, and that of the inviolability of the home by prohibiting the search of the house or registered the papers of any individual without a prior mandate and with the requirements established by law.
Likewise, the Statute established the payment of taxes in accordance with the laws issued hereafter, which would be general and would be decreed annually. In addition, it prohibited the confiscation of property, free or forced services, regulated personal services in the case of minors and dedicated two provisions to penitentiary law in which it established the separation of detainees from those formally imprisoned, as well as measures related to the best treatment of them. Finally, it regulated the suspension of said individual guarantees by establishing that only by decree of the emperor or the imperial commissioners, and when required by the preservation of peace and public order, the enjoyment of any of these guarantees could be temporarily suspended. Maximilian's social content legislation is also noteworthy. In the emperor, he restricted the working hours of the laborers, broke with the monopoly of the striped shops, abolished the work of minors, restored communal property, canceled peasant debts of more than 10,000 pesos, and prohibited all forms of of corporal punishment.
Fall
Between October 1866 and January 1867, the year in which the emperor decided that he would not abdicate, given the continuous advances of the Republican side, legislative activity declined. From then on, Maximilian devoted himself solely to military operations in order to stay on the throne. According to his account, he had received a letter from his mother, Sofia of Bavaria, where she told him that “a Habsburg never abdicates” .
In summary, abandoned by Napoleon III and the French troops —they began to withdraw from 1866 before the imminence of a war between France and Prussia and the confirmation of the defeat of the Confederates in the American Civil War in 1865 —, at enmity with the conservatives who had brought him to power and with the clergy, due to regulations that diminished the interests and privileges of both, as well as repudiated by the liberals under the government of Benito Juárez for the intervention and occupation of part of the Mexican territory, the emperor was left alone, isolated.
Maximiliano was defeated and captured by the Republican army under the leadership of Mariano Escobedo in the city of Querétaro, later prosecuted, and finally shot on the Cerro de las Campanas, together with generals Miguel Miramón and Tomás Mejía, on the 19th June 1867. In Europe there was a great commotion on the occasion of his death. Painters, musicians, storytellers and playwrights from the old and new continents recorded the sad event in their works.
Legacy
Although it was a short-lived government and its area of influence never reached the entire national territory, its presence, actions, and anecdotal events marked an era in Mexico's history. Beginning with the legislative significance, since the second empire was the first Mexican government that established laws, regulations and norms that protected and promoted social rights. Outside of his governmental action, the fascination aroused by the monarchical system, life inside and outside the castle of both emperors and the pageantry of the court, was relevant, especially in the capital. The closeness with the population that the couple always showed, manifested in their attempt to adopt and disclose the identity of the country they governed; with actions such as the practice of charreria, the study of the plant and animal species of the Chapultepec forest and the interior of the Empire (which even led him to establish a National Museum of Natural History); the translation into Nahuatl of the imperial decrees; the castle festivities organized by the Empress to collect funds for charity and the Emperor's visit to Dolores Hidalgo to be, on September 15, 1864, the first ruler to give the cry for independence in the original place where it was produced. There are endless books, novels, stories, letters and texts inspired by the two monarchs who risked everything they had, and decided to launch into a country they knew little about, to govern the Mexican people.
The following can also be listed as important events contributed by this historical period. It was Maximilian I who hired the engineer M. Lyons for the construction of the railway from La Soledad to Monte del Chiquihuite, which later grew to the Veracruz Line to Paso del Macho, this happened on September 8, 1864. He reorganized the San Carlos Academy of Arts. The remodeling of the National Palace and the Chapultepec Castle would eventually contribute artistic and ornamental treasures that still remain on display in both venues. The construction of the Paseo de la Emperatriz began the reorganization and beautification of Mexico City, this being the model that would materialize the Porfiriato. Finally, it was of great relevance that several of the social policies were executed by the Empress Carlota Amalia, which, in accordance with the provisions of the imperial statute, made her the first female ruler in the history of Mexico.
Government and politics
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The first provisions of General Frédéric Forey upon entering Mexico City were aimed at trying to give the invasion that was taking place a tinge of legality. He proposed the formation of a Superior Governing Board that would in turn elect three people who would exercise executive power. This Board, supported by two hundred fifteen individuals, would form the Assembly of Notables that immediately signed a document aimed at shaping the interventionist government that was supported by a majority of the population. It provided for the nation to adopt a moderate and hereditary monarchy with a prince, who would have the title of Emperor of Mexico. This title, as stipulated, would be offered to the Archduke of Austria, Ferdinand Maximilian. Later it was declared that a provisional executive branch would bear the name of Regency.
