Lot 1246

Description

MEXICO-EMPIRE, 'Al Merito Militar' - Medal for Military Merit - Emperor Maximillian. Rare. Very fine. Intent on imperial expansion into the Americas, Emperor Napoleon III induced Maximillian, the younger brother of Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria to accept the crown of Mexico. When the United States forced the French to withdraw from the country in 1867, Maximillian was abandoned by the French and captured by Mexican Republican Forces. He was executed in June 1867.