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 changed several times, but at the time of its highest prosperity it included Germany (which was the political and military core), a significant part of Italy, some regions of France, and also the Czech Republic. From 1508 to 1519, this interstate formation was headed by many famous historical figures, among whom were two emperors Maximilian of Habsburg. Let's talk about them, and at the same time about their august namesake, who ruled Mexico.
Childhood and youth of the heir to the throne
The future crowned ruler of several European states Maximilian I (not to be confused with Emperor Maximilian II, who ruled a few 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 hischildhood.
Since his older brother died as an infant, Maximilian was always spoken of as the only heir to the throne and tried to prepare for the upcoming mission as much as possible. For him, the best teachers of that time were invited, among whom the famous educators Thomass von Zilli and Peter Engelbrecht especially stood out. However, despite their efforts, the future emperor had difficulty assimilating knowledge, preferring hunting and knightly tournaments to study. According to contemporaries, he possessed such great physical strength that legends circulated about it.
Waiting for the Imperial Crown
As soon as the heir turned 15, his father hurried to find a bride for him, guided, of course, not by his son's love interests, but by purely practical calculations. The chosen one was the daughter of the Duke of Burgundy, Mary, who was one of the richest brides in Europe. In August 1473, their wedding took place.
The next 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 genealogy, as well as from the family ties of his wife. The ambitious heir put forward in turn claims to the Breton inheritance, Burgundian, Hungarian and, finally, Austrian. Since it was not necessary to be shy about means to achieve such desired goals, both political intrigues and open military aggression were used.
In 1452 the throne of the Holy Roman Emperor passed to hisFather Frederick III, a man extremely indecisive and incapable of governing such vast lands. In contrast to him, Maximilian showed all the qualities of an energetic statesman, capable of strengthening royal power. Gradually, he managed to take the reins of government from the hands of his father, who voluntarily retired from the management of 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 Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Maximilian 1 had to crush another contender - the French king Charles V of Valois, who joined forces 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 the official right to be called Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian the First. Historians note that the inheritance went to him in an extremely ruined state. By that time, Germany had disintegrated and turned into a combination of many state entities that tried to the best of their ability 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 indicated 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, conceived by him even earlier, but not implemented due to stubborn oppositionfather - Frederick III. Two years after his death, Maximilian convened the General Reichstag, the highest deliberative and legislative body of the empire, at which he announced the draft reform of public administration he had developed. As a result of the vote, a document was adopted, called the "Imperial Reform". It established at the legislative level the administrative division of Germany into six districts, subordinate to the district assemblies, formed from deputies of various state entities (free cities, spiritual and secular principalities, as well as various orders of chivalry).
Another important achievement of Emperor Maximilian I was the creation of the Supreme Imperial Court, thanks to which he had in his hands an instrument of influence on the territorial princes and the possibility of pursuing a unified 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 a law on the creation of a single executive body and a united army. In addition, the deputies flatly refused to finance the war with Italy that the emperor was preparing, 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 centuries, Maximilian I tried with all his might to expand the territory under his control. So, back in 1473, having married MaryBurgundian, he received formal rights to the territories 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 other applicants who also claimed their rights from the much-desired trough. Fortunately for the subjects, this time there was no bloodshed. Mary's father, the proud and arrogant Duke Karl, officially transferred all the rights of the inheritance to Maximilian, since he was a representative of the royal family and could grant him the coveted title.
However, things did not always end so peacefully. For example, in 1488 Maximilian laid claim to the Duchy of Brittany, which was located in northwestern France. In this case, he also referred to certain documents allegedly confirming his rights, but actively contested by competitors. As a result, large-scale hostilities began, in which Maximilian was assisted by his English and Spanish relatives. The residents of the city of Bruges, who unexpectedly rebelled and captured him, added to the severity of the events. To save his life, Maximilian was forced to conclude an agreement with the rebels, completely depriving him of the 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 - Anne of Brittany.
