Alternate Emperors of the Second Mexican Empire?

The Lethargic Lett

The Lethargic Lett

Assuming Maximilian decided not to become the Emperor of Mexico, who are some other possible choices? The Mexican nobility preferred a Habsburg, so maybe Maximilian's younger brother, Archduke Karl Ludwig? If the Second Mexican Empire somehow doesn't collapse then that would mean Archduke Franz Ferdinand would become Emperor of Mexico, so that's a fun thought. Would it be possible for a Bourbon to be chosen? Would Napoleon III give the okay to a French Bourbon to get rid of a pretender to the throne, or would he veto the idea, which in turn would lead to a Spanish Bourbon Emperor of Mexico? Maybe a Carlist, but I imagine any Carlist would be more interested in Spain than in Mexico.

This isn't so much a question of how to make the Second Mexican Empire succeed as it is a question of alternate Emperors, but having it succeed would be a happy bonus.

Also, does anyone know of any books on the subject of the Second Mexican Empire and/or Emperor Maximilian?
 
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eltf177

If not Maximilian then who? That is a good question, but Napoleon III needed somebody and would have found them eventually.

One of the best books I read was CROWN OF THORNS (I'd need to look up the author). It was one of several books I read about the Second Mexican Empire while doing research for an article later published in a THE WILD WILD WEST fanzine (four episodes of the 1966-70 series dealt peripherally with it).
 
Dante

Dante

I can see Napoleon III offering up a Bourbon with the caveat that they give up claim to France, it's an interesting idea. Also, an interesting tidbit, Maximilian was childless and made Agustín de Iturbide y Green and Salvador de Iturbide y Marzán, his heirs. He did this as a kind of blackmail, he wanted his younger brother to "give" him one of his sons as heir, so it's possible that you could have seen a Emperor Francisco Fernando if Maximilian holds the throne.
 
The Lethargic Lett

The Lethargic Lett

Dante said:
I can see Napoleon III offering up a Bourbon with the caveat that they give up claim to France, it's an interesting idea. Also, an interesting tidbit, Maximilian was childless and made Agustín de Iturbide y Green and Salvador de Iturbide y Marzán, his heirs. He did this as a kind of blackmail, he wanted his younger brother to "give" him one of his sons as heir, so it's possible that you could have seen a Emperor Francisco Fernando if Maximilian holds the throne.
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Considering Crown Prince Rudolf hadn't committed suicide yet, and seemed to be of sound mind and good health, then Franz Ferdinand seems the most likely candidate, yes.
 
JonasResende

JonasResende

For the First Mexican Empire they went shopping and scratched up the duke of Teschen (Karl of Austria). Why not try for one of his sons on the second go round if Maxie isn't up for it.

As to the Bourbons, not sure if Chambord or a Carlist will do (Juan III was too liberal by half IIRC), and Spain might take issue with it. Although, two princes who MIGHT be considered are Pierre d'Orléans, duc de Penthièvre (son of the prince de Joinville and Francisca of Brasil) and Ludovico of Naples, count of Roccaguglielma (son of the Count of Trani and Januaria of Brasil - he married a Cuban (Amelia Hamel y Penot) and his daughter married a Freeman grandson of the duc de Berri (half-nephew of the comte de Chambord).

Otherwise, there was talk of the duke of Parma being considered (ICR if this was during the 1e or 2e Empire though).
 

MaskedPickle

The fact is that Maximilian was a good candidate for Napoleon III, who wanted to make amends with Austria after the Italian War of 1859 to gain more allies in Europe, a strategy that proved unfortunate after Austria was kicked out at Sadowa. Plus, Maximilian had the reputation of a liberal during his tenure as Governor of Lombardia and was related by his marriage to the Saxe-Coburg-Gothas, thus to England and Belgium. And the Habsburgs having been in rule of Mexico prior to the Bourbons, Maximilian looked like a good candidate.
According to the Spanish Wikipedia, the Duke of Seville was considered by the Mexican monarchists. As someone deeply opposed to Isabel II, even with revolutionary ideas, he was exiled in France at this time. He could prove far too much liberal to the taste of Mexican conservatives who were proponents of the monarchy.
 

FillyofDelphi

Banned
One issue folks might want to consider with a Bourbon candidate; the reputation of the dynasty in the Americas is very heavily attached to absolutists/centralizing tendencies, so there's a very real chance they're going to sit rather less well with the domestic conservative elite. Not to mention, there's still Bourbon Monarchists in France who are part of the Catholic-Right bloc that's Napoleon III's power base, so overly alienating them by insisting the family surrender all claims might not be the best idea domestically. Maybe a Sicilian Bourbon though? Their conservative and Catholic bona-fides are pretty indisputable, and the dynasty is looking for a new home as of late. You may even be able to leverage it into a pre-fab army from the South of Italy to join the expedition in support of the new expedition, and a source of immigration to help the Empire's economic development (and thus benefit France)
 
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