General Donato Guerra (1832-1876) was the leader of the Mexican Army during the time of La Reforma . Born in Jalisco , he participated in the Reform War and in the French intervention . He joined the Plan de la Noria and Tuxtepec .
111-516: Guerra was an ally of Ángel Trías, during his anti-government campaign of June 1875, but was captured on 18 September of the same year, and incarcerated in Ávalos, a suburb of Chihuahua City. He was assassinated in Ávalos by lerdistas in 1876, and interred in the Panteón de Dolores on 27 May 1896. The town of Donato Guerra in the State of Mexico is named for him. This Mexican biographical article
222-610: A Catholic, politically Maximilian was a liberal. The Papal Nuncio's demands that the emperor restore the power and privileges of the Catholic Church resulted in Maximilian confirming the liberal reform laws regarding freedom of religion and the nationalization of Church property. In taking this action, the emperor alienated the Catholic hierarchy and many Mexican conservatives, who had backed Maximilian becoming emperor. The confrontation over
333-573: A French invasion and establishment of a monarchy in Mexico a real possibility. Conservative Mexican politicians Estrada and Hidalgo managed to get the attention of French emperor Napoleon III , who came to support the idea of reviving the Mexican monarchy and re-establishing a French imperial presence in the Americas. Prior to 1861 any interference in the affairs of Mexico by European powers would have been viewed in
444-517: A conciliatory tone to recruit their participation (along with the promise of distributing vacant lands), after having previously been sent by the Empire as a "defense lawyer" to make reports on the complaints and litigation of the Indians to help them. “To you, descendants of the ancient inhabitants of this Peninsula, and subjects of the great monarch and Emperor Charles V , I address you to let you know that
555-498: A council of Mexican bishops, who predicted greater Orthodoxy with Catholic doctrine , repealing rights and reforms influenced by liberalism (condemned by the church), renouncing their Regalist claims of the patronage (after failing a draft agreement from the previous year), and in turn finally returning the church properties. However, it was very late to regain the support from the conservative and traditionalist Mexicans. Thus, according to Jean Meyer , Maximilian acted, more than as
666-581: A delay in troop withdrawals was defused nominally because a possible war against Prussia was coming , so despite the sunk costs of the French occupation, abandoning the enterprise was France's strategic decision. Empress Carlota arrived in Europe in an attempt to plead for the Empire's cause, but she was unable to gain France's support. However, by July 1866, there was an increasingly conservative and reactionary turn in
777-441: A generic recognition as a Mexican/citizen-owner (so in the complaints from several indigenous peoples were referred to Reales Cedulas ). This caused the government to become increasingly " counterrevolutionary ", distancing itself more and more from the original ideas of only moderating the consequences of the liberal revolution of the reform war . There was also a constant concern against Criollo landowners who wanted to appropriate
888-667: A law degree from Colegio de San Ildefonso in Mexico City , a famed institution he began directing at the age of 29 (1852–1863). In 1855, he served as a prosecutor before the Supreme Court . He became known as a Liberal leader and a supporter of President Benito Juárez . In 1857, he was minister of foreign affairs for three months under Ignacio Comonfort . He became the President of the Chamber of Deputies in 1861, 1862 and 1863. He opposed
999-502: A liberal, as an enlightened Despot (closer to Bourbon Reformism ), who would try to take advantage of the elements of Tradition and Modernity , taking extreme measures that contradicted classical and economic Liberalism , drawing on the "old" Indian legislation, or the "modern" proposal of socialism , in addition to the ideas of Cameralism (very popular in the Germanic states) that gave importance to small peasant property compared to
1110-418: A limited amnesty law. To his supporters, he offered immediate spoils. He declared that he exercised his power as president, not as head of a party. Although he sought peace, order, and respect for the law, he used the armed force of the state to achieve those goals. During his term, he achieved success in pacifying the country, particularly in eliminating regional caudillo Manuel Lozada of Tepic . Lozada had
1221-470: A monarchy occurred under the presidency of Santa Anna in the early 1850s, when conservative minister Lucas Alamán directed monarchist diplomats José María Gutiérrez de Estrada and Jose Manuel Hidalgo to seek a European candidate for the Mexican throne. With the overthrow of Santa Anna's government in 1855, these efforts lost their official support and yet Estrada and Hidalgo continued their efforts independently. The international situation shifted making
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#17328521421301332-462: A new monarchy in Mexico, with Archduke Maximilian agreeing to become emperor, with the military and financial backing of France. The French army ousted Mexican President Benito Juárez from the capital and Maximilian and his wife Carlota arrived in Mexico in 1864. The regime lasted so long as French troops and money supported it, but rapidly fell once Napoleon III withdrew that aid. After a decade of warfare (1810–21) Mexico gained its independence under
1443-535: A prince illustrious throughout the world and as powerful as he is good, the Emperor Maximilian, descendant of that great Emperor Charles V, sovereign of your ancestors more than three hundred years ago, is the one who now governs the Mexican nation.” Merida, November 1864 In this context, the attitude of the indigenous peoples must also be understood when the Juarista , Pedro Pruneda , contemptuously pointed out that
