Ferdinand Maximilian of Habsburg (1832 - 1867) was the Emperor of Mexico (1864 – 1867) and the younger brother of Franz Joseph I, who was the Emperor in the Austrian Empire. Meksikajnarji were volunteer contingent operating under Maximilian's command in Mexico. Napoleon III. was the French ruler who offered Maximilian a Mexican crown. The French army had intervened in Mexico, before the start of the Mexican expedition (1864). Maksimilan's army was represented of French troops and volunteer contingent. They were coming mostly from Belgium and the Austrian Empire. Several Slovenian were operating under the Austrian contingent and joined mexican expedition with the intention of some day coming back as respectable gentlemen. The first recruitment of Austrian volunteers took place in 1864 in front of Cukrarna in Ljubljana. The Mexican expedition lasted three years. It began with great expectations and ended tragically - from 1864, when Maximilian and his wife Charlotte stepped on Mexican soil as a new imperial couple, until 1867, when the Mexican empire collapsed and Maximilian was shot dead in Mexico, his wife Charlotte was effected by paranoid schizophrenia, and volunteers remained without money or land offer in Mexico. But there were some interesting moments in Mexico. There were ceremonial celebrations that included fireworks, music and drinks. That is why I also presented the social and cultural aspect of the Maximilian expedition - the population of Mexico, music and brewing.
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