A General History of the Second Mexican Empire in TL-191
*This was going to be its own thread under a different title, but I decided that since it differed a lot from Dr. Turtledove's version, it should be considered a type of fanon. Perhaps someone else can make a thread that contains a more accurate version of TL-191 Mexico from the books. (Ex. There is no Maximilian II, Maximilian III, Francisco Jose or Francisco Jose II in this version here)
Imperial Standard Flag of the Second Mexican Empire
The Imperial Restoration under Hapsburg-Iturbide
Prior to the victory of the Confederacy over the Union on November 4th, 1862, during the War of Secession, Mexico was dealing with its own war. More specifically, they were fighting
a second Franco-Mexican war that began on December 8th, 1861. When Mexico could not pay its debts to European creditors, Emperor Napoleon III of France decided to take advantage of the weakened nation and exert French influence by installing a monarchy. Mexico was initially an
empire ruled by
Agustín de Iturbide after gaining independence from Spain on September 27th, 1821 until it became a republic two years later. The idea of Mexico becoming a monarchy again began as early as 1838, when an essay appeared that was written by
José María Gutiérrez de Estrada and it
argued for the idea of a European monarch ruling Mexico.
Entrance of the French Expeditionary Corps into Mexico on 10 June 1863, Jean-Adolphe Beaucé, 1868
On July 10th, 1863, the Second Mexican Empire was proclaimed, after the French captured Mexico City a month earlier, but it still lacked a ruler. The regency government sent a delegation of Mexican conservatives to Miramare Castle in Trieste and offered Maximilian von Hapsburg of Austria the Imperial Crown of Mexico on October 3, 1863. After being convinced by Napoleon III to accept the crown, Maximilian claimed that he would only do it if there was a plebiscite that ruled in his favor. A
fraudulent plebiscite was done on December 4th, 1863 and Maximilian formally accepted the throne on April 10th, 1864 after the
Treaty of Miramar was signed.
The Offering of the Mexican Crown by a Mexican delegation, Cesare Dell’Acqua, 1867
Along with his wife, Charlotte of Belgium, the eldest daughter of Leopold I of Belgium, Maximilian arrived at Veracruz on May 29, 1864 and settled in Chapultepec Castle. More than a year later on September 16th, 1865, Maximilian adopted as his heirs the grandsons of the first Mexican Emperor from the House of Iturbide,
Agustín and
Salvador. However, their adoptions were more of a ruse to convince the Hapsburgs in Austria-Hungary to give him a younger heir since he had none of his own. It was rumored that either him or Charlotte couldn’t have children. When the imperial couple first arrived in Mexico, Maximilian and his wife were shocked at the social conditions of their new empire. Contrary to the expectations of his Conservative allies, Maximilian’s earliest actions were to help out the peasant class of Mexico
. One of Maximilian's first acts as Emperor was to restrict working hours and abolish child labor. He cancelled all debts for peasants over 10 pesos, restored communal property and forbade all forms of corporal punishment. He also broke the monopoly of the Hacienda stores and decreed that peons could no longer be bought and sold for the price of their debt. Maximilian would also support liberal policies, such as land reforms, religious freedom, and extending the right to vote.
Departure of Maximilian and Carlota from Trieste, Cesare Dell'Acqua, 1865
The Confederate States were among the first countries that recognized the empire and quickly established diplomatic relations and vice-versa. The United States viewed the empire as a violation of the Monroe Doctrine, but could not enforce it now that it had the support of Britain, France, the CSA, and even Russia. In-fighting still occurred between the Mexican Republican Liberals and the Mexican Monarchist Conservatives. The United States did send weapons to the Liberals on the remaining U.S.-Mexico border in order to help the rebels fight against the Imperial government. Confederate and French support to Maximilian stabilized his rule over the empire. Before the French withdrew its own forces from Mexico just before the start of the Franco-Prussian War, a deal was made between the Confederates and French that both will be involved in keeping Maximilian in power.
Benito Juárez continued to fight against the empire, but it was not enough to win against a Franco-Confederate backed Mexico. Juárez was eventually captured in 1867 and brought on trial for crimes against the empire. During Juárez's imprisonment, Maximilian visited him several times to talk. Maximilian wanted to spare Juárez and give him the position of prime minister since they both shared Liberal viewpoints for the future of Mexico, but he refused his offers. Despite continued pleas from Maximilian to Juárez, the Conservatives wanted to execute Juárez and formally sentenced him to death by firing squad on June 19th, 1867. His last words were:
¡Viva México! ¡Viva la independencia! ¡Viva la república! (Long Live Mexico! Long Live the Independence! Long Live the Republic!). The Monroe Doctrine was finally dead; it suffered a mortal wound when the Confederates received diplomatic and economic support from Britain and France in 1862 and its misery ended in 1867 with the death of Juárez and the successful instillation of the French-supported Second Mexican Empire.
