Maximilian I of Mexico

Maximilian I of Mexico

Maximilian I (Spanish: Fernando Maximiliano José María de Habsburgo-Lorena; 6 July 1832 – 19 June 1867) was the only monarch of the Second Mexican Empire. He was a younger brother of the Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I. After a distinguished career in the Austrian Navy as its commander, he accepted an offer by Napoleon III of France to rule Mexico, conditional on a national plebiscite in his favour. France, together with Spain and the United Kingdom, had invaded Mexico in the winter of 1861 to pressure the Mexican government into settling its debts with the three powers after Mexico had announced a suspension on debt repayment; the Spanish and British both withdrew the following year after negotiating agreements with Mexico's republican government and realising the true intention of the French, while France sought to conquer the country. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Maximilian I of Mexico has received more than 2,102,606 page views. His biography is available in 54 different languages on Wikipedia making him the 474th most popular politician.