1554-448: A regional fiefdom and maintained power by alliances with the French and following their expulsion, Juárez could not dislodge Lozada from power. Lerdo de Tejada was able to use federal troops to crush Lozada; Liberal General Ramón Corona defeated and executed Lozada at La Mojonera . Lerdo de Tejada continued projects initiated by Juarez, most visibly the construction of railways. He opened
1665-437: A rural nature), a phenomenon little studied in the dominant Mexican Historiography . According to the chronicles or stories published by newspapers of the time (such as La Sociedad ), it was recorded that many communities presented themselves happily upon the arrival of the imperial couple to Mexico (under a Hispanic baroque ceremonial, which integrate popular indigenous folklore), evidencing an immediate indigenous adhesion to
1776-533: A second term in 1876, which gave opponents the grounds to oppose him on the principle of "no reelection." At this point, Porfirio Díaz, who had been neutralized politically with his unsuccessful revolt against Juárez in 1872, now believed he had the grounds to challenge Lerdo de Tejada, which were articulated in the Plan of Tuxtepec . The plan was issued prior to the July 24, 1876 election, which Lerdo de Tejada won. Some charged that
1887-521: A secondary natural right ), together with the idealized conception of the indigenous in Mexican liberalism as that of a potential owner who would have to be transformed into a citizen and owner of his property, so that would be capable of legally defending its property by itself, like any other criollo or mestizo in the Social Contract . Then, avoiding what happened in modern Mexico that liberals leaves
1998-658: A strongly-centralized government, and because of measures such as the expulsion of the Sisters of Charity. His forces were defeated by Díaz in the decisive Battle of Tecoac on 16 November 1876. Díaz assumed the presidency on 28 November 1876. José María Iglesias also claimed the presidency, by virtue of his position as president of the Supreme Court (31 October 1876). Díaz went on to defeat Iglesias as well. Lerdo de Tejada went into exile in New York City , where he died in 1889. On
2109-557: A war against “the Indian,” who was seen as a discordant element in the development of a “modern national identity” (based on the Equality before the law , intentionally ignoring the differences between criollos and indigenous, unlike on República de Indios of the Spanish era, which juridically recognised it and protect indigenous institutions). A newspaper of the time said in this regard that Mexico
2220-428: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Sebasti%C3%A1n Lerdo de Tejada Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada y Corral ( Spanish pronunciation: [seβasˈtjan ˈleɾðo ðe teˈxaða] ; 24 April 1823 – 21 April 1889) was a Mexican liberal politician and jurist who served as the 27th president of Mexico from 1872 to 1876. A successor to Benito Juárez , who died in office in July 1872, Lerdo de Tejada
2331-504: The Cry of Dolores in the actual town where it took place. French troops had been able to take considerable Mexican territory from republican forces while the U.S. was embroiled in its civil war , but in April 1865, Union forces defeated the secessionist Confederate States of America after four years of bloody combat. The U.S. government was reluctant to enter a direct conflict with France to enforce
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#17328521421302442-509: The Laws of the Indies (and even some positions of the utopian Socialism of the rural proletariat , since Maximilian was influenced by Victor Considerant ), instead of longing for the assimilation of the Indian through the political destruction of the indigenous community (as would end up happening in future Mexican governments promoting Peonage ) as a means to obtain the desired social transformation by
2553-617: The Pimas , Opatas , Yaquis , Mayos , Seris , Kikapues and Tarahumaras with their respective caciques. Even the Zacapoaxtlas , who gained fame in the Battle of Puebla in 1862, ended up joining the imperial side around 1863, led by Captain Zenobio Cantero . Many Indians served the imperial cause as explorers, translators and guides, others as counter-guerrillas, and still others as volunteers for
2664-478: The Plan de la Noria . The revolt was defeated and Díaz sent into political exile, allowing the last of Juárez's term relatively free of political conflict. With Juárez's death caused by a heart attack in July 1872, Lerdo de Tejada was the constitutional successor to the presidency. This made him interim president, but he held elections and held the office in his own right. To the surprise of most, Lerdo de Tejada kept Juárez's cabinet basically unchanged and promulgated
2775-602: The South American markets. To give him further encouragement, his half-brother, the duc de Morny , was the largest holder of Mexican bonds on which President Juárez had suspended payment. French troops landed in December 1861, and began military operations in April 1862. They were eventually joined by conservative Mexican generals who had never been entirely defeated in the War of Reform . Charles de Lorencez 's small expeditionary force
2886-430: The bourgeois-liberal revolutionaries , who considered that a differentiated category such as "Indian", understood as a subject of law without the same duties as "whites", implied a delay in the transition from subjects to citizens in national development. For this reason, laws would be decreed in a nature that were increasingly distant from the liberal ideology, such as the laws of July and September 1865 that reestablished
2997-630: The fueros of the Indian political society during the Spanish imperial era (in fact, quite a few appeals were made in the government according to the Siete Partidas of Alfonso X of Castile until the Novísima Recopilación ), especially in terms of communal property and its legal existence as an indigenous community, to subsist and exist as such in contrast to the criollo or the mestizos, and not just