The failed attempt of Maximilian I to conquer and take control of Hungary is also known. Beganall from the fact that its king Matthias Corvinus went to war against Austria, motivating this by the fact that once Frederick III (Maximilian's father) did not pay his debt. Having launched an offensive, he managed to win a series of high-profile victories and, as a result, capture Vienna. Austria was in a critical situation, but the sudden death of Matthias Korvin saved her from occupation. Taking advantage of the situation, Maximilian hired landsknechts (German mercenary infantrymen) and with their help, driving out 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
Archival documents show that at that time the main direction of the domestic policy of Maximilian - 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 economic, political and other requirements imposed on citizens of other states and primarily Germany. Thus, actively supporting the interests of the Habsburgs, he advocated the abolition in Austria of most of the taxes levied in the rest of the empire. He, in particular, implemented the law on the refusal to crown the next heir to the throne by the pope.
The end of the 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, athe hegemony of his primordial rivals - the French. The years of the reign of Emperor Maximilian I are considered to be the era of the flourishing 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 educated in Madrid, since he was the 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 king of Spain, but also the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Maximilian got married and plunged headlong into politics.
As one of the possible contenders for the imperial crown, he put forward his candidacy in the elections of 1550 and was poisoned by another contender - his cousin Philip, who was also eager to receive this title. Only a miracle and good he alth helped Maximilian avoid death. However, the matter ended peacefully, and all the terrible symptoms of poisoning were attributed to the negligence of the cook, who was hanged to everyone's pleasure. 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
Becoming finally the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and simultaneously annexing Hungary, Bohemia and Croatia to his possessions, Maximilian II made every effort to establish peace in the territories subject to him. The fact is that his coming to power coincided with the period of the deepest religious crisis caused by the confrontation between Catholicism and Protestantism. Without giving a clear 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 that often broke out in Europe. Known, in particular, his assistance to the Netherlands, who adopted Protestantism and were subjected to aggression by the Spanish King Philip II. He died on October 12, 1576 and was buried in the Prague Cathedral of St. Vitus.
Ambitious offspring of the Habsburgs
Let's remember another monarch who bore this name - Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico. He ruled this Latin American country for a very short time - from 1864 to 1867, and left such a high post not at all of his own free will. Born 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 study of 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 viceroy in Milan, but was soon dismissed by Emperor Franz Joseph for being too liberal.
Maximilian owes his career rise to Napoleon III, who, after the proclamation of the Mexican Empire in 1863, offered to raise a representative of the Habsburg dynasty to its rulers and pointed specifically to his candidacy. However, innumerable troubles awaited the new monarch in the new place. Entering solemnly in June 1864 into his possessions, the new (and last) Emperor of Mexico Maximilian I immediately found himself in the hotbed of a struggle that for many years was waged between representatives of the local bourgeoisie, who adhered to monarchist views, and the Republicans, led by their leader Benito Juarez.
Adhering to the same liberal policy, because of which he incurred the wrath of Franz Joseph, Maximilian in a short time spoiled relations with the very conservative circles, thanks to which he received the imperial throne. His decrees, such as the rights of citizens to freedom of speech and the press, the recognition of peonies (native inhabitants of the country) as equal members of society, as well as an amnesty for Republicans who refused armed struggle, turned the entire court elite against him.
The execution of Maximilian I
At the same time, he failed to persuade Republican leader Benito Juarez and his people to stopbloodshed. The hatred of the latter especially intensified after the emperor, wishing to please the monarchical circles, gave the order to shoot the captured rebels on the spot. This was his fatal mistake, as Juarez's position was greatly strengthened after the US Civil War ended, and President Andrew Johnson turned against Emperor Maximilian I, who provided refuge to fugitive southerners.
To top it off, Napoleon III, under public pressure, was forced to withdraw his expeditionary force from Mexico, which was guarding the imperial palace. The Republicans took advantage of this. After a series of armed clashes, they defeated the remnants 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 Edouard Manet's painting "The Execution of the Emperor Maximilian" (a reproduction is given above). At the request of the Austrian government, the body of the executed was taken to Vienna and buried in the crypt of the Kapuzinerkirchen Cathedral.
