Abstract

O'DOGHERTY MADRAZO, Laura. Empress Charlotte's Guard: Her Tragic Adventure in Mexico, 1864-1867. Estud. hist. mod. contemp. Mex [online]. 2004, n.28, pp.31-76. ISSN 0185-2620.

The article traces the story of the Belgian Voluntary Corps and its participation in the maintenance of the Second Mexican Empire. In the first place, it deals with the organization and composition of the corps, and its relation with the political situation in Belgium. Secondly, it offers the impressions that Mexico produced on the volunteers, particularly during the journeys between Veracruz and Mexico City, and between Michoacan and Monterrey Thirdly, the article recreates its participation in the effort to pacify the country and the conflicts between the imperial army and the French military authority. Finally, it presents its premature return to Europe on the verge of the collapse of the Empire. The article has a double interest: by incorporating the participation of other European powers, under the French umbrella, it enriches the perspective for the study of the Second Empire, and it rebuilds the history of the voluntary corps on the basis of an exhaustive use of primary sources, in particular memories and personal correspondence of the volunteers.

Keywords : Belgian Voluntary Corps; Second Mexican Empire; Maximillian; Charlotte; French intervention; foreign troops; imperial army.

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