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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 December 2015
In the course of the long struggle between Mexican conservatives and liberals, the issue of the fate of the church was the first preoccupation of both parties. The Liberal president, Don Benito Juárez, had cut the Gordian knot by seizing the church's landed wealth. Thereafter, from 1859 to 1867, Mexico's conservatives bent their efforts to the repeal of Juárez's Reform Laws. Liberals staked their future upon their maintenance.
In April 1864, before quitting Europe for Mexico, Maximilian and his consort, Empress Charlotte, had visited Rome. That visit excited a great deal of speculation in the diplomatic world because it was thought that Maximilian might attempt to lay the foundation for a concordat through personal negotiation. Instead, the new sovereign merely asked the Pope to send a nuncio to Mexico to open negotiations as soon as possible. He had also taken the occasion to establish a Mexican Legation at the Vatican and to name Ignacio Aguilar as his envoy at that court.
The present article is a revised version of a paper read to a session of the American Historical Association's Convention at Boston on December 30, 1970. The expenses of research were generously defrayed by grants from the American Philosophical Society and the Faculty Research Committee at Towson State College, Baltimore.
1 Callcott, Wilfrid Hardy , Liberalism in Mexico 1857–1929, Hamden, Connecticut, Archon, 1965, pp. 22, 23, 33–39.Google Scholar
2 Velásquez de León to T. Murphy, April 22, 1864, Aboard the Frigate Novara, Haus-Hof-und Staatsarchiv, Vienna, Politischen Archiv des k. k. Ministerium des Äussern, Photostatic Facsimiles, Library of Congress, Washington (hereafter cited as Min. d. Auss.), Box 95.
3 Odo Russell to Lord John Russell, February 16, 1864, Private, Rome, N. Blakiston (ed.), The Roman Question, Extracts from the Despatches of Odo Russell from Rome 1858–1870, London, Chapman and Hall, 1962 p. 284.
4 The Austrian envoy at Rome believed that it was the pope who avoided coming to grips with the negotiation of a concordat (Bach to Austrian Foreign Minister Rechberg, April 23, 1864, no. 4B, Rome, Min. d. Auss., Box 49).
5 Ramírez had served as foreign minister for the republic on three brief occasions in 1846–1847 and 1851–1852. See Luis Weckmann (ed.), Las Relaciones Franco-Mexicanas 1839–1867 (in two volumes), México, Publicaciones de la Secretaría de relaciones exteriores, 1962, II, 389–390. Thiswork is number 2 in Series 2 of an extensive documentary collection drawn from the Archivo Histórico Diplomático Mexicano. Hereafter, references to this series will be cited as AHDM followed by the number of the publication.
6 P. C. Scarlett to British Foreign Secretary Lord Clarendon, March 8, 1866, no. 30, Mexico, Public Record Office, London, Foreign Office (hereafter cited as PRO, FO), 50/394.
7 Quoted in Ramírez’s circular of February 11, 1865 enclosed in Scarlett to Russell, April 26, 1865, no. 47, Mexico, PRO, FO, 50/386.
8 Bach to Rechberg, April 23, 1864, no. 4B, Rome, Min. d. Auss., Box 49.
9 Eugénie to Charlotte, July 30, 1864, Egon Caesar Count Corti, Maximilian and Charlotte of Mexico (tr. by C. A. Phillips; in 2 vols.), New York, Knopf, 1928, II, 843–844.
10 Cleven, , “The Ecclesiastical Policy of Maximilian of Mexico,” The Hispanic American Historical Review, 9 (1929), 326.Google Scholar
11 Summary of Aguilar“s despatch in Ramirez”s Circular of February 11, contained in Scarlett to Russell, April 26, 1865, no. 47, Mexico, PRO, FO, 50/386.
12 Pius IX to Maximilian I, October 18, 1864, Archives Diplomatiques, Receuil de Diplomatie et d’Histoire (1st series), Paris, Amyot, 1865, II, 177.
18 Eugénie to Charlotte, undated, September 1864, Corti, II, 849.
14 Maximilian to Gutiérrez, October 30, 1864, León, Corti, II, 438. See also Cleven, p. 343. For an excellent recent study of Gutiérrez’s early antecedants see Frank J. Sanders, “José María Gutiérrez Estrada: Monarchist Pamphleteer,” The Americas, XXVII(July 1970), 56–74.
15 Arnold Blumberg, “ A Swedish Diplomat in Mexico, 1864,” The Hispanic American Historical Review, XLV (1965), 275–280.
16 The French Minister at Mexico penetrated the pretense immediately and described the irreconcilable hostility of the nuncio and the Mexican foreign office. See Montholon to Drouyn de Lhuys, December 10, 29, 1864, Mexico, Lilia Díaz (ed.),Versión Francesa de México; Informes Diplomáticos 1864–1861 (in 4 vols.), El Colegio de México, 1967, IV, 70, 73–74.
17 Blumberg, pp. 278–279.
18 Meglia to Ramírez, December 29, 1864, contained as an enclosure with Scarlett to Russell, Auril 26, 1865, no. 47, Mexico, PRO, FO, 50/386.
