Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma
Marie Louise was an Austrian archduchess who reigned as Duchess of Parma from 1814 until her death. She was Napoleons second wife and, as such, Empress of the French from 1810 to 1814, a series of military defeats at the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte had inflicted a heavy human toll on Austria and led Francis to dissolve the Holy Roman Empire. The end of the War of the Fifth Coalition resulted in the marriage of Napoleon and Marie Louise in 1810, Marie Louise dutifully agreed to the marriage despite being raised to despise France. She was an obedient wife and was adored by Napoleon, who had been eager to marry a member of one of Europes leading royal houses to cement his relatively young Empire. With Napoleon, she bore a son, styled the King of Rome at birth, Duke of Reichstadt, Napoleons fortunes changed dramatically in 1812 after his failed invasion of Russia. The European powers, including Austria, resumed hostilities towards France in the War of the Sixth Coalition, the 1814 Treaty of Fontainebleau handed over the Duchies of Parma and Guastalla to Empress Marie Louise.
She ruled the duchies until her death, Marie Louise married morganatically twice after Napoleons death in 1821. Her second husband was Count Adam Albert von Neipperg, an equerry she met in 1814 and she and Neipperg had three children. After Neippergs death, she married Count Charles-René de Bombelles, her chamberlain, in 1834, Marie Louise died in Parma in 1847. Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria was born at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna on 12 December 1791 to Archduke Francis of Austria and his wife, Maria Theresa of Naples. Her father became Holy Roman Emperor a year as Francis II, Marie Louise was a great granddaughter of Empress Maria Theresa through both her parents, as they were first cousins. She was a granddaughter of Queen Maria Carolina of Naples. Marie Louises formative years were during a period of conflict between France and her family and she was brought up to detest France and French ideas. Marie Louise was influenced by her grandmother Maria Carolina, who despised the French Revolution which ultimately caused the death of her sister, Maria Carolinas Kingdom of Naples had come into direct conflict with French forces led by Napoleon Bonaparte.
The War of the Third Coalition brought Austria to the brink of ruin, the Imperial family was forced to flee Vienna in 1805. Marie Louise took refuge in Hungary and Galicia before returning to Vienna in 1806 and her father relinquished the title of Holy Roman Emperor but remained Emperor of Austria. To make her more marriageable, her parents had her tutored in many languages, in addition to her native German, she became fluent in English, Italian and Spanish. In 1807, when Marie Louise was 15, her mother died after suffering a miscarriage, less than a year later, Emperor Francis married his first cousin Maria Ludovika Beatrix of Austria-Este, who was four years older than Marie Louise
Duchy of Austria
After the ruling dukes of the House of Babenberg became extinct, the German king Rudolf I took over the dominion as the first monarch of the Habsburg dynasty in 1276. Thereafter, Austria became the homeland of the dynasty and the nucleus of the Habsburg Monarchy. In 1453, the title of the Austrian rulers, invented by Duke Rudolf IV in the forged Privilegium Maius of 1359, was officially acknowledged by the Habsburg emperor Frederick III. Initially, the duchy was comparatively small in area, roughly comprising the modern-day Austrian state of Lower Austria. As a former border march, it was located on the periphery of the Empire, on the northern and southern shores of the Danube River. In the east, the Imperial border with the Kingdom of Hungary had gradually shifted towards the plains of the Morava River, on the right shore of the Danube, the lower Leitha River marked the Imperial–Hungarian border for centuries. In the south, Austria bordered the Styrian lands which were elevated to a duchy. The Avar Khaganate established in 567 comprised most of the Austrian march up to the Enns river, temporarily part of Samos Empire from 631 to 658, the territory was under constant attack by the Carolingian forces of Charlemagne from 791 onwards.
In 976 Emperor Otto II enfeoffed the Babenberg count Leopold the Illustrious with the Austrian margraviate, a large-scale German settlement along the Danube down to the border with Hungary followed, which ultimatively disrupted the Slavic continuity between the West Slavic and South Slavic lands. Although today closely associated with the Habsburg dynasty, Austria was, until 1246, Margrave Leopold the Generous was a loyal liensman of the Imperial House of Hohenstaufen in the struggle against the Bavarian Welf dynasty. In 1139, after King Conrad III of Germany deposed the Welf duke Henry the Proud, leopolds brother and successor Henry Jasomirgott was enfeoffed with Bavaria in 1141. In 1156 the Hohenstaufen Emperor Frederick Barbarossa approached a settlement with the Welfs, at the 1156 Imperial Diet in Regensburg, Henry Jasomirgott had to renounce the Bavarian duchy in favour of Henry the Lion. In compensation, the Babenberg margraviate was elevated to an equal duchy, the new Austrian duke took his residence at Vienna at the site of the Hofburg Palace.