3108-446: The “Indians everywhere expressed fanatical enthusiasm for Maximiliano.” Similar opinions are those of General Miguel Negrete who said that "these imbecile Indians have allowed themselves to be seduced by the French" or those of Guillermo Prieto , who described them beforehand as "lazy, parasitic, similar to cankers" , and many others who They called them “Indians who were traitors to their country.” Not only with their opinions did
3219-503: The Council of Ministers, was to appoint the rest of the Ministers. A Council of State was given the power to frame bills and give advice to the emperor, and a separate private cabinet , serving as the emperor's liaison, was divided into civil and military affairs. Empress Carlota was given the right to serve as regent if under certain circumstances Maximilian was to be unavailable, making her
3330-418: The Empire, nostalgic for the Laws of the Indies of the viceregal era . Later, the imperial couple would visit multiple locations to verify institutions, such as schools, hospitals, military barracks, prisons, churches, etc. Press reports of the time denounced the sincere interest of the monarchs in serving the Indians, wanting to give a message of paternalistic and pro-indigenous sovereigns, so they visited
3441-467: The French, Austrians and Belgians, in general, paid for what they took. In addition to all this, the emperors Maximilian and Carlota prohibited the " levy ", a practice that the republican armies systematically carried out to force the indigenous people to fight in their ranks, taking men from their communities when they could. Even Maximilian made efforts to learn Nahuatl . So, in the Mexican Empire,
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3552-514: The Imperial Army. Even occasionally, some Yucatecan indigenous chiefs (in war against the "white man") said they recognized the authority of the emperor (even traveling to the capital), to later continue developing a Caste War with uprisings against any authority foreign to them. The Imperial Commissioner of Yucatán , José Salazar Ilarregui , for example, would launch a proclamation in Spanish and Mayan to indigenous people of Chan Santa Cruz , with
3663-616: The Laws were published both in Spanish and in Nahuatl, the Aztec language, and Maximilian appointed leading Nahuatl scholar Faustino Galicia as an advisor to his government. The Empire placed an emphasis on Mexican history and culture, with Maximilian commissioning Mexican painters Rafael Flores , Santiago Rebull , Juan Urruchi , and Petronilo Monroy , to produce works depicting Mexican history, religious subjects, and portraits of Mexican rulers, including
3774-465: The Mexican republican troops. An unofficial American raid occurred near Brownsville, and Juárez's minister to the United States, Matías Romero , proposed that General Grant or General Sherman intervene in Mexico to help the republican cause. The United States refrained from direct military intervention, but it put diplomatic pressure on France to leave Mexico. A concentration of French troops in
3885-477: The Monroe Doctrine prohibiting European powers in the Americas, but official U.S. government sympathy remained with Mexican president Benito Juárez . The U.S. government had refused to recognize the Empire and also ignored Maximilian's correspondence. In December 1865, a $ 30 million private American loan was approved for Juárez, indicating a confidence that he would return to power, and American volunteers joined
3996-691: The Treasury, of Justice, of Public Instruction and Worship, and of Development. These ministries (except that of the Imperial Household) comprised the Council of Ministers, which discussed the affairs that the emperor referred to them. The emperor had the power to appoint the Minister of the Imperial Household and the Minister of State, and in turn, the Minister of State, which was ex officio the President of
4107-552: The U.S. as a challenge to the Monroe Doctrine . In 1861 however, the U.S. was embroiled in its own conflict, the American Civil War , which made the U.S. government powerless to intervene directly, but it never condoned the French invasion or the regime it established. In July, Mexican President Benito Juárez declared a two-year moratorium on repayment of Mexican debt to France and other nations, much of it loans contracted by
4218-471: The United States. The throne of Mexico was offered by Mexican monarchists , who had lost a civil war against Mexican liberals, to Austrian Archduke Maximilian of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine , who had ancestral ties to the rulers of colonial Mexico . Maximilian's ascension was ratified through a controversial referendum . His wife, Belgian princess Charlotte of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , became
4329-704: The Wyke-Zamacona Convention to resume debt payments to Britain . This convention was defeated in Congress. During the French intervention and the reign of Maximilian I , he continued to be loyal to the Republicans, and had an active share in conducting the national resistance. In the face of the French invaders, the Republican government was forced to abandon the capital of Mexico City on 31 May 1863. The Republican government continued at one place or another within
4440-580: The ancestral culture, as well as advise the emperors Carlota and Maximilian on matters concerning the indigenous communities that many times, because they were Europeans, they did not understand. Many of Maximilian's reforms were simply revivals of previous Mexican legislation (mostly the Derecho Indiano of Spanish Era). Franciso Arrangoiz who had been Maximilian's minister to Britain, Holland, and Belgium, later accused Maximilian of passing such reforms to gain favorable public opinion in Europe, and to give
4551-429: The causes of such development. The Reform Laws had not only alienated the properties of the Catholic Church, but also those of indigenous communities (which mostly were allies of catholic clergy). These policies undertaken by the liberal government were not simple measures guided by some racism or perversity, but rather the liberalism embedded in the ruling classes of Mexico could not understand, nor did it seek to accept,
