Cinco de Mayo

Most Americans have heard of the Mexican holiday of Cinco de Mayo.  It came to the attention of people north of the border when Mexican-Americans began to observe the day as a celebration of their heritage.  It eventually became an excuse for "Anglos" to go to their local "Mexican" restaurant and drink margaritas and Mexican beer.  In spite of frequent articles that appear in the press around this time, many Americans still think that Cinco de Mayo is Mexican Independence Day.  It is not;  September 16 is the day when Mexico celebrates the beginning of its war for independence from Spain.  The 5th of May is the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla at which the Mexican army defeated invading French forces.

In 1861, Mexican President Benito Juarez, whose nation was facing bankruptcy, issued a temporary moratorium on the payment of foreign debts.  Napoleon III of France, organized a coalition with Britain and Spain to send a naval expedition to Mexico to collect payment.  In fact, Napoleon III, who had grandiose dreams of creating a French empire to rival that of his uncle Napoleon Bonaparte, was using this as an excuse to invade Mexico.  Britain and Spain negotiated an agreement with Juarez, but Napoleon's forces captured the port city of Veracruz and marched inland toward Mexico City.  Some Mexican conservatives, opposed to the liberal Juárez, actually welcomed the French invasion.

The Mexican army, composed of 4500 soldiers, met the French invaders, a superior army of 8000 troops, at the forts of Guadalupe and Loreto on the outskirts of the city of Puebla.  The Mexicans, led by young General Ignacio Zaragoza, surprisingly defeated the French and forced the invaders to retreat.  (Tragically, General Zaragoza died a few months later at the age of 33 from typhoid fever.)



(image from the web)

(image from the web)

General Ignacio Zaragoza
 

The battle was a humiliating defeat for the French army, which considered itself the greatest army in the world.  However, the French reorganized, and continued their march to Mexico City.  President Juárez was forced to flee the capital, but from the remote northern areas of the country he continued to direct the Mexican resistance.  Even though the Battle of Puebla had been only a temporary victory, it had boosted morale, and spurred those opposed to the French occupation to continue their struggle. 

Napoleon III, seeking to legitimize his invasion, in 1864 convinced Austrian Archduke Maximilian von Hapsburg to become the Emperor of Mexico.  Of course, Napoleon viewed Maximilian as his puppet, but the liberal-minded Maximilian proved a disappointment not only to the French emperor, but also to Mexican conservatives.  Maximilian's reign was short-lived.  Mexican resistance to the French occupation continued.  Although Abraham Lincoln was sympathetic to the cause of Juárez, the United States was involved in its own bloody civil war, and could not offer assistance.  However, once the Civil War was over, the U.S. government invoked the Monroe Doctrine, and strongly urged the French to leave Mexico.  By the end of 1866, the French had withdrawn, and Maximilian was left with a small army of Mexican supporters. In 1867 Maximilian was captured and executed before a firing squad.  Juárez returned in triumph to Mexico City to continue his interrupted term as President. 

(image from the web)

The execution of Maximilian as portrayed by the French painter Edouard Manet


¡Viva México!