He founded Schottenstift Abbey as the Babenberg proprietary church, settled with Irish monks, the Austrian lands prospered, due to their favourable location on the Danube, as an important trade route from Krems and Mautern via Vienna down to Hungary and the Byzantine Empire. For a short time, the Babenbergs came to be one of the most influential ruling families in the Empire, peaking under the reign of Leopold V the Virtous and Leopold VI the Glorious. They expanded their territory into the old Bavarian lands west of the Enns River, along the Traun to the city of Linz, in 1191 Duke Leopold V joined the Third Crusade and the Siege of Acre. When the English kingpassed through Austria on his way home, Leopold had him abducted and arrested at Dürnstein Castle. Handed over to Emperor Henry VI, Richard was only released after paying a ransom
Emperor of Austria
The emperors retained the title of Archduke of Austria. The wives of the emperors bore the title of empress, while members of the family the title archduke or archduchess. Members of the House of Austria, the Habsburg dynasty, had for centuries been elected as Holy Roman Emperor, thus the term Austrian emperor may occur in texts dealing with the time before 1804, when no Austrian Empire existed. In these cases the word Austria means the composite monarchy ruled by the dynasty, a special case was Maria Theresa, she bore the imperial title as the consort of Francis I, but she herself was the monarch of the Austrian Hereditary Lands including Bohemia and Hungary. Therefore, on 11 August 1804 he created the new title of Emperor of Austria for himself, for two years, Francis carried two imperial titles, being Holy Roman Emperor Francis II and by the Grace of God Emperor Francis I of Austria. This led Francis II/I on 6 August 1806 to declare the Reich dissolved, from 1806 onwards, Francis was Emperor of Austria only.
He had three successors—Ferdinand I, Francis Joseph I and Charles I—before the Empire broke apart in 1918, a coronation ceremony was never established, the heir to the throne became emperor the moment his predecessor died or abdicated. The symbol of the Austrian Emperor was the private crown dating back to Rudolf II. The Austrian Emperors had an extensive list of titles and claims that reflected the geographic expanse, the function of the emperor was styled like a secular papacy. Therefore, it was the goal to demonstrate the highest majesty and dignity of the monarch to his subjects and to other monarchs. His and his entourages life was governed by strict rules all the time. The members of the House of Habsburg were ranked as princes and princesses of the blood imperial and their permanent address and their travels abroad had to be agreed to by the Emperor. Otherwise the marriage would be one to the hand, called a morganatic marriage. To manage the political implications of the Imperial house since 1867 the Emperor, Minister des kaiserlichen und königlichen Hauses und des Äußeren, the I. &R.
Minister of the Imperial and Royal House and of the Exterior, one of the three ministers common to Austria and Hungary. Under Francis I, Klemens Wenzel had covered these and many other agenda, bearing the title Haus-, the Emperors household, his personal officers and the premises where they worked were called Hof. The highest officials managing the Court were the Grand Master of the Court, the Grand Marshal of the Court, the Grand Chamberlain, whoever wanted to meet the Emperor himself had to apply to the Obersthofmeisteramt. Francis Joseph I expected soldiers to appear in uniform at his court and he never shook hands with visitors, in letters he never addressed his subjects as Sir or Mr. The Emperors court managed e. g. R, the Imperial Crypt below the Capuchin Church and Monastery in Vienna, where three of the four Emperors of Austria have been buried
Grand Duchy of Tuscany
The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was a central Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1859, replacing the Duchy of Florence. The grand duchys capital was Florence, Tuscany was nominally a state of the Holy Roman Empire until the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Initially, Tuscany was ruled by the House of Medici until the extinction of its branch in 1737. The Medicis only advancement in the days of their existence was their elevation to royalty, by the Holy Roman Emperor. Francis Stephen of Lorraine, a descendant of the Medici, succeeded the family. Tuscany was governed by a viceroy, Marc de Beauvau-Craon, for his entire rule and his descendants ruled, and resided in, the grand duchy until 1859, barring one interruption, when Napoleon Bonaparte gave Tuscany to the House of Bourbon-Parma. Following the collapse of the Napoleonic system in 1814, the duchy was restored. The United Provinces of Central Italy, a client state of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont, Tuscany was formally annexed to Sardinia in 1860, following a landslide referendum, in which 95% of voters approved.