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4662-486: The center of the country, the port of Veracruz, the capital Mexico City, and other major cities as north as Monterrey and as south as Oaxaca, President Juárez remained in the national territory, moving north toward the border. In the countryside, republican guerrillas waged warfare against the French troops and their Mexican army allies. Maximilian and Carlota were crowned at the Cathedral of Mexico City . On his arrival in
4773-504: The chance of Mexicans building the line, while Lerdo de Tejada's opponents viewed him as caving to the U.S. The Laws of the Reform were incorporated into a new Constitution (25 September 1873). The Sisters of Charity were expelled from the country. In 1874, four small steamships of war were acquired for the customs service. Lerdo de Tejada also reestablished the Senate . Lerdo de Tejada ran for
4884-562: The communal lands from the Indians, who wanted the return of institutions from the Ancient Regime such as the Protector of the Indians , rather than being unprotected in equality with the whites. Making the empire distance itself from Mexican Republican Liberalism to the extent that it approached the Protectionist measures demanded by social conservatives , inspired by Derecho Indiano and
4995-456: The communal ownership of the land that the indigenous communities maintained for thousands of years. For the liberals of the time, property had a meaning only as “ individual proprietorship ”, the rest was seen as outdated and feudal conceptions. Given this, the “Law of Confiscation of Civil and Religious Communities” of June 25, 1856, issued after the Reform War , was considered a declaration of
5106-549: The conclusion of the U.S. Civil War in 1865, the geopolitical situation shifted. Napoleon III began withdrawing French troops from Mexico in 1866, which had been essential to sustaining Maximilian's regime, and ceased further financial support. Maximilian, whose liberal policies alienated many of his conservative backers, attracted some moderate liberal support by endorsing much of the Liberal Reform legislation, though his efforts at further reform were largely unsuccessful. Despite
5217-467: The country after decades of political unrest and strengthening the Mexican state. He was elected for another term in 1876, but was overthrown by Porfirio Díaz and his supporters under the Plan of Tuxtepec , which asserted the principle of no-reelection to the presidency. Lerdo de Tejada died in exile in New York in 1889, but Díaz invited the return of his body to Mexico for burial with full honors. With
5328-583: The country, but never left the country during Maximilian's reign. On 12 September 1863 in San Luis Potosí , Lerdo de Tejada was named minister of foreign affairs, of the interior and of justice in Juárez's cabinet. He held these posts until 17 January 1871, 14 January 1868 and 11 September 1863, respectively. Throughout the French occupation and Maximilian's Second Empire , Lerdo de Tejada was President Juárez's closest ally and confident. On 8 November 1865, he signed
5439-602: The decree extending Juárez's term until the end of the war. In doing so, he opposed the claims of General Jesús González Ortega , who wished to succeed Juárez. Upon the triumph of the Republic in 1867, Lerdo de Tejada, "according to some sources ... convinced Juárez not to pardon Maximilian," who was executed in Querétaro along with two Mexicans loyal to the emperor. Once the Republicans were returned to power, Lerdo de Tejada simultaneously became minister of foreign affairs, minister of
5550-475: The defeated rival conservative government. Napoleon finally had a pretext for armed intervention. Encouraged by his Spanish-born wife, Empress Eugenie, who saw herself as the champion of the Catholic Church in Mexico, Napoleon III took advantage of the situation. Napoleon III saw the opportunity to make France the great modernizing influence in the Western Hemisphere, as well as enabling the country to capture
5661-413: The desert," meaning the weakness of Mexico vis-à-vis the U.S. and the desert as a useful barrier. After a delay, he attempted to have a Mexican company construct the north–south line to the U.S. border, but the effort failed. Ultimately, he did approve a proposal of U.S. railway entrepreneur Edward Lee Plumb to build the line. Mexican supporters of construction thought Lerdo had delayed too long and botched
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#17328521421305772-566: The different indigenous peoples of Mexico joined the imperial cause in a great monarchical alliance (dreaming of the fall of the republican-liberal government that sought to strip them of their ancestral lands), such as: The Pames and Otomíes with General Tomás Mejía , the Purépechas with General Juan Nepomuceno Almonte , the Coras, Huichols and Mexicas with the General Manuel Lozada ,
5883-482: The disorders associated with the First Empire continued well into the Republican era. French observers began expressing interest in the idea of a Mexican monarchy as early as 1830. Lorenzo de Zavala claimed that in that year, he was approached by a foreign agent hoping to recruit him in a plan to place an Orléans monarch upon a Mexican throne. In 1840 José María Gutiérrez Estrada wrote a monarchist essay endorsing
5994-489: The emperor. After the hopeless national assembly project fell through, Maximilian focused on military operations. In February 1867, the last of the occupying French troops departed for France. Maximilian headed for the city of Querétaro , north of the capital, to join the bulk of his Mexican troops, numbering about 10,000 men. Republican generals Escobedo and Corona converged on Querétaro with 40,000 men. The city held out until being betrayed by an imperial officer who opened
6105-492: The empire favored them.” The Second French intervention in Mexico was a much more complex social process than popularly believed, this is because the conservative side and the Empire received great support, not only because of the known participation of the power groups (the clergy and the mostly Criollo landowning oligarchy), but also of a large part of the Indigenous Nations and other popular communities (especially of
