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Civil War Trail Imperial Mexico The Franco-Austrian Invasion

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Imperial Mexico - Related Links

  • Benito Juarez
  • Matamoros
  • Mexico from 1846 to 1876
  • Mexico and the U.S. Civil War
  • Porfirio Díaz
  • The Franco-Austrian Invasion

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RGV- Civil War Program
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
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LAMR 1.103
Conference Room LAMR 1.104
Email: chaps@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 665-3231

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CHAPS RGV Civil War “Cotton Times” Film Discovery Trails Sponsorship Opportunities Blue and Gray on the Border: The Rio Grande Valley Civil War Trail The Civil War on the Rio Grande, 1846–1876

The Franco-Austrian Invasion

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Mexican conservatives would not accept their defeat in the War of the Reform in 1857. They remained convinced that México should best be governed by an authoritarian monarch and sought a European aristocrat for that role. They settled on Emperor Napoleon II of France (irreverently known as Napoleon le Petite), who tried to expand France’s overseas possessions and influence. Motivated by power and profit, Napoleon II had cultural reasons as well, viewing France as the natural leader of the Latin nations which he considered superior to English-speaking nations. Napoleon II waited until the outbreak of the U.S. Civil War, when Lincoln's government was preoccupied with the Confederacy, to make his move. In 1862, France landed an army at Veracruz and began a march towards Mexico City. On May 5, 1862, his forces were defeated by the Mexican Army at the famous Battle of Puebla.

This victory is now celebrated as the Cinco de Mayo. The French, chastised by their defeat, increased the size of their forces and succeeded in capturing Mexico City a year later. There, they presided over the installation of Maximilian, Archduke of Austria, as emperor of México. Benito Juarez’ government fled north to the city that now bears his name, Ciudad Juarez. French forces pursued Juarez and his supporters into the north of the country, and in 1864, that pursuit brought them to the Rio Grande Valley.

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Convencidos de que México se beneficiaría más de un gobierno autoritario monárquico, los conservadores mexicanos no aceptaron la derrota de 1857 en la Guerra de Reforma y buscaron a un aristócrata europeo para cumplir esa función. Se decidieron por el emperador Napoleón II de Francia, conocido de manera irreverente como «Napoleón el Pequeño», quien buscaba por su parte ampliar el área de influencia y las posesiones francesas en ultramar. Además de sus motivaciones de índole económica y de supremacía política, Napoleón argüía también motivos culturales, pues contemplaba a Francia como la nación por antonomasia entre las culturas romances, que consideraba superiores a las naciones angloparlantes. El monarca francés esperó para mover ficha hasta el estallido de la Guerra de Secesión estadounidense, mientras el gobierno de Lincoln se vio obligado a concentrarse en la insurgencia confederada. En 1862, un ejército francés desembarcó en Veracruz y emprendió su avance sobre la capital de México, pero el 5 de mayo de 1862 fue derrotado por el ejército mexicano en la famosa Batalla de Puebla.

La victoria se celebra en la actualidad durante la festividad del Cinco de Mayo. Azuzados por la derrota, los franceses acrecentaron el tamaño de sus fuerzas y, un año más tarde, consiguieron tomar la capital, donde presenciaron la coronación de Maximiliano, archiduque de Austria, como emperador de México. El gobierno de Benito Juárez se exilió hacia el norte para instalarse en la localidad que hoy ostenta su nombre: Ciudad Juárez. Las fuerzas francesas acosaron a Juárez y sus partidarios en la región septentrional del país, y la persecución los llevó hasta El Valle del Río Grande en 1864.

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