The Metallurgical Period

Abstract

An event that seriously weakened the prestige of the Second Empire was the Mexican expedition of 1862. As in the case of South America the deposition of Ferdinand VII of Spain in favour of Napoleon’s brother Joseph in 1808 led to a movement towards Mexican independence and, as in the South American states, there were the opposing forces of centralisation and federalism. After a shaky compromise with Spain the monarchy was finally repudiated in 1823 and a republic established on federal lines, but the introduction of central government in 1835 caused uprisings which were suppressed with the exception of the Texas settlers’ revolt which led to war between Mexico and the U.S.A. and which in 1846 gave Texas, New Mexico, California, Utah and Arizona to the U.S.A. In 1861 Mexico, heavily indebted to Britain, France and Spain, suspended the payment of interest on foreign loans for two years.