Submitted by Taps Coogan on the 16th of September 2018 to The Sounding Line.

As part of our ongoing series of historical video maps, we present ‘The French Invasion of Mexico,’ by YouTube Creator EmperorTigerstar. In 1861, after the costly and destructive Reform War, Mexico’s government found itself greatly over-indebted and unable to secure additional financing. It subsequently defaulted on large debts to France, Spain, and Britain. With the US tied up in the American Civil War and thus unable to enforce the Monroe Doctrine, France, Spain, and Britain invaded Mexico to pressure the government into repaying its debts, or else recover the money themselves. It soon became clear that France, under the rule of Napoleon III, intended to unilaterally overthrow the Mexican government and establish a French controlled puppet government, which the French did. Spain and Britain abandoned the French effort, leaving the French and their newly created ‘Second Mexican Empire‘ to fight against local opposition. The French designated Maximilian I, younger brother of Austrian emperor Francis Joseph I, as the Emperor of Mexico. However, the local republican forces which had previously won the Mexican Reform War and defaulted on Mexico’s debts, remained resistant. As the US emerged from the civil war, it began supplying and financing the Mexican republican forces and pressuring the French to end their support for the Imperial Mexican government. To avoid an escalating conflict with the US, France withdrew its troops from Mexico and the Imperial Government quickly fell. Maximilian was executed by the Republican Government.

To see other interesting historical maps check out:
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