Death Mask of Benito Juárez
Maximilianato, the Historical Period of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico (1864-1879 or 1881)
Su Majestad Imperial, Maximiliano de México
After securing his rule at the end of the 1860’s/early 1870’s, Maximilian enjoyed great popularity with the ordinary people of Mexico. He tried his best to assimilate himself into the local culture. He was not the authoritarian ruler that many feared he would be. Instead, he was more interested in his botanical hobbies than ruling the nation as an autocrat. In fact, his first trip outside of the Mexican Empire was to the Brazilian Empire, where, besides meeting with Dom Pedro II, he collected several plants for his study. The interaction between the Mexican and Brazilian Emperor had a major influence in the latter that it changed his mind about the future of the monarchy in Brazil.
When Napoleon III was deposed from power in 1872 after the defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War, Maximilian took advantage of the situation and introduced more expensive reforms to the empire, despite much protests from the Conservatives. To some Liberals that remained within the empire, however, he was still a usurper who should not even be in Mexico, even if he was doing a lot of good to the Mexican people. The Third French Republic attempted to continue to view Mexico as another colony under French control but Maximilian refused to follow along and fiercely asserted that his empire be independent. The Confederacy would help France and Mexico develop good diplomatic relations. Eventually, the French would leave a strong cultural influence in Mexico. Maximilian did encourage immigration from other nations, especially Austrian and German communities, but he insisted that Mexico is for those who only wished to be Mexican first.
By the end of the 19th Century, Mexico was the most multicultural country in the Western Hemisphere, besides Brazil. While the vast majority of its members were Mestizo (mixed with European and Indigenous ancestry), Austrians, Germans, and French made up less than 25% of the population. The smallest minority groups were often British, Irish, Italians, Afro-Mexicans, and other unidentified ethnicities. Maximilian was particularly fascinated with the indigenous people of Mexico, who made up about a quarter of the population. Maximilian's land reforms and declaration of civil rights were able to significantly help many indigenous groups who suffered extreme poverty and discrimination.
While rumors of coup attempts circled around the Imperial government, one was nearly successful in removing Maximilian from power in 1876.
José Díaz Mori, a supporter of Juárez during the Second Franco-Mexican War,
created plans for a putsch on January 10th of that same year. On May 5th, 1876, he attempted to abolish the empire and restore the republic but failed and was defeated by imperial forces in October 16th, 1876 during the Battle of Tecoac.
Prince-Regent Salvador of Mexico ( June 29th, 1879--April 2nd, 1881)
On June 29, days before his 47th Birthday, Maximilian died of malaria. Although his death at a young age shocked Mexico and the world, he gained for himself the respect and admiration of European royalty and from the Mexican people. A temporary crisis of succession occurred due to the Hapsburgs never giving Maximilian the heir he wanted, but it was eventually resolved with Salvador becoming prince-regent of the empire until Agustin turned 18 in on April 2, 1881. One of the few things that Salvador did during his regency was the reinstitution of Mexico’s Pre-1865 territorial divisions. Instead of being divided into 50 departments, Mexico would now be divided into 25 states.
Map of Mexico (1865-1880)
Agustinato (1881-1925)
Su Majestad Imperial, Agustín III de México
Agustín III, as he was now known after his coronation, reversed some of the reforms that his adoptive father made in order to gain more support from the Conservatives. These actions made him more unpopular to the underground Liberal resistance. Issues such as continuing land reform, reducing poverty, improving infrastructure and the securing the rights of indigenous communities began to fail during his reign. Since the 1870’s, the empire had grown more into debt and was in desperate need of cash to pay off their European creditors. The Confederate government, wanting access to the Pacific Ocean, offered the empire a sale of C$3,000,000 for some of their northern land: the states of Sonora and Chihuahua and a land lease giving the Confederacy travel access through the Baja California peninsula. Despite the positive legality of the purchase, the United States refused to allow the Confederates to obtain more land. At first, they offered Mexico more money than the Confederates’ price, but the Mexican government refused to sell the USA more land due to negative reception of previous land sales in 1848 and 1854. Eventually, the USA and CSA went to war over the sale in 1881. Later, the British would join in the war alongside the CSA. There was also French support, albeit limited in the form of naval engagements. This was due to France’s recovering state at the time after losing against the Prussians in the Franco-Prussian War. There were also economic recessions that France and other European nations were experiencing at the time. During the latter half of the war’s length, Mexico would join in the war and be involved in a series of battles against Fort Yuma, San Diego, Santa Ana, and Los Angeles. Even though most of these battles ended in Mexican victory, the Americans put up a strong defense and most of the casualties were from Mexican soldiers, who were often underequipped and had less advanced weaponry.
