Facing an empty treasury after years of civil conflict, President Benito Juárez suspended payments on Mexico’s foreign debts for two years. European creditor governments treated the suspension as a pretext to press claims by force. This decision helped trigger the international crisis that became the French Intervention.
France, the United Kingdom, and Spain signed the Convention of London to coordinate action to secure repayment from Mexico. The agreement set up a joint expedition, but the partners did not share the same goals—especially once France pursued regime change. The split in objectives soon weakened the coalition.
European expeditionary forces arrived on Mexico’s Gulf Coast, beginning the armed intervention. While the expedition was publicly framed around debt collection, France soon moved toward installing a friendly monarchy. This marked the start of a longer and more expansive French military campaign inside Mexico.
At La Soledad, the allied commanders reached an agreement with Mexico that recognized the republican government and promised negotiations rather than political interference. This was a turning point because it clarified that Britain and Spain were not committed to France’s broader ambitions. France soon broke away from the arrangement, continuing the war alone.
Mexican forces under General Ignacio Zaragoza defeated a French assault at Puebla, blocking the route to Mexico City. The victory did not end the intervention, but it delayed French plans and became an important national symbol of resistance to foreign invasion. France responded by sending reinforcements for a renewed campaign.
French forces returned with more troops and besieged Puebla, eventually forcing the Mexican defenders to surrender. With Puebla taken, the road to the capital opened. The fall of this key defensive position pushed Juárez to abandon Mexico City and continue resistance from elsewhere.
French-led troops entered and captured Mexico City, and Juárez’s government relocated rather than surrender. Control of the capital allowed France and Mexican monarchists to begin building a new political order. However, large parts of the country remained contested through guerrilla and regular warfare.
Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian of Habsburg formally accepted the offer to become emperor of Mexico. The arrangement tied the new regime to French military support and to repayment of intervention costs, limiting its independence in practice. It set the stage for the Second Mexican Empire’s creation and for intensified resistance by republicans.
Maximilian arrived in Mexico and entered Mexico City, taking up the throne with French backing. The empire held major cities, but Juárez’s republican government remained active and mobile, and fighting continued in many regions. The conflict became a prolonged contest over sovereignty and legitimacy.
Maximilian ordered harsh measures against armed opponents who did not surrender, including execution in certain cases. The policy aimed to suppress guerrilla resistance, but it also deepened bitterness and made compromise harder. The decree became a lasting symbol of the empire’s hardening stance as the war dragged on.
With costs rising and international pressure increasing—especially after the U.S. Civil War—Napoleon III decided to withdraw French troops from Mexico. This undermined the empire’s military foundation, because Maximilian depended heavily on French forces. From this point, the empire’s collapse became increasingly likely.
French commander Marshal François Achille Bazaine evacuated Mexico City as the withdrawal accelerated. The departure left imperial forces without their strongest military support in the capital region. Republican armies were then able to tighten pressure on remaining imperial strongholds.
Republican forces besieged Maximilian’s main army at Querétaro, cutting off supplies and escape routes. When the city fell, Maximilian was captured along with key imperial commanders. The capture removed the empire’s central figure and cleared the way for a decisive end to the conflict.
After a court-martial, Maximilian was executed at Querétaro, marking the definitive collapse of the Second Mexican Empire. The execution signaled that Mexico’s republican forces had regained control and would not accept a foreign-backed monarchy. It also ended direct European attempts to reshape Mexico’s government by force during this intervention.
Benito Juárez reentered Mexico City, and the republican government reestablished national institutions after years of war and occupation. This return marked the start of the “Restored Republic,” as the 1857 constitutional order was reaffirmed and collaborators were dealt with through courts and decrees. The intervention’s outcome strengthened Mexico’s claim to sovereignty and set the stage for postwar rebuilding and political struggles at home.
French Intervention and the Second Mexican Empire (1861–1867)