On the tenth of April, 1864, a second embassy, consisting of twenty distinguished Mexicans, again headed by Estrada, arrived at Miramar to perform the coronation ceremony. In his address, spoken in French, Don Gutierrez alluded, first of all, to the gratifying result of the popular vote. As to the method by which it had been secured the good man probably had as little knowledge as Maximilian himself. He then recalled France’s service to his native country, whose future prosperity he hoped would be assured under the new monarchy. Mexico gratefully acknowledged the Archduke’s self-sacrifice in accepting this difficult position and was ready to hail with joy her chosen sovereign, whose motto was, Justitia regnorum fundamentum.
Maximilian’s reply was in Spanish. He declared that since the two conditions required by him had been fulfilled, he was now able to redeem the promise given six months before and was ready to accept the offered crown. The oath was then administered. Maximilian swore to guard the liberties of the Mexican nation under all circumstances and to do all in his power for the welfare and prosperity of the people, after which Estrada swore allegiance in the name of Mexico and was decorated by his sovereign with the grand cross of the newly revived Guadeloupe order. A triple “Viva” followed to the new Emperor and Empress in whose honor the imperial Mexican flag was hoisted on the tower of Miramar, amidst salvos from batteries and battle ships. A solemn Te Deum in the palace chapel concluded the ceremonies.
On the same day the Emperor signed the important convention with Napoleon, known as the Treaty of Miramar, whereby it was agreed to reduce the French troops as soon as possible to 25,000, including the foreign legion. This body should evacuate the country as soon as forces could be organized to take their place, yet the foreign legion of 8000 was to remain, if required, for six years after the above withdrawal and be supported from this time by the Mexican government. The transport service for French military supplies must be paid by the same government with 400,000 francs for the round trip, likewise the cost of the French expedition, fixed at 270,000,000 francs for the whole time, till July 1, 1864, with interest at three per cent per annum. After this date the expenses of the Mexican army rested with Mexico, which had also to give 1000 francs for the maintenance of each French soldier, pay included. Against these sums the Mexican government had to pay at once 66,000,000 francs in bonds of the late loan and 25,000,000 francs in specie annually. A mixed commission of three Frenchmen and three Mexicans was to meet at Mexico within three months to adjust the claims of French citizens. All Mexican prisoners of war held by the French were to be released as soon as Maximilian entered his States. In addition to this, there were three secret clauses, by utilizing which France afterward, and not without some show of reason, attempted to extricate herself from her dangerous position.
Chapter III
Arrival of the Emperor in Mexico
On the tenth of April, 1864, the die was cast for Archduke Maximilian and Carlotta. On the fourteenth, the day set for departure, all was bustle and confusion at Miramar, usually so peaceful. The harbor of Trieste was filled with vessels, large and small, and, anchored at some distance from shore, lay the Novara, the Austrian warship that was to convey the imperial pair to Mexico. Little did any one then suspect that this same vessel was so soon to bring back the body of Maximilian, cruelly murdered by Mexican rebels! To-day all was joyous anticipation. A gayly decorated barge carried the Emperor and Empress out to the Novara. Showers of blossoms were flung after them as they left the shore, lined with thousands of spectators, and floated gently out upon the blue waves of the Adriatic. Cannon thundered a farewell. Maximilian looked for the last time upon his native shores.
Two nights later the travellers rounded the southernmost point of Italy, and on the eighteenth reached Civita Vecchia where they landed and were met by the French and Italian ambassadors, envoys from Belgium and Austria, and the Cardinals sent by Pope Pius Ninth to welcome Maximilian. A special train was waiting to convey the entire party to Rome where, on the nineteenth of April, the Emperor had an audience with the Pope. Church affairs in Mexico had been completely demoralized by Juarez, and one of the Emperor’s chief tasks was to restore order and provide for the religious needs of his people. The following day Pope Pius Ninth returned the visit at the Palazzo Marescotti, after which the imperial party returned to Civita Vecchia, where they again boarded the Novara and resumed their voyage. At Gibraltar another stop of two days was made, and on the twenty-eighth of May the Novara anchored before the city of Vera Cruz. The goal was reached—but what of Maximilian’s reception by the people of Mexico who had chosen him as their sovereign by a unanimous vote?
Although the French frigate Themis, which escorted the Novara across the Atlantic, had hastened on in advance to notify the city of the Emperor’s arrival, there was no commotion in the harbor. No flags were flying, no guns roared a welcome, no one was waiting to receive him. A feeling of uneasiness pervaded the Emperor’s household, but Maximilian himself made no comment. After a long delay the commander-in-chief of the French fleet, Rear-admiral Bosse, and his adjutant finally made their appearance, though even then, according to the Countess Kollowitz, their greeting was none too warm. Quite different, however, was the Emperor’s reception in the towns between Vera Cruz and Mexico; his journey to the capital was like a triumphal progress.
Thus did Maximilian enter the land that was henceforth to claim his whole attention and best endeavor. For this indifferent and ungrateful people he had undertaken the Herculean task of regenerating a country wasted by forty years of civil warfare; regulating a society demoralized by anarchy; restoring national prosperity; reviving industries; and reconciling to law and order a people to whom outlawry and robbery had become second nature. The army must be reorganized, the land rid of marauders, contending factions appeased and made to work together for the common good. The Church must be placed once more on a settled basis, new channels of trade established, and the whole national standard of civilization raised. These were surely problems to daunt the bravest! Well may Maximilian have hesitated long before accepting such responsibilities, yet with heroic self-sacrifice the young Emperor set himself to this stupendous work. That he failed was no doubt due partly to his unfitness for the task, but more to the insuperable obstacles that loomed before and finally crushed the noble Hapsburger.
Chapter IV
Maximilian’s First Measures
One of the first necessities that confronted Maximilian in the execution of his mission was the establishment of diplomatic relations with the world. The courts of Vienna, Rome, Paris, and Brussels had been informed at once of his acceptance of the throne of Mexico. It now remained to notify the remaining powers of this event. A decree was issued on the twenty-first of June, 1864, empowering the foreign office to make the necessary arrangements. By the end of the year Mexico had been recognized as an Empire by Russia, Sweden, Turkey, Denmark, Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, and England, also by the German Confederation and the Shah of Persia. Far more valuable to the new monarchy would have been its recognition by the United States, but the White House at Washington still looked upon Juarez as President of Mexico, as did its smaller and less important neighbors on the south, the republics of Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, San Salvador, and Costa Rica. Thus the Empire was surrounded by hostile countries, while its only ally in America, the Emperor Don Pedro Second of Brazil, could be of little use.