6216-408: The empire, or that Archbishop Pelagio Antonio de Labastida y Dávalos said these judges on Maximilian's supporters: ...the French treasury could have saved the millions invested in the war... and the pastors the pain and vilification of returning from their exile, under the safeguard of this new order of things, to witness the legitimization of the dispossession of their churches and the sanction of
6327-626: The empress consort of Mexico, known locally as "Carlota." While the French army secured control over central Mexico, supporters of the Mexican Republic continued to resist the Empire through conventional military means and guerrilla warfare . Despite being forced to abandon Mexico City , President Benito Juárez never left Mexican territory, even as he relocated his government multiple times to evade Imperial forces. Maximilian's regime received recognition from European powers such as Great Britain and Austria, as well as from Brazil and China, but it
6438-618: The exception of Miguel Miramón , a contested president during the Reform War , he was the first Mexican head of state to be born after the country's independence. He was born in Xalapa, Veracruz , into a middle class Criollo family, the younger brother of Miguel Lerdo de Tejada . After studying theology as a scholarship student in the Palafoxiano Seminary in Puebla he received minor orders, but decided not to enter priesthood. In 1851 he earned
6549-604: The executive triumvirate was formally changed to the Regency of the Mexican Empire. An official delegation left Mexico and arrived in Europe in October. In Europe, Maximilian was continuing negotiations with Napoleon III. He requested a plebiscite to ratify the establishment of the Empire by the Assembly of Notables. The referendum was granted, and the result was affirmative; critics viewed it as illegitimate and suspect due to being conducted by
6660-560: The fall of the Empire. A national system of free schools was also planned based on the German gymnasia and the emperor founded an Imperial Mexican Academy of Science and Literature . Maximilian also established the Imperial Order of the Mexican Eagle as an award for extraordinary merits and services to the empire, for outstanding civil or military service, and outstanding achievements in
6771-454: The families of the indigenous peoples (they even rested in their huts), received representatives of their communities (holding dinners with the Caciques and promising that they would learn their languages), made donations (with their personal funds and not those of the state) to finance the poor and the construction of infrastructure, going as far as adopting poor Indians. "The conservative side
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#17328521421306882-520: The fields of science and art. It was considered the highest and most exclusive award during the Second Mexican Empire. Maximilian aimed to promote the development of the country by opening up the nation to immigration, regardless of race. An immigration agency was set up to promote immigration from the United States, the former Confederate States, Europe, and Asia. Colonists were to be granted citizenship at once, and gained exemption from taxes for
6993-470: The first railway line in Mexico from the port of Veracruz to the capital Mexico City, which was begun by Juárez and Lerdo de Tejada inaugurated in January 1873. However, Lerdo de Tejada had seemingly contradictory policies about railway construction. He was concerned about U.S. encroachment in northern Mexico and resisted construction of railways to the border. He is quoted as saying, "Between strength and weakness,
7104-564: The first woman to ever govern Mexico. As a result of her appointment to regency, she is considered to be the first woman to rule in the Americas. Maximilian had many plans for Mexico, clearly not expecting his reign to be so short. In 1865, the imperial regime drew up plans to reorganize Mexican national territory and issued eight volumes of laws covering all aspects of government, including forest management, railroads, roads, canals, postal services, telegraphs, mining, and immigration. The emperor passed legislation guaranteeing equality before
7215-407: The first year, and an exemption from military services for five years. Some of the most prominent colonization settlements were the Villa Carlota and the New Virginia Colony . “A good part of the indigenous communities, from a perspective and interests completely different from those presented by the elite committed to the project of the Second Empire, noticed that the change from the republic to
7326-423: The following: “They will be divided into fractions and awarded as property to the residents of the towns to which they belong and have the right to them, the poor being preferred to the rich, the married the single and those who have families to those who do not have one.. .", however, "the lands destined exclusively for the public service of the towns, the waters and the mountains, whose uses are made directly by
7437-476: The gates to the liberals on 15 May 1867. Maximilian was captured and placed on trial with his leading generals Mejía and Miramón . All three were tried, sentenced to death and executed on 19 June 1867 by the republican army. A provisional statute was published in 1865, which laid the basic framework of the government. The emperor was to govern through nine ministries: of the Imperial Household, of State, of Foreign Relations, of War, of Government or Interior, of
7548-414: The government to avoid the military crisis. This was due to the measures suggested and taken by the political advisors that Emperor Maximilian had, while they noted that the indigenous, and in general the common Mexican, clung to traditionalist New Spanish ways of life, being stubborn in their customs as a traditional society and communitarians form of life that were alien to the Modernization project of
7659-419: The government's executive: Juan Nepomuceno Almonte (the natural son of independence leader José María Morelos ), José Mariano Salas , and Pelagio Antonio de Labastida . In turn this triumvirate then selected 215 Mexican citizens to form together with the Junta Superior , an Assembly of Notables . The Assembly met in July 1863 and resolved to invite Archduke Maximilian to be Emperor of Mexico. The title of
