All postage stamps issued from 1856 to 1879, with one important exception, featured a portrait of Miguel Hidalgo, who declared Mexican independence from Spain in 1810. The ensuing long-term political instability that lasted for much of the 19th century tempted the United States in the 1840s and European countries in the 1860s to launch invasions of Mexico. In 1861, when Mexico suspended payments of its foreign debts, it was occupied by British, Spanish and French troops. The French stayed there longer than others and, taking advantage of the civil war in America, made the Austrian Archduke Maximilian the Mexican emperor. In 1867, the United States, citing the Monroe Doctrine, forced Napoleon III to withdraw his troops. Maximilian surrendered to the Republicans led by Benito Juarez and was executed on June 19 near the city of Queretaro. In 1870, postage stamps were printed by the American Bank Note Company and featured the same distinctive ornate borders as contemporary American postage stamps. A curious feature of many Mexican postage stamps from 1868 to 1883 is the overprinting of district names and numbers.
