Maximilian (Emperor of Mexico)

On 5 July 1852 Prince Ferdinand Maximilian, who later became Emperor of Mexico, arrived in Madeira for the first time. His brief stay on the island was marked by the generous way in which he contributed to the building of the Ponte Monumental (‘monumental bridge’) and by the valuable gift he made to the Funchal Asylum for the Destitute and Orphans (Asilo de Mendicidade e Órfãos do Funchal).

In 1857 he married Princess Maria Carlota, daughter of Leopold I, King of the Belgians, and he arrived in Madeira with his wife on 6 December 1859 aboard the Austrian steam warship Elisabeth. The prince left the island on 22 December on a study voyage to South America, while the princess spent the winter in Funchal awaiting her husband’s return, which took place on 5 March 1860. On the 12th of the same month and year the prince and princess left the island for Austria.

On 10 April 1864 Prince Ferdinand Maximilian accepted the charge of becoming Emperor of Mexico, and as such he was at once proclaimed and recognised. On the 28th of that month and year he called at Madeira with his wife on the way to that country, aboard the Austrian frigate Novara, which was accompanied by the French frigate Themis. The emperor and empress were paid the honours due to their high rank, and the illustrious travellers graciously returned them by inviting to dinner aboard the Novara the diocesan bishop, Dom Patrício Xavier de Moura, the civil governor, the Count of Farrobo (‘carob tree’), the Count of Carvalhal (‘oak grove’), the consul Carlo de Bianchi, Dr Luís Pita, etc.

The unhappy emperor’s wretched end is well known. Unable to put down the revolutions that followed one another in the country, and abandoned by the French government, he was shot on 16 June 1867. The empress lost her mind and never recovered the use of her reason.

Everyone today acknowledges that Emperor Maximilian was the victim of the most atrocious injustice. By nature averse to violence and to all measures of excessive severity, he perhaps succumbed to the lack of energy and daring of which some of his most loyal supporters accused him.

He was a highly cultivated man and published several volumes, which were translated into French.

It seems that a marriage had been planned between Prince Maximilian and Princess Maria Amélia, daughter of Pedro IV and of Empress Amélie, who founded the hospice (hospício) that bears that princess’s name.

The beautiful statue of Our Lady of Sorrows (Nossa Senhora das Dores) that crowns the altar of the chapel of the Princess Maria Amélia Hospice (Hospício da Princesa Dona Maria Amélia) was a gift from Prince Ferdinand Maximilian.