France, Mexico, and the 1860s Intervention: Beyond a Naval Blockade

France did not merely set up a naval blockade. In 1861, France, Britain, and Spain sent a joint naval force to Veracruz after Mexico suspended debt payments. Britain and Spain withdrew once it became clear Napoleon III aimed to install a puppet monarchy under Maximilian of Habsburg.

France then launched a full-scale invasion, leading to the Second Mexican Empire (1864–1867). Mexican republican forces under Benito Juárez, aided by U.S. diplomatic and material support after the American Civil War, eventually defeated the French. Maximilian was executed in 1867, restoring the Mexican Republic.