Napoleon III and Mexican Silver

This short and very readable book claims to have discovered the real reasons for Napoleon III’s invasion of the Sonora region of Mexico. Not imperial nostalgia and attempts to rival his uncle but rather a severe need for silver caused by the bi-metallic crisis in France 1853 – 1865 (itself resulting from the sudden influx of gold from California, Australia and the Urals). Five years of influx of silver to France thus rendered Napoleon’s expedition not his greatest folly but rather a monetary and econmic success for France.