THE CROWN OF MEXICO: Maximilian and His Empress Carlota

by Joan Haslip ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 20, 1972

The attempt by the Hapsburg Archduke, Ferdinand Maximilian, to establish an empire in Mexico must rank among the more deluded projects of 19th century history. Haslip acknowledges the folly but spares no pains to show the romantic and handsome Max in a favorable light, making a considerable to-do over the quixotic dreams of a liberal constitution which he planned to bestow on the charming, childlike Mexicans. The extremely complicated diplomatic maneuvering which led to the fatal embarkation of the Archduke and his bride Charlotte (""Carlota"" to her new subjects) in 1864 is sketched in some detail with the overriding emphasis on personalities. At one time or another, as Haslip makes clear, most of the monarchs of Europe supported the hairbrained scheme beginning with the vainglorious Louis Napoleon who was seeking an outlet for his imperial frustrations in Europe. Maximilian in fact is depicted as the hapless pawn of the Emperor who backed the venture with French troops and then abandoned poor Max when the going got rough. Maximilian's Hapsburg relatives, especially his brother the Emperor Franz Josef, share in the general indictment; a ""liberal"" reformer, the Archduke had become a political liability in Europe and Mexico seemed at the time a harmless diversion for the mercurial young do-gooder. The brief and tragic reign of Maximilian in Mexico -- he was murdered in 1867 -- was characterized by military incompetence, the erosion of whatever ""popular"" support he had, American intervention on behalf of Benito Juarez's republicans, and a great deal of pomp at Maximilian's New World court. While the empire was disintegrating around him, the bedazzled Maximilian wrote to his brother of ""the rich and elegant society of Mexico, the brilliance and animation of Charlotte's balls."" The Mexicans themselves take a back seat to the infatuated Europeans; Carlota's letters back home provide tearful commentary on their travails. A popularized but personable study of crackpot idealism and brutal wakening -- although Haslip lavishly romanticizes what was in fact a sordid and grotesque chapter in the history of European imperialism.

Pub Date: April 20, 1972

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Holt, Rinehart & Winston

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1972

Categories: NONFICTION