Which country occupied Mexico from 1861-1867?

Mexico was invaded by the Second French Empire, under Napoleon II, in late 1861. The Mexican President, Benito Juarez, had suspended low-interest loan repayment to foreign countries on July 17, 1861. With Spanish and British support, Veracruz was seized in December 1861.

When it became apparent that France intended to conquer Mexico rather than limit the aggression to forcing repayment, Spain and Britain withdrew their troops. Napoleon II hoped to establish a French client state open to free trade with the European powers and French access to Mexican silver. Also, having a strong Roman Catholic power in North America would counterbalance the power of the Protestant U.S. which was embroiled in the American Civil War at the time.

By 1863, Mexican troops captured Mexico City and in 1864 Maximillian, brother of Franz Joseph I of Austria, accepted the crown of the Second Mexican Empire. The Roman Catholic Church, upper class conservatives, and some Indian communities supported Maximillian.

The end of the American Civil War in 1865 enabled the U.S. to exert greater pressure on the French to withdraw. France bowed to the pressure and withdrew its troops. Without overt French military support, the client state was doomed. Mexican Republican forces regained its territory and captured Maximillian. He and several other leaders of the French supported Mexican Empire were executed on June 19, 1867.