 France invaded Mexico in 1861 on a pretext of collecting on defaulted loans to the government of Benito Juárez, but at the invitation of Mexican conservatives seeking to restore monarchy in Mexico, set Maximilian I on the Mexican throne.The United States, engaged in their own civil war at that time (1861–65), did not attempt to counter the French invasion.France withdrew its support of Maximilian in 1867; his monarchist rule quickly collapsed, and he was executed.