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Forgotten Empires

Did you know that the Mexican Empire once existed? Well, now you do. Today we are travelling through history to visit some forgotten empires...

Mexican Empire

The Mexican Empire was founded in 1821 with the signing of the Treaty of Córdoba. This very short but powerful empire dominated most of Central America and a significant part of North America.

The Mexican Empire (1822)

At first, the Mexican throne was offered to the Spanish king Ferdinand VII, but he rejected it because he didn´t want to recognise the independence of Mexico. After the rejection of Ferdinand VII, the throne was offered to Agustín I, a general who was also regent at the time... and he accepted.

Agustín I, Mexican Emperor

After a couple of horrible years in which the instability reigned, a series of uprisings broke out throughout Mexico. The imperial troops were winning the war at first, but then most of the imperial troops rebelled against the emperor and the empire was defeated. Agustín I abdicated, a republic was established and the southern territories (which today are known as Guatemala, Costa Rica or Honduras) gained their independence. The northern territories were invaded later by USA.

Brazilian Empire

The Brazilian Empire was founded in 1822 with the coronation of Pedro I, who was the son of the king of Portugal. The extension of the Brazilian Empire is very similar to the extension of the modern Brazil, but it also agglutinated the territory which today is known as Uruguay, which gained its independence during the reign of Pedro I.

The Brazilian Empire (1823)

After the departure of Pedro I to Portugal (to reclaim the Portuguese throne), his son Pedro II was crowned as Brazilian Emperor. However Pedro II was only a five-year-old, so regency was established.

The anarchy of that regency was followed by the real reign of Pedro II. During his reign Brazil turned into a great power in America, something which created some conflicts with the other great power of the continent: USA.

Pedro II and some prominent Brazilian politicians

Wars were fought with Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay... but they all were won by the Brazilian army (which was very advanced at that time). Meanwhile, Brazil received some modern technology such as the railroad or the ironclad ship.

However, Pedro II didn´t want to continue with the imperial dynasty, so after his death a dictatorial republic was established.

Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire was established in 1526 by Babur, a descendant of Genghis Khan. It occupied Pakistan, Afghanistan, and most of India. However, the Mughal Empire is famous because of the Taj Mahal, the greatest monument of this civilisation.

The Mughal Empire (1700)

At first, the Mughal Empire was only formed by what today is Pakistan and part of modern Afghanistan. But that situation changed when Babur and his descendants invaded India. They conquered Delhi and the north of the country.

After some campaigns to conquer the mentioned north of India, the Mughal emperors attacked the southern kingdoms, and slowly they reached their climax in 1700, during the reign of Aurangzeb (however, Akbar, who reigned between 1556 and 1605, is considered as the best Mughal Emperor).

Shah Jahan, Mughal Emperor

The culture of the Mughal Empire was very eclectic, and the empire was known because of its tolerance towards other religions (the official state religion was the Islam).

But that military and social power began to decline during the 18^th century, with the rise of the Maratha Empire and the arrival of the British Empire. Slowly, the empire lost all its power and territories, and the last Mughal Emperor (Bahadur Shah II) died in 1862 in a British India. The Mughal throne was given to the Queen Victoria of England, which was acclaimed Empress of India.