Imperial functions and division of powers
The Provisional Statute of the Mexican Empire, promulgated on April 10, 1865, established the moderate hereditary Monarchy as the system of government, headed by an emperor, who symbolized national sovereignty and was head of the executive power; which he had to exercise through a government constituted by a Council of Ministers (appointed by himself), in charge of different aspects of the country's public life. This document presented the innovative measure of considering the Empress consort as regent (and therefore head of government) in the absence of the emperor.
The statute proposes the formation of a State Council that would serve as the legislative power until the pacification of the country allowed the formation of a Congress; however, this body could never be established due to the circumstances of the war. As for the judiciary, the document described a series of courts, giving main relevance in its text, to the Court of Accounts, whose function would be a kind of comptroller and inspection of government acts. He also created a kind of auditors, called Imperial Commissioners, with authority over the eight great regions into which the departments of the Empire were divided; these would be in charge of preventing, combating and punishing abuses of authority.
A foreign service called the Diplomatic Corps was set up to promote recognition of the empire in the international community and represent its interests. Prefectures and port captaincies were also created to administer the coasts of the empire.
Government of the Departments
The administration of the departments of the Empire was left in the hands of Prefects who had to be appointed and respond to the authority of the Emperor. They had to organize departmental government councils that dealt with matters of the economy and the local social aspect. The departments at the same time were made up of two subdivisions, the districts and the municipalities that would have their own government bodies and were in charge of the most immediate and local aspects of public life. All local positions, except departmental commissioners and prefects, would be elected by direct popular vote.
Territorial organization
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On March 3, 1865, one of the most important decrees of the Maximilian government appeared for the first division of the territory of the new Empire and it was published in the Diario del Imperio on March 13 of the same year. Said mission was entrusted to Don Manuel Orozco y Berra (1816-1881) and this division was carried out according to the following bases;
- 1.- The total extent of the country ' s territory will be divided into at least fifty departments.
- 2.- Natural limits for the subdivision shall be chosen as soon as possible.
- 3.- For the superficial extension of each department, the configuration of the land, climate and all elements of production will be taken into account in such a way that the equal number of inhabitants in each one can be achieved over time.
- 4.- The development of this division is of paramount importance within the territorial divisions that were made, since it took into account basically geographical elements for the delimitation of the jurisdictions and the future development of the new demarcations, as well as because within these areas communication would be much easier and this would influence its commercial activity.
The provisional statute established the following as territorial limits:
It is Mexican territory the part of the North American continent, which limit: Towards the North the dividing lines drawn by the conventions of Guadalupe and the Mesilla, held with the United States; Towards the East, the Gulf of Mexico, the Sea of the Antilles and the English establishment of Walize, enclosed within the limits set by the treaties of Versailles; Towards the South, the Republic of Guatemala, All islands that belong to it in the three seas; The territorial sea in accordance with the principles recognized by the law of peoples and saves the provisions agreed upon in the treaties.
For such purposes, a political division was established into eight regions and 50 departments; these at the same time, as already mentioned, in districts and municipalities; leaving Mexico City as the imperial capital.
The 50 Departments of the Empire were:
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Symbols
| National Symbols of the Second Mexican Empire | ||
| Years | Symbol | Information |
| 1864 - 1867 |  | Flag of the Mexican Empire. Used during the Second Mexican Empire of Maximilian Habsburg, according to the Emperor's Decree of 18 June 1864. Seen as determined in Art. 78 of the Statute. |
| 1864 - 1867 |  | Shield and seal of the Empire from 1864 to 1867, by decree of November 1, 1865 by Maximilian. The Empire’s coat of arms is oval shape and blue field: it carries in the center the eagle of the Anáhuac, of an intern profile, held by a nopal, supported by a rock flooded with water, and tearing the serpent: the embroidery is of gold, loaded with the holms of holm oak and laurel, cluttered with the imperial crown: by means of supports has the two |
| 1864 - 1867 | .svg) | Imperial flag, for exclusive use of the imperial couple. |
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