1-648-709 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Arrival of French troops in Mexico, 1864 (late 19th century). Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph, Archduke of Austria (1832-1867) was crowned Emperor of Mexico on 10 June 1864, with the military support of Napoleon III of France. By early 1865 his administration had failed. When the French withdrew in 1866 he refused to desert his post and return with them to Europe. In May the following year Maximilian was court-martialled, condemned to death, and shot. From Cassell's Illustrated History of England, Vol IX.