In 1569, Cosimo de Medici had ruled the Duchy of Florence for 32 years, during his reign, Florence purchased the island of Elba from the Republic of Genoa, conquered Siena and developed a well-equipped and powerful naval base on Elba. Cosimo banned the clergy from holding positions and promulgated laws of freedom of religion. Cosimo was a supporter of Pope Pius V, who in the light of Florences expansion in August 1569 declared Cosimo Grand Duke of Tuscany. The international reaction to Cosimos elevation was bleak, Queen Catherine of France, though herself a Medici, viewed Cosimo with the utmost disdain. Rumours circulated at the Viennese court that had Cosimo as a candidate for King of England, Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor and King Philip II of Spain reacting quite angrily, as Florence was an Imperial fief and declared Pius Vs actions invalid. However, Maximilian eventually confirmed the elevation with an Imperial diploma in 1576, during the Holy League of 1571, Cosimo fought against the Ottoman Empire, siding with the Holy Roman Empire.
The Holy League inflicted a defeat against the Ottomans at the Battle of Lepanto. Cosimos reign was one of the most militaristic Tuscany had ever seen, Cosimo experienced several personal tragedies during the years of his reign. His wife, Eleanor of Toledo, died in 1562, along with four of his due to a plague epidemic in Florence. These deaths were to him greatly, along with illness
Habsburg Monarchy
The Monarchy was a composite state composed of territories within and outside the Holy Roman Empire, united only in the person of the monarch. The dynastic capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, from 1804 to 1867 the Habsburg Monarchy was formally unified as the Austrian Empire, and from 1867 to 1918 as the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The two entities were never coterminous, as the Habsburg Monarchy covered many lands beyond the Holy Roman Empire, the monarchy had no official name. The entity had no official name, Austrian Empire, This was the official name. Note that the German version is Kaisertum Österreich, i. e. the English translation empire refers to a territory ruled by an emperor, Austria-Hungary, This was the official name. An unofficial popular name was the Danubian Monarchy often used was the term Doppel-Monarchie meaning two states under one crowned ruler, Crownlands or crown lands, This is the name of all the individual parts of the Austrian Empire, and of Austria-Hungary from 1867 on.
The Hungarian parts of the Empire were called Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen or Lands of Holy Stephens Crown, the Bohemian Lands were called Lands of the St. Wenceslaus Crown. Burgenland came to Austria in 1921 from Hungary, Salzburg finally became Austrian in 1816 after the Napoleonic wars. Vienna, Austrias capital became a state January 1,1922, after being residence and Lower Austria, were split into Austria above the Enns and Austria below the Enns. Upper Austria was enlarged after the Treaty of Teschen following the War of the Bavarian Succession by the so-called Innviertel, formerly part of Bavaria. Hereditary Lands or German Hereditary Lands or Austrian Hereditary Lands, In a narrower sense these were the original Habsburg Austrian territories, i. e. basically the Austrian lands, in a wider sense the Lands of the Bohemian Crown were included in the Hereditary lands. The term was replaced by the term Crownlands in the 1849 March Constitution, within the Habsburg Monarchy, each province was governed according to its own particular customs.
