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Hispanic American Historical Review 83.1 (2003) 172-173



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Recollections of Mexico: The Last Ten Months of Maximilian's Empire. By Samuel Basch. Edited and translated by Fred D. Ullman. Latin American Silhouettes: Studies in History and Culture. Wilmington, Del.: Scholarly Resources, 2001. Photographs. Illustrations. Maps. xxiv, 278 pp. Cloth, $60.00.

Recollections of Mexico is an English translation of the memoirs of Dr. Samuel Basch, which were first published in German in 1868. Born in Prague, Basch and a retinue of Austrians went to Mexico to support Maximilian of Hapsburg, who had accepted an imperial crown of dubious legitimacy that was offered by disgruntled Mexican conservatives and the expansionist French emperor Napoleon III.

From September 18, 1866, until Maximilian's execution on June 19, 1867 the 29-year-old Basch served as imperial Mexican court physician. Due to the emperor's numerous health problems, Basch attended him often, and the two became close. As Maximilian's physician and confidant, Basch provides the reader with insights into the final enigmatic months of the life and reign of "that noble and unhappy Prince . . . by whose side I stood almost uninterruptedly at the time of his greatest trouble and need." The emperor urged Basch to compile his account, mainly from the physician's diary and official reports. Basch's goal was to give "full insight" into Maximilian's "feelings and thoughts" and at the same time remain "unprejudiced." He respected Maximilian and admired his courage, so the emperor is seen most often in a favorable light.

Historian and linguist Fred Ullman, a descendant of Basch's sister, was drawn to the story by his family connection. Ullman translated the memoirs and added a number of excellent photos, maps, and notes, which were not in Hugh McAden Oechler's 1973 English translation, now out of print.

Basch provides glimpses into the personalities of men who were important in the French Army of Occupation, as well as those in the imperial and republican governments and armies. In chapter 2, Basch offers his views of the Mexican people and their politics. "The Mexican, whether Liberal or Conservative, is . . . Intolerant to the highest degree. . . . Above all, he is intolerant of everything foreign." Ironically, Basch later shows that Maximilian referred to the French, not to himself or the Austrians, as foreigners. The emperor believed naively that he had the support of the majority of the Mexican people. Even after the French army departed, he thought he could hold on to power.

Basch's account is written in 21 chapters, 12 of which cover the four-month period from February 18, 1867, when Maximilian and his army arrived in Querétaro, until his death by firing squad on June 19, 1867. Basch details how various government officials acted out of self-interest, and despite the hopelessness of the imperial cause, appealed to Maximilian's sense of honor and convinced him not to abdicate. In the closing chapters, Basch carefully chronicles the emperor's surrender at Querétaro, their imprisonment, the emperor's failing health, and the many [End Page 172] pleas to President Benito Juárez to spare the lives of Maximilian and his generals. The final chapter is devoted to the defense of the emperor at the court martial. Basch finds of particular worth one of the attorney's arguments, that the Mexican War of the Reform and the subsequent wars between the imperial and republican armies were comparable to the Civil War in the United States. As such, Maximilian, like Jefferson Davis, was not a traitor and should not be executed.

Recollections is a book that scholars and students of Mexican history would find useful. Unlike the memoirs of Maximilian's private secretary, José Luis Blasio, which covers the politics and social life of Maximilian's entire reign, Recollections focuses in detail on a shorter time period that shows the rapid unraveling of this risky foreign adventure in Mexico, which in Basch's words, "is destined to be of tragic interest for even the remotest of future generations."

 



Joanne R. S&aacute...

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