The Execution of Maximilian I of Mexico
JL Matthews jlmatthews.medium.com
On June 19, 1867, a firing squad assembled on the Cerro de las Campanas (“Hill of the Bells”) in Querétaro City, Mexico. Three men were led out into a clearing that overlooks the arid, rolling hills…
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On June 19, 1867, a firing squad assembled on the Cerro de las Campanas (“Hill of the Bells”) in Querétaro City, Mexico.

Three men were led out into a clearing that overlooks the arid, rolling hills of Mexico’s central plateau. One of the condemned, a European, made a brief statement in Spanish: “I forgive everyone, and I ask everyone to forgive me. May my blood, which is about to be shed, be for the good of the country. Viva Mexico, viva la independencia!”

Shots rang out, and three men, Miguel Miramón, Tomás Mejía, and Maximilian I of Mexico, lay dead.

So how did this young man, born in Austria, end up dead on the Hill of the Bells in Mexico? What twists of fate led him to his final demise? It’s a complex — and fascinating — story.

Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph (I’ll refer to him as ‘Maximilian’ for clarity going forward) was born in 1832 to Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and Princess Sophie of Bavaria.

Maximilian’s mother, Sophie, was an extraordinary woman in her own right. In the years leading…