7770-437: The growing unpopularity of the Empire. In January 1866, seeing the war as unwinnable, Napoleon III declared to the French Chambers that he intended to withdraw the French military from Mexico. At this point, the U.S. government was no longer preoccupied militarily with winning the Civil War and could enforce the Monroe Doctrine against foreign intervention in the hemisphere. Maximilian's request to France for more aid or at least
7881-423: The height of his power lasted only six months. in his attempts to govern, Iturbide struggled to find funds to pay the army and the rest of the government, and closed congress, accusing representatives of obstructionism and idleness, eventually leading to a military uprising against Iturbide and his subsequent abdication. The idea of a monarchy had been discredited for a time, but the idea did not disappear, as many of
7992-508: The idea of a legitimate European monarch being invited to govern Mexico. The pamphlet was addressed to the conservative president Bustamante , who rejected the idea. French diplomats tended to sympathize with the Conservatives in Mexico, Victor de Broglie opining that monarchy was a form of government more suited to Mexico at the time and François Guizot giving a positive review of Estrada's pamphlet. A monarchist faction in 1846 promoted
8103-461: The idea of establishing a foreign prince at the head of the Mexican government, and president Paredes was viewed as being sympathetic to monarchism, but the project was not pursued due to the more pressing matter of the American invasion of Mexico. The candidate being proposed at the time was the Spanish prince, Don Enrique . The last official Mexican effort to explore the possibility of establishing
8214-446: The imperial sovereigns themselves. The prefects governing the provinces were instructed to protect archeological artifacts and Maximilian wrote to Europe asking the return of native artifacts that had been taken out of the country during the Spanish conquest, including articles that had belonged to Moctezuma II , and an Aztec codex. Finally, on June 6 and September 15, 1865, Maximilian promulgated laws that restored legal personality to
8325-560: The impression that he had a 'creative genius' and was 'lifting Mexico out of barbarism.' At Chapultepec Palace on Sundays, Maximilian and Carlota frequently held audiences with people from all social and economic segments, including Mexico's Indigenous Communities . Despite initial conflicts, a papal nuncio arrived in the capital of Mexico on December 7, 1864 (just 6 months after Maximilian) in which he requested that they proceed as requested in Pius IX's letter of October 18, 1864: Despite
8436-568: The increasing violence and in a belief that Juárez was outside of the national territory, Maximilian in October signed an order at the urging of the French military commander Bazaine, the so-called "Black Decree." It mandated the court martial and execution of anyone found either aiding or participating with the guerrillas against the Imperial government. Although the harsh measure was not unprecedented in Mexican history, resembling an 1862 measure by Juárez, it proved to be widely reviled, and contributed to
8547-450: The increasingly dire military situation, Maximilian refused to abdicate and remained in Mexico after the French troops departed. He was eventually captured by Republican forces in Querétaro , along with his generals Tomás Mejía and Miguel Miramón . The Second Mexican Empire formally ended on June 19, 1867, when Maximilian and his generals were executed by firing squad . The Mexican Republic
8658-411: The indigenous communities and recognized their right to collective possession of their ancestral or government-granted lands (like on times of Spanish Empire monarchy). It is not surprising that although forced recruitment was prohibited in his army, he had numerous volunteers from indigenous peoples. The indigenous component not only joined the lower echelons of the Mexican Empire, but they were part of
8769-446: The indigenous outside the law, being a vulnerable subject and without defense mechanisms against the landowners and speculators, seeking to favor the Indian over the landowner through protection mechanisms for the "clases menesterosas" or needy classes (which granted them a protective board on April 10, 1865, to favor the dispossessed classes of the empire) in said social transition. As France withdrew its military, Maximilian's empire
8880-437: The interior, a deputy in Congress and president of the Supreme Court. Lerdo de Tejada aided Juárez's push to centralize the power of the federal government and opposing the use of violence against local forces of opposition. Lerdo de Tejada was key for construction of what became a liberal political machine in this era. He became involved with state politics to gain political allies for the federal centralizing state. In 1871, he
8991-498: The law and freedom of speech, and laws meant to defend the rights of laborers, especially indigenous workers. Maximilian attempted to pass a law guaranteeing the natives a living wage and outlawing corporal punishment for them, along with limiting their inheritance of debts. The measures faced backlash from the cabinet, but were ultimately passed during one of Carlota's regencies. Labor laws in Yucatán actually became harsher on workers after
9102-430: The leadership of American-born, royalist military commander turned insurgent Agustín de Iturbide , who united insurgents and Spaniards under the Plan of Iguala . The Plan promised independence for Mexico as a monarchy ( First Mexican Empire ), and also invited a member of Spanish royalty to assume the newly established Mexican throne. After the offer was refused by the Spanish royals, congress searched for an emperor within
9213-480: The legal personality of the indigenous communities (abolishing Equality before the law), the agrarian law of September 16, 1866 (the most radical) that granted lands to indigenous communities that lacked legal property and ejido , continuing the law of June 26 on repartimientos (citing the New Spain period) and restoration of community lands (annulling the transition to a regime liberal of Private Property) which said
