Shirt worn by the last Mexican Emperor, Maximilian I, during his execution by firing squad, 1867 [1196X1743].

After decades of authoritarian rule under General Antonio López de Santa Anna, Mexican liberals overthrew him and launched La Reforma, an effort to modernize the country. Its most important figure was Benito Juárez, a Zapotec indigenous man who rose from poverty to become president in 1858. Mexico’s traditional elites resisted, and civil war followed. Meanwhile, [...]