Winning the internal conflict would leave a longer problem of dealing with the postwar United States and changes in Europe. Napoleon III's fall would threaten an empire dependent on his personal backing. Tying Mexican silver to French economic interests could give a successor government reasons to preserve the connection. The proposed government should also cultivate Britain and other powers. Austrian connections are even imagined as a route to friendship with Prussia and, if necessary, a change of patron after a Franco-Prussian war.
Notable Point · 1:03:08-1:04:36
Build foreign relationships that survive Napoleon III
Economic ties and additional patrons could help a surviving Mexican empire outlast its original French sponsor.