9324-573: The liberal Constitution as a threat to their communal way of life." Thus, with notable exceptions such as the communities of Guerrero (loyals to the republican) and the peoples who were at war directly with the “white man” (such as the Apaches or the Mayans of Yucatán during Caste War ) and remained on the sidelines while fighting against any authority installed in Mexico City and its representatives, most of
9435-462: The liberal and Individualist - egalitarian model, coming mostly from the Europeanizing Criollo elites, which the indigenous people did not seem willing to follow and showing indifferent or even opposed attitudes to the notions of Equality before the law , while they wanted their inherited differences restored, that was, to have again the legal recognition of their distinction as "Indian" in
9546-521: The liberal republicans distance themselves from the indigenous peoples of the country, for having put all the country's resources at the service of "the cause of the Republic" (which at the same time sought to eradicate the multiple indigenous cultural identities that were conflictive to the modernizing project) but that the Juaristas, based on the state of war, confiscated from the indigenous lands everything they required (food, accommodation and animals), while
9657-528: The lordly latifundia , expressed in the Urbarium Code of 1767 (which established the plots of the Hungarian peasants and prohibited their lord from seizing them). But this did not imply the end of the confiscations, not giving up the liberal and enlightened desire to overcome feudal communal property by modern private property as a natural and absolute right (in contrast to the traditional conception of it as
9768-551: The military achievements and political longevity of Porfirio Díaz, both of indigenous heritage from Oaxaca. But Lerdo de Tejada's presidency was a continuation of the policies of the Liberal Reform, whose laws could be implemented in times of relative peace. As such, he can be seen as one in a line of liberals aiming to modernize Mexico. A statue of Lerdo de Tejada stands outside the Mexican Congress . The city of Toluca de Lerdo
9879-438: The nation in order to hold a national assembly which would then decide what form of government the Mexican nation was to take. Such a measure however would require a ceasefire from Juárez. The president of the republic would never consider an offer from the foreigner placed on the throne by Juárez's Mexican political enemies with the aid of a foreign power. Republican army troops on the ground were fighting to defeat those supporting
9990-521: The new aristocracy that would govern (restoring the Indigenous nobility ), being the most ideal in the case of a country with a predominant indigenous component in terms of its number of inhabitants. Characters such as Faustino Chimalpopoca or Josefa Varela , heirs of the ancient tlatoanis , undertook the creation of indigenous intellectual circles close to the Court, whose mission was to rescue and disseminate
10101-586: The newly independent country. After an armed demonstration by Iturbide's regiment of the Army of the Three Guarantees , the Mexican congress elected the Mexican-born military officer and leader of independence as the first Mexican emperor. Although during the independence struggle, Mexicans considered the idea of republicanism, "monarchy was the default position." Iturbide rule as emperor lasted less than two years, but
10212-407: The northern republican strongholds of Mexico led to a surge of republican guerrilla activity in the south. While French troops controlled major cities, guerrillas continued to be a major military threat in the countryside, which affected Imperial military planning. Troops had to be concentrated and operate in areas where guerrillas could not easily cut them off and eliminate them. In an effort to combat
10323-499: The occupying French authorities. Maximilian also rebuffed French efforts to outright annex the state of Sonora , an act which would later be used in his trial to defend against the Republican government's accusation that Maximilian had been a French puppet. Maximilian formally accepted the crown on 10 April 1864, and set sail for Mexico. He arrived in Veracruz on 28 May and reached the capital on 12 June. Although French troops controlled
10434-586: The orders of his former rival, President Díaz, his body was returned to Mexico and buried in Mexico with full honors, in the Rotonda of Illustrious Men . At the funeral, there was barely a mention of the reasons for Lerdo de Tejada's ouster and exile. With Lerdo de Tejada's overthrow, historians have marked this as the end of the Restored Republic and the beginning of the Porfiriato , which lasted from 1876–1911 until
10545-539: The outbreak of the Mexican Revolution . Lerdo de Tejada's principal biographer in English, Frank Averill Knapp, titled his work, The Life of Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, 1823–1889: a study of influence and obscurity , an indication of Lerdo's ambiguous legacy. He says "No Mexican President has been more maligned, misunderstood, and misrepresented" than Lerdo de Tejada. He did not have the implacable tenacity of Juárez nor
10656-420: The residents of the towns to which they belong will not be distributed or awarded..." and "the "Those who acquire land under this law may only sell or lease it to individuals who do not have other territorial property." Finally, after what were considered serious political errors by his supporters, Maximilian would again propose a new concordat in 1866, this time under the direct influence of Archbishop Pelagio and
10767-439: The revolutionary principles…I protest of nullity against the attempted deposition, leaving safe the other resources that correspond to my right as Regent and as a Mexican.” Maximilian took a number of solo state trips through the nation while Empress Carlota reigned as regent. He went to Querétaro , Guanajuato , and Michoacán , giving public audiences and visiting officials, even celebrating Mexican independence by commemorating
