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    Mexico has been a
republic for most of its national history. But on two different occasions, an
emperor headed her government.

     The first was Augustín Iturbide. When Mexico was a Spanish colony fighting for independence
from Spain,
Iturbide was a Spanish general entrusted with the task of fighting a Mexican
insurgent named Guerrero. Instead, he joined forces with Guerrero and together
they ended Spanish authority in Mexico
in the summer of 1821. Iturbide could have been a father of
his country, like George Washington in the United States. But he
preferred personal power. In 1822 he made himself emperor of Mexico, and
instead of exercising a benign, fatherly rule, he ruled in a tyrannical
fashion. A general named Santa Anna rebelled and soon forced him to abdicate
and flee the country.

      Maximilian, the other emperor, was a
tragic figure. In the middle of the nineteenth century, the Mexican government
alienated a fraction of the populace by liberal reforms that hurt the Roman
Catholic Church and other groups. Napoleon III, the emperor of France, decided
to intervene.  

       French troops invaded Mexico. It was
an unequal contest, but the Mexican army had a moment of glory. On May 5, 1862,
General
Ignacio Zaragosa defeated the French in a battle for the city of Puebla. Mexico still
celebrates this victory on the fifth of May each year.

      But eventually the French prevailed After
French forces occupied Puebla and Mexico City, Napoleon III persuaded Maximilian, the Archduke
of Austria, to become emperor of Mexico.

       The newly crowned emperor believed that
he had the support of the Mexican people, and he tried to be a good ruler. But
in reality it was only the presence of the French troops that kept him in
power.

      From the beginning, the United States had objected to this French
intervention in the affairs of its southern neighbor, but since the Civil
War was raging in the US,
nothing could be done at first. But after the war, the United States applied diplomatic pressure, and
the French troops withdrew from Mexico
in 1867.

      Maximilian still believed that he had
considerable support in Mexico,
and he had the courage to stay after his compatriots had departed. But his
supporters were soon defeated in battle. Maximilian was captured and executed.

      Maximilian was one of the better
representatives of the era of monarchy. But his reign occurred at the wrong
place and at the wrong time. He is a sympathetic tragic figure.

Maximilian
I of Mexico
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_I_of_Mexico]