In the period from 962 to 1806, a number of European states were united in a union called the Holy Roman Empire. Over the centuries, its composition has repeatedly changed, but at the time of its highest prosperity, it included Germany (which was the political and military core), a large part of Italy, some parts of France, as well as the Czech Republic. From 1508 to 1519, many well-known historical figures headed this interstate formation, among which there were two emperors Maximilian of Habsburg. Let's talk about them, and at the same time about their august namesake, who ruled Mexico.
The childhood and youth of the heir to the throne
The future crowned ruler of several European countries Maximilian I (not to be confused with Emperor Maximilian II, who ruled several decades later) was born in Vienna on March 22, 1459 and was the eldest son of the Austrian Archduke Frederick III and his wife Eleanor of Portugal. There, in the Austrian capital, he spent his childhood.
Since his older brother died as a baby, Maximilian was always spoken of as the only heir to the throne and, as far as possible, tried to prepare for the upcoming mission. The best teachers of that time were invited for him, among which the well-known enlighteners Tomass von Zilli and Peter Engelbrecht stood out. However, despite their efforts, the future emperor hardly mastered knowledge, preferring hunting and knightly tournaments to study. According to contemporaries, he possessed such enormous physical strength that legends circulated about her.
Waiting for the imperial crown
As soon as the heir turned 15 years old, his father hurried to find a bride for him, guided, of course, not by his son’s love preferences, but by purely practical calculations. The chosen one was the daughter of the Duke of Burgundy, Maria, who was one of the richest brides in Europe. In August 1473, their wedding took place.
The following years of the life of the future emperor of the Holy Roman Empire Maximilian I passed in a continuous struggle for various European thrones, the rights to which stemmed from his family tree, as well as from the family ties of his wife. The ambitious heir alternately put forward claims for the Breton inheritance, Burgundy, Hungarian and, finally, Austrian. Since it was not necessary to be shy in the means to achieve such desired goals, both political intrigues and open military aggression were used.
In 1452, the throne of the Holy Roman Emperor was transferred to his father Frederick III, a man extremely indecisive and incapable of managing such vast lands. Unlike him, Maximilian showed all the qualities of an energetic statesman, able to strengthen royal power. Gradually, he managed to take the reins of government from the hands of his father, who voluntarily retired from managing the empire under the burden of senile ailments. With his help, in 1486, the young heir was elected king of Germany. However, before ascending the throne of the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian 1 had to crush another contender, the French king Charles V Valois, who combined his efforts with the English monarch Henry VIII and the Hungarian - Matthias Corvinus. All of them were the worst enemies of the Habsburgs.
On the throne of the Habsburgs
In August 1493, Frederick III died, after which all power passed to his son, who finally received official right to be called the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian the First. Historians say that he inherited the inheritance in an extremely ruined state. Germany by that time had disintegrated and turned into the aggregate of many state formations, which, as far as they could, tried to pursue their own foreign policy and were constantly at war with each other. Things were no better in other territories subject to him, which testified to the need for immediate changes in all areas of life.
The era of the reign of Emperor Maximilian I was marked by a number of reforms that he had conceived earlier, but not implemented due to the stubborn opposition of his father - Frederick III. Two years after his death, Maximilian convened a general Reichstag, the supreme advisory and legislative body of the empire, at which he announced the draft government reform he had developed. As a result of the vote, a document was adopted, called the "Imperial Reform." In it, at the legislative level, the administrative division of Germany into six districts was established, subordinate to district assemblies, formed from deputies of various state formations (free cities, spiritual and secular principalities, as well as various knightly orders).
Another important achievement of Emperor Maximilian I was the creation of the Supreme Imperial Court, thanks to which a tool appeared in his hands to influence the territorial princes and the possibility of pursuing a single foreign policy. However, all further attempts to deepen the reforms failed due to the active opposition of the same local rulers who managed to block the adoption through the Reichstag of the law on the creation of a single executive authority and a united army. In addition, the deputies flatly refused to finance the war being prepared by the emperor with Italy, which significantly undermined his prestige not only in the international arena, but also among the population of the empire itself.
Foreign policy of Maximilian I
Like the Roman emperors who ruled in the past, Maximilian I tried with all his might to expand the territory under his control. So, back in 1473, having entered into marriage with Maria of Burgundy, he received formal rights in the territory that belonged to her father: Brabant, Limburg, Luxembourg and many, many others. However, in order to take possession of them, it was necessary to push out other applicants who also claimed their rights from the much-desired feeding trough. Fortunately for the subjects, this time there was no bloodshed. Maria's father - the proud and arrogant Duke Karl - officially transferred all the rights of the heritage to Maximilian, since he was a representative of the royal family and could provide him with the coveted title.
However, things did not always end so peacefully. For example, in 1488, Maximilian presented his claim to the duchy of Brittany, whose territory was located in northwestern France. In this case, he also referred to certain documents allegedly confirming his rights, but actively disputed by competitors. As a result, large-scale hostilities began, in which Maximilian was assisted by his English and Spanish relatives. Acuity of events was added by the inhabitants of the city of Bruges, who suddenly rebelled and captured him. To save his life, Maximilian was forced to conclude an agreement with the rebels, which completely deprived him of his rights to this territory. True, later he nevertheless achieved his goal. When his wife Maria died from childbirth, he entered into a new marriage, this time with the hereditary owner of the duchy he desired - Anna of Breton.