Until the mid 17th century, not all of the provinces were even necessarily ruled by the same members of the family often ruled portions of the Hereditary Lands as private apanages. An even greater attempt at centralization began in 1849 following the suppression of the revolutions of 1848. For the first time, ministers tried to transform the monarchy into a bureaucratic state ruled from Vienna. The Kingdom of Hungary, in particular, ceased to exist as a separate entity, in this system, the Kingdom of Hungary was given sovereignty and a parliament, with only a personal union and a joint foreign and military policy connecting it to the other Habsburg lands. When Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed, it was not incorporated into either half of the monarchy, instead, it was governed by the joint Ministry of Finance. Austria-Hungary collapsed under the weight of the various unsolved ethnic problems that came to a head with its defeat in World War I, to these were added in 1779 the Inn Quarter of Bavaria, and in 1803 the Bishoprics of Trent and Brixen
Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor
Leopold II was Holy Roman Emperor and King of Hungary and Bohemia from 1790 to 1792, Archduke of Austria and Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1765 to 1790. He was a son of Emperor Francis I and his wife, Empress Maria Theresa, Leopold was a moderate proponent of enlightened absolutism. In 1753, he was engaged to Maria Beatrice dEste, heiress to the Duchy of Modena, the marriage never materialised, Maria Beatrice instead married Leopolds brother, Archduke Ferdinand. On the death of his brother, Charles, in 1761, it was decided that he should succeed to his fathers grand duchy of Tuscany. This settlement was the condition of his marriage on 5 August 1764 with Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain, daughter of Charles III of Spain, on the death of his father, Francis I, he succeeded to the grand duchy. Leopold was famous in Florence for his numerous extra-marital affairs, among his lovers was Countess Cowper, wife of the 3rd Earl Cowper, who in compensation for being cuckolded was given honours by Leopolds brother, Joseph II.
For five years, he exercised little more than nominal authority, in 1770, he made a journey to Vienna to secure the removal of this vexatious guardianship and returned to Florence with a free hand. During the twenty years which elapsed between his return to Florence and the death of his eldest brother Joseph II in 1790, he was employed in reforming the administration of his small state. As he had no army to maintain, and as he suppressed the small naval force kept up by the Medici, Leopold was never popular with his Italian subjects. His disposition was cold and retiring, but his steady and intelligent administration, which advanced step by step, brought the grand duchy to a high level of material prosperity. His ecclesiastical policy, which disturbed the deeply rooted convictions of his people and he was unable to secularize the property of the religious houses or to put the clergy entirely under the control of the lay power. However, his abolition of capital punishment was the first permanent abolition in modern times, Leopolds concept of this was based on respect for the political rights of citizens and on a harmony of power between the executive and the legislative.
However, Leopold developed and supported social and economic reforms. Smallpox inoculation was made available, and an early institution for the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents was founded. Leopold introduced reforms to the system of neglect and inhumane treatment of those deemed mentally ill. On 23 January 1774, the legge sui pazzi was established, a few years Leopold undertook the project of building a new hospital, the Bonifacio Hospital. He used his skill at choosing collaborators to put a young physician, Vincenzo Chiarugi and he and Joseph II were tenderly attached to one another and met frequently both before and after the death of their mother. The portrait by Pompeo Batoni in which appear together shows that they bore a strong personal resemblance to one another
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresas succession to the Habsburg Monarchy. The war included King Georges War in British America, the War of Jenkins Ear, the First Carnatic War in India, the Jacobite rising of 1745 in Scotland, and the First and Second Silesian Wars. Austria was supported by Great Britain and the Dutch Republic, the enemies of France, as well as the Kingdom of Sardinia. France and Prussia were allied with the Electorate of Bavaria, the war ended with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, by which Maria Theresa was confirmed as Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary, but Prussia retained control of Silesia. But the peace was soon to be shattered, when Austrias desire to recapture Silesia intertwined with the political changes in Europe. In 1740, after the death of her father, Charles VI, Maria Theresa succeeded him as Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, Archduchess of Austria and Duchess of Parma. The complications involved in a female Habsburg ruler had been long foreseen, problems began when King Frederick II of Prussia violated the Pragmatic Sanction and invaded Silesia on 16 December 1740, using the 1537 Treaty of Brieg as a pretext.
For much of the century, France approached its wars in the same way. It would let its colonies defend themselves, or would offer only minimal help, several long land borders made an effective domestic army imperative for any ruler of France. At the end of the war, France gave back its European conquests, the British—by inclination as well as for pragmatic reasons—had tended to avoid large-scale commitments of troops on the Continent. For the War of the Austrian Succession, the British were allied with Austria, by the time of the Seven Years War, they were allied with its enemy, Prussia. In marked contrast to France, Britain strove to prosecute the war in the colonies once it became involved in the war. The British pursued a strategy of naval blockade and bombardment of enemy ports. They would harass enemy shipping and attack enemy outposts, frequently using colonists from nearby British colonies in the effort and this plan worked better in North America than in Europe, but set the stage for the Seven Years War.
