Charlotte and Maximilian collection

This collection mainly consists of letters from Charlotte of Belgium, chiefly as Carlota, Empress of Mexico.

Charlotte (Coburg) of Belgium (1840-1927), daughter of Leopold of Belgium (1790-1865), and Louise of France (1812-1850) married Maximilian, Archduke of Austria in 1857. Carlota, as she was known in Mexico, was eager to establish European rule in Mexico after her father rejected the Mexican throne in her youth. She accompanied Maximilian to Mexico in 1864. During her years in Mexico, the first signs of mental illness emerged. In 1866, she left Mexico to solicit the financial support of Napoleon III and never returned. Her mental illness worsened and she eventually was committed to a mental hospital in Austria where she died in 1927.

Ferdinand Maximilian (Hapsburg) Archduke of Austria and Emperor of Mexico (1864-67) was the younger brother of Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph (1830-1916), son of Franz Karl (1802-1878) and Sophia of Bavaria. He married Charlotte of Belgium in 1857 and, after serving posts as governor of Lombardy and Venetia, accepted the Mexican crown in 1864. The French withdrew support of foreign rule in Mexico in 1865, but Maximilian remained in Mexico and briefly retained the throne. In 1867, he was captured by Benito Juarez's troops, tried, and executed.

The original materials are held by the Woodson Research Center in Fondren Library. Search the finding aid/inventory for the Charlotte and Maximillian collection, MS 0356.