Also known is the failed attempt of Maximilian I to conquer and take control of Hungary. It all started with the fact that her king Matthias Corwin fought against Austria, citing the fact that once Frederick III (Maximilian's father) did not pay him a debt. Starting the offensive, he managed to gain a number of high-profile victories and, as a result, capture Vienna. Austria was in a critical situation, but the sudden death of Matthias Corvin saved her from occupation. Taking advantage of the situation, Maximilian hired the Landsknechts (German mercenary infantry) and with their help, expelling the Hungarians, tried to take control of their entire territory. These plans collapsed due to a riot that broke out in the ranks of his troops, as a result of which Hungary was annexed to the Habsburg empire in 1526, that is, after his death.
Internal political transformations
It can be seen from the archival documents that at that time the main direction of the domestic policy of Maximilian - the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (1508-1519) - was the struggle to provide the inhabitants of Austria with a significant number of legal benefits, compared with the economic, political and other requirements for the citizens of the rest States and especially Germany. Thus, actively supporting the interests of the Habsburgs, he advocated the abolition in Austria of most taxes levied in the rest of the empire. He, in particular, enforced the law on the refusal of the coronation of the next heir to the throne by the pope.
The end of life of Maximilian I
The last stage of his life was marked by a series of wars for the Italian throne. However, they did not bring him success, and as a result, the hegemony of his original rivals - the French - was established on the Apennine Peninsula. The years of the reign of Emperor Maximilian I are considered to be the heyday of humanism, the main ideologists of which were the famous Erasmus of Rotterdam and members of the Erfurt Philosophical Circle. Support was constantly provided to various artists of their era. He died on January 12, 1519 and was buried in Neustadt.
On the way to the coveted crown
The history of the Holy Roman Empire knows another emperor Maximilian, who ruled from 1564 to 1576. Born in Vienna on July 31, 1527, he, unlike his predecessor, grew up and was brought up in Madrid, as he was a nephew of the Spanish king Charles V. Having matured and received his first combat experience in the war with France, which was unleashed by his august relative, who was, By the way, not only the Spanish king, but also the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Maximilian married and went into politics with his head.
As one of the possible candidates for the imperial crown, he put forward his candidacy in the elections of 1550 and was poisoned by another candidate - his cousin Philip, who was also eager to get this title. Only a miracle and good health helped Maximilian to avoid death. However, the case ended in peace, and all the terrible symptoms of poisoning were attributed to the negligence of the cook, who was hanged to the delight of all. However, he did not get the crown at that time, and he received it only in 1562, having overcome many obstacles erected by his political opponents.
Austrian peacekeeper
Finally becoming the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and simultaneously adding Hungary, Bohemia and Croatia to his possessions, Maximilian II made every effort to establish peace in his territories. The fact is that his rise to power coincided with a period of the deepest religious crisis caused by the confrontation between Catholicism and Protestantism. Without giving explicit preference to either side, he tried by legislative measures to establish a balance between them, which ensured the peaceful coexistence of these two areas of Christianity.
Until the end of his days, Emperor Maximilian II tried to prevent religious wars, which often broke out in Europe. Known, in particular, is his help to the Netherlands, who converted to Protestantism and were subjected to aggression for this by the Spanish King Philip II. He died on October 12, 1576 and was buried in the Prague Cathedral of St. Witt.
Habsburg ambitious offspring
Recall another monarch who bore this name - Emperor of Mexico Maximilian I. He did not rule this Latin American country very long - from 1864 to 1867, and left such a high post not at his own request. Born on July 6, 1832 in Vienna, he was the son of the Austrian Archduke Karl (Habsburg) and his wife Sophia of Bavaria. Having received an excellent education and having reached the proper age, Maximilian devoted himself to service in the navy and in-depth studies in geography. With his participation, for the first time, the Austrian ship Navarra traveled around the world.
In politics, Maximilian’s career developed without much brilliance. After becoming Viceroy of Lombardy in 1857 and marrying Princess Charlotte of Belgium, he was appointed Austrian governor in Milan, but was soon removed by Emperor Franz Joseph for being too liberal.
Maximilian owed his career take-off to Napoleon III, who, after the proclamation of the Mexican Empire in 1863, proposed to bring a representative of the Habsburg dynasty to her rulers and specifically pointed to his candidacy. However, in the new place of the newly-made monarch, innumerable troubles awaited. Having solemnly taken over its possessions in June 1864, the new (and last) Emperor of Mexico Maximilian I immediately found himself in the center of the struggle waged for many years by representatives of the local bourgeoisie, holding the monarchist views, and Republicans led by their leader Benito Juarez .
Adhering to the same liberal policy, because of which he incurred the wrath of Franz Joseph, Maximilian quickly spoiled relations with those very conservative circles, thanks to which he received the imperial throne. His decrees, such as the rights of citizens to freedom of speech and press, recognition of peons (indigenous people of the country) as equal members of society, and also an amnesty for republicans who refused the armed struggle, turned the entire court elite against him.
The execution of Maximilian I
At the same time, he failed to persuade the leader of the Republicans Benito Juarez and his people to stop the bloodshed. The hatred of the latter was especially intensified after the emperor, wishing to please the monarchist circles, ordered to shoot the rebels who had been caught on the spot. This was his fateful mistake, as Juarez’s position strengthened significantly after the US civil war ended, and President Andrew Johnson opposed Emperor Maximilian I, who provided refuge to fugitive southerners.
To top it off, Napoleon III, under pressure from the public, was forced to withdraw from Mexico his expeditionary force, which guarded the imperial palace. Republicans took advantage of this. After a series of armed clashes, they defeated the remains of government troops and captured Maximilian.
Despite the intercession of the heads of most European states, he was tried and sentenced to death, which was carried out on June 19, 1867. This tragic moment is captured in Edward Manet's painting “The Shooting of Emperor Maximilian” (reproduced above). At the request of the Austrian government, the body of the executed was delivered to Vienna and buried in the crypt of the cathedral Kapuzinerkirchen.