Carlota of Belgium, Empress of Mexico. In the Depths of Madness. An Essay & Attempt at Fictional Reconstruction

Abstract

150 years ago, in June 1867, the execution of Maximilian of Habsburg by Benito Juarez’s men marked the end of the Second Mexican Empire. One year earlier, the Em-press Carlota had returned to Europe to request from Napoleon III that he maintain his troops in Mexico and from Pope Pius IX that he sign a concordat to save the Empire, but to no avail. With these setbacks, Carlota’s mental breakdown became increasingly obvious and notorious… In these pages, we recount the Belgian princess’s progressive descent into madness as told by novelists in French language. A tragic fairy tale…