Imperial Mexican Soldiers fighting against U.S. Soldiers near Fort Yuma, N.M. Territory.
After the United States was defeated in 1882, Agustín III experienced mixed praise from the people. On the one hand, he chose an unpopular decision to sell more Mexican land to a foreign nation, but on the other, the purchase was done without force and the War of 1881, as it was sometimes called, helped Mexico gained a sense of national pride in belonging to an alliance of nations that won against the United States. It was a small revenge against the United States from the war that occurred between both nations in 1846-1848.
In 1884, another putsch occurred under the influence of
Manuel González, a one-armed former general who fought during the Second Franco-Mexican War and was a supporter of José Díaz Mori. Despite the expectations from the USA that the monarchy would fall, the coup did not succeed and the monarchy continued on. During the remaining years of the 19th-Century, Mexico was interested in flexing its power into the Central American region. Sometime in the reign of Maximilian, the Mexican emperor offered the governments of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica the opportunity to re-join Mexico. All of them refused to be annexed and Maximilian dropped the subject, never to propose it again. Agustín III, however, wanted to increase the size of his empire and began to make plans to meddle in the affairs of the Central American nations. Mexico noticed that under
Justo Rufino Barrios in Guatemala, the political rights of the Catholic Church were being diminished. He was also attempting to re-form a Central American Union and went to war with El Salvador to force it to join. Fearing a strong Central America and abhorring the mistreatment of the Catholic clergy from the Barrios government, a war nearly occurred between Mexico and Guatemala until the Confederacy intervened. With the convenient death of Barrios in 1885, the CSA was able to convince Mexico to abandon plans for annexation and, instead, allow Guatemala and El Salvador to be economically dependent via Mexican-owned fruit/sugar corporations. The CSA would do the same economic plans toward Honduras and Nicaragua. Only Costa Rica would be the most stable and independent Central American nation that would generally side with the USA.
Logo for the Valentine Bros., an Confederate corporation made by a group of Italian-Confederate siblings that traded bananas from Latin America to the rest of the world
The World At War (1914-1917)
Map of North America during the First Great War, 1914-1917 (Red=Entente Powers, Blue=Central Powers, White=Neutral)
At the start of the First Great War in 1914, Mexico had signed a mutual-assistance treaty with the Confederacy. While not officially a member of the Entente Powers, it was a co-belligerent against the only major nation in North America that was part of the Central Powers: the USA. The Confederacy and Mexico declared war against them in August 1914. Mexican troops would cross into Sonora and Chihuahua and joined their Confederate allies fighting the Americans in New Mexico and in some parts of western Texas. In Baja California, the Mexican Army was in a defensive position most of the time and prevented the U.S. army from conquering it. When the war ended in 1917, the Mexican government was shocked that they had lost another war against the United States. Despite not losing any land to the victors, its morale was shattered and the people of Mexico were disillusioned in fighting a war that did not bring them neither glory or any financial or territorial compensation. Before the war began, Mexico was suffering from social inequality and disproportionate wealth imbalance. It was believed that a war against a historical enemy would help alleviate the problems the Mexican people faced. However, its defeat in the First Great War would be one of the reasons the Mexican Civil War of 1920 occurred.
