Empress Carlota was a Belgian princess who ended up ruling a country that had only recently shaken off the Spanish imperial yoke. Her reign was brief, and her husband was executed while she was in Europe trying to get military support to bolster their doomed adventure.

She never recovered and descended into a lifetime of despair and paranoia, spending the remaining 60 years of her life locked away in a castle, far removed from the dangerous world of international power politics.

Was she always destined to a life of madness by the inbreeding of European Royals, or was she plunged into depression by the death of her beloved husband or… was her illness caused by something more sinister…. strange Mexican poisons?

In this video I explore the life and torments of Empress Carlota of Mexico in an effort to understand her mental illness more fully.

Copyright Disclaimer
The primary purpose of this video is educational. I have tried to use material in the public domain or with Creative Commons Non-attribution licences wherever possible. Where attribution is required, I have listed this below. I believe that any copyright material used falls under the remit of Fair Use, but if any content owners would like to dispute this, I will not hesitate to immediately remove that content. It is not my intention to infringe on content ownership in any way. If you happen to find your art or images in the video, please let me know and I will be glad to credit you.

References
Bénit, A. (2017). Charlotte de Belgique, impératrice du Mexique. Une plongée dans les ténèbres de la folie. Essai de reconstitution fictionnelle. Çédille, Revista de Estudios Franceses, 13-54.
Cheney R.H. (1926) The Ancient and Modern use of Plant Arrow Poisons. The Scientific Monthly, Vol. 23, pp. 552-555.
McAllen, M. M. (2014). Maximilian and Carlota. Europe's Last Empire in Mexico. Trinity University Press.
Macnayr L. (2008) Situating Charlotte: Reading Politics in Portraits of Belgian Princess Charlotte, Vicereine of Lombardy-Venetia, Empress of Mexico. PhD Thesis.
Moore, J. E. and Hopkins, H. H. (1930). Asymptomatic neurosyphilis: The prognosis of early and late asymptomatic neurosyphilis. Journal of the American Medical Association, 95(22), 1637-1641.

Images
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Wellcome Foundation
British Library
Other images and video samples Fair Use

Music via Wikimedia Commons
Frederic Chopin: Prelude in E minor. Ivan Ilić. CC3.0
Frederic Chopin - Nocturne in F sharp major, Op. 15, no. 2, Vadim Chaimovich. CC1.0
Gabriel Fauré: Requiem - Introït et Kyrie: Orchestre National de l'Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Dir. Louis Frémaux and Chorale Philippe Caillard: Publid domain.
Gabriel Fauré: Fantasie: Alex Murray (flute) and Martha Goldstein (piano) CC2.0.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: String Quartet No. 15 In C Major K465, I. Adagio-Allegro. Quatuor Mosaïques CC0.
Jaume Nunó: Himno Nacional Mexicano: Police Band of Mexico (1928) Public domain.
Johann Strauss II: Tritsch-Tratsch Polka: Akkordeonorchesters Hof, Dir. Torsten Petzold. CC2.0.
Trad: Vals Chiapa de Corzo (Rec 1890): Courtesy of Museo de la Marimba Chiapas. CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.
Trad: El Calala (El Tigre y el Venado) Courtesy of Museo de la Marimba Chiapas. CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

Sound Effects
Adharca: Shamanic Drum CC0 via Freesound
Volchonokilli: Utulation CC0 via Freesound

Written by Faye Denham and Graeme Yorston
Video produced by Graeme Yorston and Gabriel Isles

свернуть