Prince Frederick had been only 28 years of age on 31 May 1740 when his father, Frederick William I died, neither Frederick nor his father had ever been fond of Austria and its various snubs against Prussia. Emperor Charles VI had made provision for the succession of his daughter, in support of his invasion of Silesia, Frederick used a questionable interpretation of a treaty between the Hohenzollerns and the Piasts of Brieg as pretext. In particular, Frederick feared that Augustus III, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, was preparing to seize Silesia for himself to unite Saxony and Poland. The only recent combat experience of the Prussian Army was their participation in the War of the Polish Succession, the Prussian Army had an uninspiring reputation and was counted as one of the many minor armies of the Holy Roman Empire
Second Mexican Empire
It was created with the support of Napoleon III of France, who attempted to establish a monarchist ally in the Americas. A referendum confirmed the coronation of the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, the Empire came to an end on June 19,1867, with the execution of Emperor Maximilian I. The rule of Emperor Maximilian was blemished by constant conflict, the two factions had set up parallel governments, the Conservatives in Mexico City controlling central Mexico and the Liberals in Veracruz. The United States government viewed Emperor Maximilian as a French puppet and they demanded the withdrawal of French forces, and France acceded. In 1867, the fell and Maximilian was executed at the orders of Benito Juárez. Maximilian proved to be too liberal for the conservatives, and too conservative for the liberals and he regarded Mexico as his destiny and made many contributions. Before his death, Maximilian adopted the grandsons of the first Mexican emperor, Agustín de Iturbide, Agustín de Iturbide y Green, Napoleon III had more ambitious goals in mind than merely the recovery of Frances debts.
Heavily influenced by his wife the Empress Eugenie, he was bent on reviving the Mexican monarchy. Prior to 1861 any interference in the affairs of Mexico by any of the European powers would have viewed as a challenge to the United States. However, in 1861 the United States was embroiled in its own bloody conflict, the American Civil War, encouraged by the Empress Eugenie, who saw herself as the champion of the Catholic Church in Mexico, Napoleon III took advantage of the situation. Napoleon III saw the opportunity to make France the great modernizing influence in the Western Hemisphere as well as enabling the country to capture the South American markets. To give him encouragement, there was his half brother, the duc de Morny. 1832, Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian born on 6 July, the son of Archduke Franz Karl and his wife Sophie in Schönbrunn Palace. 1851, Begins career in the Imperial and Royal Navy with the rank of lieutenant,1856, The construction of his castle of Miramar near the Adriatic port of Trieste began.
1857, Ferdinand Max appointed the governor-general of the northern Italian provinces of Lombardy-Venetia, on 27 July marries the Princess Charlotte of Belgium in Brussels. 1859, On 19 April relieved of his post as governor-general, War breaks out with France and Piedmont-Sardinia. 1861, Napoleon III suggests Maximilian as a candidate for the throne of Mexico,1863, In October a Mexican delegation arrives at Miramar to offer Maximilian and Charlotte the crown. Maximilian makes his acceptance conditional on a plebiscite in his favor
Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Croatia, Transylvania, Milan and Galicia, by marriage, she was Duchess of Lorraine, Grand Duchess of Tuscany and Holy Roman Empress. She started her 40-year reign when her father, Emperor Charles VI, Charles VI paved the way for her accession with the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 and spent his entire reign securing it. Upon the death of her father, Prussia, Prussia proceeded to invade the affluent Habsburg province of Silesia, sparking a nine-year conflict known as the War of the Austrian Succession, and subsequently conquered it. Maria Theresa would try to reconquer Silesia during the Seven Years War. Of the sixteen, ten survived to adulthood and she had eleven daughters and five sons. She criticised and disapproved of many of Josephs actions, Maria Theresa understood the importance of her public persona and was able to simultaneously evoke both esteem and affection from her subjects.