The Mexican Civil War (1920-1930)
Collage of the Mexican Civil War
The Mexican Civil War was largely made up of two factions: The Imperialists and Republicans. The latter group were organized by a loose confederation of leaders who had different visions for Mexico, some of which were contradictory, but they were united under their hatred of the Imperial government. Some of the major individuals involved against the Imperialists were: Madero, Magón, Carranza, and Zapata. While the USA was able to sent weapons to the Republicans, the Confederate government suffered too much from war reparations to help out the Imperialists. However, the Confederate Freedom Party would unofficially encourage its members, especially veterans from the FGW, to go to Mexico and use their experience to help out the Imperialist government. Eventually, to the surprise of many, the Imperialist won. Most historians generally agree that there were three main reasons why they won: 1) Additional help from former Confederate soldiers, which were a combination of CFP members and non-CFP members. 2) No war reparations imposed on Mexico from the USA. Had there been any reparations, there would have been a greater pressure to get rid of the Imperial government. In addition, the cancelling of reparations on the CSA allowed the Confederate government to send out a minimal amount of aid to the Mexican government. 3) The death of Agustín III in 1925 allowed Princess
María Josepha Sophia de Iturbide to become Empress of Mexico and negotiate with the leaders of the Republican forces and make reforms to the empire. The reforms were not numerous, but they were helpful to dissuade some rebel leaders to stop fighting. The more radical ones vowed to continue fighting against the monarchy.
The World At War, Again (1941-1944)
Su Majestad Imperial, María de México
When the Second Great War began in 1941, Empress María did not want the empire to go to war. However, the Mexican government’s alliance with Featherston’s Confederacy and the risk of the Republican rebels emerging again meant that she had very little choice in the matter. Without the economic support of the Confederacy, Mexico was all on its own. Since her reign began, she had learned what most of the government knew for decades: Despite what their laws may say on paper, in practice, Mexico was still dependent on foreign powers. Just like in the last war, Mexico declared war against the USA, but played a largely defensive role. Several times, Mexico was compelled to send out its soldiers for “peace-keeping roles” within the Confederacy, but everyone knew that most of them would go to battle against the Americans. The immigration of Mexico’s poorest people to the CSA for cheap labor reduced the likelihood of the Mexican lower class to engage in anti-imperialist activities. However, their large presence in the Confederacy raised questions within the USA and Mexico as to the status of the CSA's Black population. The loss of Baja California, the revelation of the mass murder of Black Confederates by Featherston’s Confederacy, and the USA winning against the CSA compelled the Imperial government to sue for peace in 1944, a few months before the war ended.
Although an enemy during the SGW, the USA decided not to deal with Mexico and focused on the conquered CSA, instead. Eventually, both nations decided that it was time to reconcile after nearly a century of bad blood between them. Beginning in 1947 with the help of the President of the Irish Republic, a new age of peace and friendship blossomed between the USA and the Empire of Mexico. While there were still some unsolved issues, such as the fate of Baja California, Sonora and Chihuahua; the fate of Central America’s former Confederate businesses, the hunting of former Confederate Freedom Party members, and the Republican rebels, both nations pledged to be good neighbors from now until the end of time.
In 1947, Vice-President Harry Truman became the first U.S. Executive Branch politician to ever visit Mexico City. Unexpectedly, Mr. Truman makes an out-of-the-way stop at the Chapultepec Monument. Here he pays a simple tribute to the memory of Mexican youths who died 100 years ago defending their nation's capital against an American army. All of Mexico was tremendously moved by this act. Truman brought to Mexico a promise: "...to observe the doctrine of non-intervention. What it means is that a strong nation does not have a right to impose its will by reason of its strength upon a weaker nation."
Educational Sources:
http://www.eumed.net/rev/tecsistecatl/n14/division-territorial-mexico.pdf
http://www.historicas.unam.mx/moderna/ehmc/ehmc12/153.html
http://www.agn.gob.mx/menuprincipal/difusion/textos/pdf/DiarioImperio13mar1865.pdf
http://cdigital.dgb.uanl.mx/la/1020005252/1020005252_MA.PDF
http://cdigital.dgb.uanl.mx/la/1080045869/1080045869_017.pdf
https://www.raremaps.com/gallery/de...exicano-formada-y-corregida-con-decaen-debray
https://bookpalace.com/acatalog/info_EmbletonGBanditsLL.html
http://www.museobicentenario.mx/el-museo-y-su-historia/06-segundo-imperio/
http://sin-perdon.yolasite.com/picture-gallery-v.php
https://archive.org/details/historyofmexico05banc/page/224/mode/2up
https://www.dorotheum.com/en/l/439909/
https://www.inehrm.gob.mx/recursos/Libros/Interiores_Maximiliano.pdf
https://relatosehistorias.mx/numero...ico-no-tuvo-presidente-ni-emperador-1863-1864
An Explanation to what the Valentine Bros. are supposed to reference.
In-Universe ideas I made:
https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...federacy-tl-191.185493/page-191#post-19158761
https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...federacy-tl-191.185493/page-193#post-19513080