10878-499: The role of the Church produced an atmosphere of crisis. In Mexico City, the disorder was considerable and Maximilian feared a revolt by Mexican army generals on whom he had relied. He sent Generals Miguel Miramón and Leonardo Márquez out of the country and disbanded the small Mexican army that had supported the empire. That was because those disagreements with the Catholic Church caused conservatives like Remigio Tovar to conspire against
10989-464: The summer of 1864 Maximilian declared a political amnesty for all liberals who wished to join the Empire, and his conciliation efforts eventually won over some moderate liberals such as José Fernando Ramírez , José María Lacunza , Manuel Orozco y Berra , and Santiago Vidaurri . His first priorities included reforming his ministries and reforming the Imperial Mexican Army, the latter of which
11100-485: The victory was fraudulent, but perhaps no more so than its predecessors. Lerdo de Tejada did not muzzle the free press, which printed the accusations and began to call for open rebellion. The President of the Supreme Court, José María Iglesias did declare the election fraudulent, a ruling which put him as successor to the presidency. Lerdo de Tejada had made himself unpopular by the means he took to secure his re-election, by his disposition to limit state rights in favor of
11211-522: Was a constitutional monarchy established in Mexico by Mexican monarchists with the support of the Second French Empire . This period is often referred to as the Second French intervention in Mexico . French Emperor Napoleon III , with backing from Mexican conservatives, the clergy, and nobility , aimed to establish a monarchist ally in the Americas as a counterbalance to the growing power of
11322-406: Was a candidate for president of the Republic, running against Juárez and Porfirio Díaz . He came in third in the race against the president who kept the republic intact during the French intervention and one of the Mexican military heroes of republican resistance. Following Juárez's victory he returned to the Supreme Court. Díaz revolted against Juárez opposing the president's continuation in power in
11433-515: Was elected to his own presidential term in November 1872. Previously, he served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Juárez's political rival, liberal General Porfirio Díaz , had attempted a coup against Juárez, but his Plan de la Noria failed and Díaz was eliminated as a political rival during Lerdo de Tejada's 1872–1876 term, giving him considerable leeway to pursue his program without political interference. During his term, he succeeded in pacifying
11544-474: Was headed toward collapse. In October 1866 Maximilian moved his cabinet from the capital to Orizaba , near the Gulf Coast port of Veracruz. He was widely rumored to be leaving Mexico. He contemplated abdication, and on 25 November held a council of his ministers to address the crisis faced by the Empire. They narrowly voted against abdication and Maximilian headed back towards the capital. He intended to appeal to
11655-574: Was impeded upon by Bazaine in an effort to consolidate French control of the nation. Maximilian alienated conservative supporters who had brought him to the throne. In December the pope's representative, Papal Nuncio Francesco Meglia, arrived in order to arrange a concordat with the Empire to revise the Reform laws previously passed by the liberal Mexican government. Liberal laws and the Constitution of 1857 nationalized Catholic Church property. Although
11766-471: Was named after Lerdo de Tejada; however, the city is more commonly referred to as "Toluca". Source: [ https://archive.today/20070725222843/http://mx.geocities.com/yaimemx/gabldetejada.html Second Mexican Empire The Second Mexican Empire ( Spanish : Segundo Imperio mexicano ; French : Second Empire mexicain ), officially known as the Mexican Empire ( Spanish : Imperio Mexicano ),
11877-400: Was not a monolithic group made up solely of whites belonging to the Mexican elite; this conception is totally wrong, since the largest component was indigenous." This behavior of the monarchist indigenous cannot be classified as some act of “betrayal of the country,” and it is necessary to understand the situation in which the different indigenous peoples found themselves in the 1860s to explain
11988-507: Was not recognized by the United States. At the time, the U.S. was engaged in its Civil War (1861–65) and did not formally oppose the Empire during the conflict. However, following the Union 's victory over the Confederacy , the U.S. recognized the Republican government and exerted diplomatic pressure on France to withdraw its support. The U.S. did not provide material aid to the Republicans. With
12099-531: Was on the verge of an inter-ethnic civil war because of the reform, as indigenous opposed Political modernization and defended a Traditionalist conception of social and political life: "The abuses that have been committed under the pretext of the Confiscation and Nationalization Laws have left the unhappy Indians in such a state of misery and abandonment that we are daily amazed at how a caste war has not broken out throughout Mexico." "Indigenous communities saw
12210-538: Was repulsed at the Battle of Puebla on 5 May 1862, delaying the French push to capture the capital. Reinforcements were sent and placed under the command of Élie Forey . The capital was not taken until a year later in June 1863 and the French now sought to establish a Mexican regime under its influence. Forey appointed a committee of thirty-five Mexicans, the Junta Superior , who then elected three Mexican citizens to serve as
12321-410: Was restored, having maintained its existence throughout the French intervention and the monarchist regime. Post-independence Mexico was briefly a monarchy, lasting just over a year, when the emperor abdicated and went into exile, and a federated republic was established in 1824. The idea of monarchy persisted and in 1861, Mexican conservatives and emperor Napoleon III of France brokered a deal to create
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