However, she refused to allow religious toleration and contemporary travelers thought her regime was bigoted and superstitious. As a young monarch who fought two wars, she believed that her cause should be the cause of her subjects. The dowager empresses, her aunt Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg and grandmother Eleonor Magdalene of the Palatinate-Neuburg, were her godmothers and her father was the only surviving male member of the House of Habsburg and hoped for a son who would prevent the extinction of his dynasty and succeed him. Thus, the birth of Maria Theresa was a disappointment to him. Charles sought the other European powers approval for disinheriting his nieces and they exacted harsh terms, in the Treaty of Vienna, Great Britain demanded that Austria abolish the Ostend Company in return for its recognition of the Pragmatic Sanction. France, Saxony-Poland and Prussia reneged, little more than a year after her birth, Maria Theresa was joined by a sister, Maria Anna, and another one, named Maria Amalia, was born in 1724.
The portraits of the family show that Maria Theresa resembled Elisabeth Christine. The Prussian ambassador noted that she had blue eyes, fair hair with a slight tinge of red, a wide mouth. Unlike many other members of the House of Habsburg, neither Maria Theresas parents nor her grandparents were closely related to each other, Maria Theresa was a serious and reserved child who enjoyed singing and archery. She was barred from riding by her father, but she would learn the basics for the sake of her Hungarian coronation ceremony. The imperial family staged opera productions, often conducted by Charles VI and her education was overseen by Jesuits
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Amalie Theresa was born on 6 April 1807 at the Hofburg Imperial Palace in Hofburg and died the next day. Her mother fell ill after giving birth to her and died less than a week afterwards, as a daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor, she was born with the title Archduchess of Austria and the style Imperial and Royal Highness
Maximilian I of Mexico
Maximilian was the only monarch of the Second Mexican Empire. He was a brother of the Austrian emperor Francis Joseph I. After a distinguished career in the Austrian Navy, he accepted an offer by Napoleon III of France to rule Mexico, France had invaded Mexico in the winter of 1861, as part of the War of the French Intervention. Seeking to legitimize French rule in the Americas, Napoleon III invited Maximilian to establish a new Mexican monarchy for him. With the support of the French army, and a group of conservative Mexican monarchists hostile to the administration of new Mexican President Benito Juárez. Once there, he declared himself Emperor of Mexico on 10 April 1864, the Empire managed to gain recognition by major European powers including Britain and Prussia. The United States however, continued to recognize Juarez as the president of Mexico. Maximilian never completely defeated the Mexican Republic, Republican forces led by President Benito Juárez continued to be active during Maximilians rule, with the end of the American Civil War in 1865, the United States began more explicit aid of President Juárezs forces.
Matters worsened for Maximilian after the French armies withdrew from Mexico in 1866 and his self-declared empire collapsed, and he was captured and executed by the Mexican government in 1867. His wife, Charlotte of Belgium, had left for Europe earlier to try to support for her husbands regime, after his execution, however. Maximilian was born on 6 July 1832 in the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna and he was baptized the following day as Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph. The first name honored his godfather and paternal uncle, The King of Hungary and his father was Archduke Franz Karl, the second surviving son of The Emperor of Austria, during whose reign he was born. Maximilian was thus a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, a cadet branch of the House of Habsburg. His mother was Princess Sophie of Bavaria, a member of the House of Wittelsbach, despite their different personalities, the marriage was fruitful, and after four miscarriages, four sons—including Maximilian—would reach adulthood. The existence of an affair between Sophie and the Duke, and any possibility that Maximilian was conceived from such a union, are widely dismissed by historians.
Adhering to traditions inherited from the Spanish court during Habsburg rule, his education was entrusted to a tutor. Most of Maximilians day was spent in study, the thirty-two hours per week of classes at age 7 steadily grew until it reached fifty-five hours per week by the time he was 17. The disciplines were diverse, ranging from history, geography and technology, to languages, military studies, fencing, in addition to his native German, he eventually learned to speak Hungarian, English, French and Spanish
Emperor of Mexico
The Emperor of Mexico was the head of state and ruler of Mexico on two non-consecutive occasions in the 19th century. With the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire from Spain in 1821, the monarchy was soon replaced by the First Republic of Mexico. Mexico briefly reverted into a monarchy in the 1860s, during the Second Mexican Empire, in both instances of Empire, the reigning Emperor was forcibly deposed and executed. History of Mexico Empress of Mexico Imperial Crown of Mexico Mexican Imperial Orders List of heads of state of Mexico
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