free hand to carry out the plans that had been laid out to him by Estrada, Hidalgo and Radepont. The expedition landed in Mexico on December, 1861, but Spain and Great Britain withdrew once France's ulterior motives became known. The French invasion of Mexico began in April, 1862. They were eventually joined by conservative Mexican generals who had never been entirely defeated in the War of Reform. After Charles de Lorencez's small expeditionary force was repulsed at the Battle of Puebla, reinforcements were sent and placed under the command of Élie Forey. The capital was taken by June, 1863 and the French now sought to establish a friendly Mexican government. Forey appointed a committee of thirty five Mexicans, the Junta Superior who then elected three Mexican citizens to serve as the government's executive: Juan Nepomuceno Almonte, José Mariano Salas, and Pelagio Antonio de Labastida. In turn this triumvirate then selected two hundred fifteen Mexican citizens to form together with the Junta Superior, an Assembly of Notables. The Assembly met on July, 1863 and resolved to invite Ferdinand Maximilian to be Emperor of Mexico. The executive triumvirate was formally changed into the Regency of the Mexican Empire. An official delegation left Mexico and arrived in Europe on October, where they were joined by Estrada who was made the formal head of the delegation. Upon meeting the delegation, Maximilian set forth the condition that he would only accept the throne if a national plebiscite approved of it. By February, 1864 Franco-Mexican forces controlled territory compromising the majority of Mexico's population, and returns from a plebiscite claiming to show that a majority of Mexicans were in favor of the Empire were sent to Maximilian, which he accepted. Maximilian formally accepted the crown on 10 April 1864, and set sail for Mexico. Estrada remained in Europe as Maximilian's foreign representative. While Maximilian was a well intended reformer who did not fail to win Mexican supporters, his government having been aided by foreign arms, lacked legitimacy, and was engaged throughout its entire existence in warfare against supporters of the overthrown Mexican republic. The United States also never recognized the Empire, and after the end of the Civil War, placed diplomatic pressure on France to leave the continent. The French acquiesced and began to leave in 1866. The Empire survived a few months more as Maximilian and his Mexican supporters engaged in a last stand against