19 A copy of the Mexican proposals had been sent to France before Meglia’s first meeting with the emperor. See Charlotte to Eugénie, December 8, 1864, Corti, II, 857-858.
20 Circular of February 11, 1865, enclosed with Scarlett to Russell, April 26, 1865, no. 47, Mexico, PRO, FO, 50/386.
21 Undersecretary of State for Justice F. de Tabera to Meglia, December 28, 1864, Mexico, Ibid.
22 Ramírez's Circular of February 11, 1865, ibid.
23 Maximilian to Minister of Justice Pedro Escudero, December 27, 1864, El Diario del Imperio, December 29, 1864.
24 Meglia to Ramírez, December 29, 1864, contained as an enclosure in Scarlett to Russe, Díaz, IV, 104, 109–111.
25 Charlotte to Eugénie, December 27, 1864, Chapultepec, Corti, II, 862–865.
26 Corti, II, 454–455.
27 Maximilian to Pedro Escudero, December 27, 1864, El Diario del Imperio, December 27, 1864.
28 Bach to Mensdorff, February 11, 1865, no. IB, Confidential, Rome, Min. d. Auss., Box 49.
29 Meglia to Ramírez, December 29, 1864, Mexico, Haus-Hof-und Staatsarchiv, Vienna, Archiv Kaiser Maximilians von Mexiko, Photostatic Facsimiles, Library of Congress, Washington (hereafter cited as HHUSA-Maxim.), Box 130.
30 Ramírez to Meglia, January 10, 1865, translation by British Secretary of Legation Le Strange, enclosed in Scarlett to Russell, April 26, 1865, no. 47, Mexico, PRO, FO, 50/386.
31 The present writer has found no evidence that the nine article proposal had been submitted to Antonelli. Ramírez probably meant to say that the papal government ought to have been aware of the patent truth that the Mexican church could never be restored to its condition as of the pre-Juárez era. Consequently, Antonelli ought to have expected to open negotiations by recognizing some of the Reform Laws.
32 Ramírez to Meglia, January 10, 1865, enclosed in Scarlett to Russell, April 26, 1865, ibid.
33 Ibid.
34 Austrian Minister to Mexico, Count Thun to Mensdorff, May 29, 1865, no. 8C, lexico, Min. d. Auss., Box 95.
35 Charlotte to Eugénie, April 14, 1865, Mexico, Cord, II, 900.
36 Scarlett to Russell, May 20, 1865, no. 60, Mexico, PRO, FO, 50/386.
37 Corti, II, 455.
38 Scarlett to Russell, March 2, 1865, no. 14, Mexico, PRO, FO, 50/385.
39 Corti, II, 480.
40 Scarlett to Russell, May 20, 1865, no. 60, Mexico, PRO, FO, 50/386; Thun to lensdorff, May 29, 1865, no. 8C, Mexico, Min. d. Auss., Box 95; Dano to Drouyn de huys, May 28, 1865, Mexico, Díaz, IV, 104, 109–111.
41 Corti, II 479; Thun to Mensdorff, February 11, 1865, no. 4, Mexico, Min. d. Auss., Box 95.
42 Corti, II, 479.
43 Scarlett to Russell, April 26, 1856, no. 47, Mexico, PRO, FO, 50/386; Thun to Mensdorff, April 28, 1865, no. 7C, Mexico, Min. d. Auss., Box 95; The French were shown the special favor of being given a copy in advance through the Mexican legation at Paris. See Hidalgo to Drouyn de Lhuys, April 18, 1865, Paris, Díaz, IV, 96.
44 Dano to Drouyn de Lhuys, May 10, 1865, Mexico, ibid., IV, 102; Thun to Mensdorff, February 11, 1865, no. 4, Mexico, Min. d. Auss., Box 95.
45 Bach to Men, 1865.
46 Cleven, pp. 347–350; Archives Diplomatiques, 1865, II, 200–201.
47 Bach to Mensdorff, April 8, 1865, no. 2B, Rome, Min. d. Auss., Box 49.
48 Antonelli to Aguilar, March 9, 1865, Archives Diplomatiques, 1865, II, 205–211.
49 Bach to Mensdorff, April 8, 1865, no. 2B, Rome, Min. d. Auss., Box 49. Antonelli also spoke openly and frankly to the United States Minister about the inevitable fall of Emperor Maximilian. See Rufus King to Acting Secretary of State William Hunter, no. 41, Rome, in Leo Francis Stock, United States Ministers to the Papal States, Instructions and Despatches 1848–1868, Washington, Catholic University, 1933, p. 340.
50 Bach to Mensdorff, April 26, 1865, no. 3B, Rome, Min. d. Auss., Box 49.
51 Same to same, July 1, 8, 1865, nos. 6L, 9B, Rome, ibid.
52 Baron d’Ottenfels to Mensdorff, August 29, 1865, no. 11A–C, Rome, ibid.
53 Bach to Mensdorff, April 26, 1865, no. 3B, Rome,ibid.
54 Meglia to Ramírez, May 1, 1865, Mexico, HHUSA-Maxim., Box 130; Antonelli to Three Man Commission, July 8, 1865, no. 4, Rome, ibid.
