Karl May at the peak of his career 3 years before

 1910

Karl May was born in 1842 to poor weavers. The Industrial Revolution was in full swing. Everywhere, skilled craftsmen were becoming proletarians without rights. There was unrest everywhere. In 1844, the weavers' revolt broke out right around the corner, in Silesia. This led to the 1848 revolution. To be a weaver meant to be poor. Of his 13 siblings, only 4 survived. Weber also starved to death. The death of his grandmother from starvation was certainly traumatic for a child. Weavers and weavers' children died of diseases, for example smallpox, which occurred in the Karl May family. Karl May himself had the misfortune of going blind due to vitamin deficiency. But he was also lucky to be cured of his blindness at the age of 5. 1)

He processed his experience in writing.

....

the stupid Prussian answer to an urgent problem. After all, the Kaiser was under threat.

Of course at that time there was also hunger in Mexico

But a much better solution.

Benito Juarez has Emperor Maximilian shot.

Follow the Mexicans' example.

Karl May writes a serial novel

"The Prodigal Son"

In 1894, currently 1867, Maximilian was shot.

r . He had to work at the age of 12. His job as a bowling boy was probably not enough to support him.

footnotes

as a footnote at Wikipedia