THE LAST EMPEROR OF MEXICO: A Disaster in the New World

In 1864, a young Austrian archduke, Maximilian, crossed the Atlantic to assume a faraway throne. He had been lured into the voyage by Napoleon III. Keen to spread his own interests abroad, Maximilian walked into a bloody guerrilla war and was ill-equipped for what lay in store. Mexico became the pivotal battleground in the global balance between Old Europe and the New World. Photos.