Summary of Edward Shawcross's The Last Emperor of Mexico

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The Mexican capital, Mexico City, was taken by American troops on September 14, 1847. The violence was shocking, but it came as no surprise to José María Gutiérrez de Estrada, a Mexican politician who had predicted this scenario in a pamphlet published seven years earlier. #2 Mexico had experienced many revolts since its independence in 1821. By 1840, only one president had served out his full term in office. Gutiérrez de Estrada believed that Mexico should have been a monarchy, and that the country’s republicanism was the cause of its problems. #3 The history of Mexico was complex, and it was on this history that Iturbide rested his main claim to empire. The Aztecs were the last in a long line of indigenous peoples who enslaved most of central Mexico before the Spanish arrived in the sixteenth century. #4 The Mexican monarchy was established in 1821 after Mexico was defeated by Spain in a war for independence. The plan was to crown Ferdinand VII, king of Spain, the first emperor of Mexico, but he refused the offer. The throne was then offered to one of his relations, but Ferdinand wanted nothing less than the complete reconquest of one of the richest parts of the Spanish empire.