55 Three Man Commission to Ramírez, June 24, 1865, no. 16, Rome, ibid.
56 Terán to Lerdo, June 3, 1865, no. 13, Rome, G. Saldivar (ed.), La Misión Confidencial de Don Jesús Terán en Europa 1863–1866, AHDM, Series II, no. 1, 1943, p. 28. Republican Foreign Minister Lerdo approved Terán’s demarche. See Lerdo to Terán, August 15, 1865, no. 13, Paso del Norte, ibid., pp. 28–29.
57 See Damian McElrath, The Syllabus of Pius IX; Some Reactions in England, Louvain, 1964; J. Salwyn Schapiro, Anticlericalism: Conflict Between Church and State in France, Italy, and Spain, Princeton, 1967, p. 76.
58 Charlotte to Eugénie, February 3, 1865, Corti, II, 879–880.
59 Unidentified Mexican newspaper clipping enclosedin Scarlett to Russell, March 2, 1865, no. 14, Mexico, PRO, FO, 50/385.
60 Scarlett to Russell, March 10, 1865, no. 20, Mexico, ibid.
61 In their distress, many nominal Catholics applied for permission to bury their dead in the British Protestant cemetery. The British legation gave its consent to such burials provided that some sort of religious ceremony were performed. It was not required that a specific ritual be followed (Scarlett to Russell, March 6, 1865, no. 15, Mexico, ibid.).
62 El Diario del Imperio, March 10, 1865.
63 Ibid., March 16, 1865.
64 Antonelli pictured Catholic cemeteries filled with Protestants and Jews (Antonelli to Three Man Commission, July 8, 1865, no. 4, Rome, HHUSA-Maxim., Box 130).
65 Meglia to Ramírez, March 20, 1865, Mexico, ibid.
66 Three-Man Commission to Ramírez, May 26, 1865, no. 13, Rome, ibid.
67 Bach to Mensdorff, May 27, 1865, no. 5F, Rome, Min. d. Auss., Box 49.
68 Three-Man Commission to Ramírez, June 10, 24, 1865, nos. 15, 17, Rome, HHUSA-Maxim., Box 130; Scarlett to Russell, June 28, 1865, no. 80, Mexico, PRO, FO, 50/386.
69 Three-Man Commission to Ramírez, June 24, 1865, no. 17, Rome, HHUSA-Maxim., Box 130.
70 Scarlett to Russell, June 28, 1865, no. 80, Mexico, PRO, FO, 50/386.
71 Commissioners to Ramírez, June 24, 1865, no. 17, Rome, HHUSA-Maxim., Box 130.
72 Mexican Concordat Project dated May 18 and submitted to the Holy See May 26, 1865, enclosed with Commissioners to Ramírez, May 26, 1865, no. 13, Rome, ibid.
73 Commissioners to Ramírez, June 24, 1865, no. 17, Rome, ibid.
74 The Times (London), July 8, 1865; Bach to Mensdorff, July 8, 1865, no. 9B, Rome, Min. d. Auss., Box 49.
75 Antonelli to the Mexican Commissioners, July 8, 1865, nos. 3 and 4, Rome, HHUSA-Maxim., Box 130.
76 Ibid.
77 This was probably a reference to the right of non-Catholics to burial in consecrated Catholic cemeteries.
78 A reference to the right of civil courts to decide whether church lands had been legally transferred.
79 It may be assumed that this refers to fees for religious services and the control of regular clergy.
80 Ibid.
81 Commissioners to Ramírez, September 22, 1865, no. 35, Albano, ibid.
82 Scarlett to Russell, October 1, 1865, no. 149, Mexico, PRO, FO, 50/488; Scarlett to Clarendon, no. 26, Mexico, PRO, FO, 50/394.
83 Scarlett to Russell, November 6, 1865, no. 175, Mexico, PRO, FO, 50/388; Dano to Drouyn de Lhuys, October 19, 1865, Mexico, Díaz, IV, 220; Thun to Mensdorff, October 19, 1865, no. 15, Mexico, Min. d. Auss., Box 95.
84 Corti, II, 535–536.
85 Hübner to Mensdorff, November 25, 1865, no. 2, ciphered, Rome, Min. d. Auss, Box 49.
86 Corti, II, 621.
87 Commissioners to Castillo, December 8, 1865, no. 50, Rome, HHUSA-Maxim., Box 130.
88 Hübner to Mensdorff, December 12, 1865, ciphered telegram, Rome, Min. d. Auss., Box 49.
89 Same to same, December 27, 1865, no. 4H, Rome, ibid.
90 Castillo to Commissioners, January 27, 1866, no.10, Mexico, HHUSA-Maxim., Box 130.
91 Corti, II, 622.
92 Commissioners to Castillo, December 8, 1865, no.50, Rome, HHUSA-Maxim., Box 130; Castillo to Commissioners, January 27, 1866, no. 10, Mexico,ibid.
93 Commissioners to Castillo, March 9, 26, 1866, nos. 13, 16, Rome, ibid.
94 Same to same, June 10, 23, 1866, nos. 22, 23, Rome, ibid.
95 For the best account of the empress’s mission at Rome, see Corti.