Feliz Cinco de Mayo to all Mexicans and Americans! 🇲🇽🇺🇸 Americans love to party on Cinco de Mayo, eat Mexican food and down as many Budweisers, Miller Lites and Dos Equis as they can. But what historical event does the holiday actually commemorate? This is something few Americans know. Also, why is Cinco de Mayo relevant to the United States? These are both questions Dr. Martin answers here with his usual brilliance and conciseness. After the Mexican Civil War or Reform War as it was known, from 1857 to 1861, Mexico was bankrupt and couldn’t pay its debts. Britain, France and Spain were none too pleased about this and sent in troops as a show of force to get Mexico to pay. Britain and Spain negotiated a settlement and withdrew. But France stayed, recognizing they had an opportunity here. The United States was too caught up in its civil war to enforce the Monroe Doctrine. So Mexico would be easy pickings for them. They intended to topple Mexico’s President Benito Juarez and its fledgling democracy and install a puppet monarchy under Austrian and member of the famed Hapsburg family, Maximillian.
Napoleon III France’s Emperor wanted to claim Mexico as a French protectorate and add it to his empire like Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, or Vietnam were. The French won the initial outing with the Mexican Army causing them to retreat to Puebla. But little Mexico was not about to give up even in the face of much larger and more well equipped army. The Mexican forces at Puebla were commanded by General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin, cousin of Mexican War hero General Juan Seguin and an American by birth having arrived in Mexico from Goliad, Texas. The First Battle of Puebla would be very important not only for Mexico to preserve its independence but also for the United States of America. You see, this is because if France prevailed over Mexico, the French could give the Confederacy the assistance they needed to win the Civil War. But it was not to be! Despite being outnumbered and outgunned, the Mexicans defeated the French in a victory that would earns its place in history and legend forever! At the Second Battle of Puebla in 1863, the French would be victorious and Maximilian was installed on the throne. But it was a hollow victory and too little too late.
By this point, the Union was on its way to victory in the Civil War having defeated the Confederates at Gettysburg and Vicksburg. Also, General Sherman was getting ready to go his famous March to the Sea. Abraham Lincoln and the United States could now enforce the Monroe Doctrine and help the Mexicans kick the French out of our hemisphere. The United States immediately sent all the weapons they could to the Mexican Republican forces. Mexico would prevail over France ultimately in 1867, send the French packing and shatter Napoleon III’s dreams of expanding his empire into North America. As for Archduke and “Emperor” Maximilian I, he was executed by the Mexican Republic. Thanks to those brave men who fought and risked their lives at the First Battle of Puebla, the United States was spared being torn apart and slavery’s potential expansion into South America were both prevented.
Oh that's very helpful! (Not that anyone will read any of this while they're out drinking tequila, oblivious to what they're celebrating. But we can try.)
Feliz Cinco de Mayo to all Mexicans and Americans! 🇲🇽🇺🇸 Americans love to party on Cinco de Mayo, eat Mexican food and down as many Budweisers, Miller Lites and Dos Equis as they can. But what historical event does the holiday actually commemorate? This is something few Americans know. Also, why is Cinco de Mayo relevant to the United States? These are both questions Dr. Martin answers here with his usual brilliance and conciseness. After the Mexican Civil War or Reform War as it was known, from 1857 to 1861, Mexico was bankrupt and couldn’t pay its debts. Britain, France and Spain were none too pleased about this and sent in troops as a show of force to get Mexico to pay. Britain and Spain negotiated a settlement and withdrew. But France stayed, recognizing they had an opportunity here. The United States was too caught up in its civil war to enforce the Monroe Doctrine. So Mexico would be easy pickings for them. They intended to topple Mexico’s President Benito Juarez and its fledgling democracy and install a puppet monarchy under Austrian and member of the famed Hapsburg family, Maximillian.
Napoleon III France’s Emperor wanted to claim Mexico as a French protectorate and add it to his empire like Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, or Vietnam were. The French won the initial outing with the Mexican Army causing them to retreat to Puebla. But little Mexico was not about to give up even in the face of much larger and more well equipped army. The Mexican forces at Puebla were commanded by General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin, cousin of Mexican War hero General Juan Seguin and an American by birth having arrived in Mexico from Goliad, Texas. The First Battle of Puebla would be very important not only for Mexico to preserve its independence but also for the United States of America. You see, this is because if France prevailed over Mexico, the French could give the Confederacy the assistance they needed to win the Civil War. But it was not to be! Despite being outnumbered and outgunned, the Mexicans defeated the French in a victory that would earns its place in history and legend forever! At the Second Battle of Puebla in 1863, the French would be victorious and Maximilian was installed on the throne. But it was a hollow victory and too little too late.
By this point, the Union was on its way to victory in the Civil War having defeated the Confederates at Gettysburg and Vicksburg. Also, General Sherman was getting ready to go his famous March to the Sea. Abraham Lincoln and the United States could now enforce the Monroe Doctrine and help the Mexicans kick the French out of our hemisphere. The United States immediately sent all the weapons they could to the Mexican Republican forces. Mexico would prevail over France ultimately in 1867, send the French packing and shatter Napoleon III’s dreams of expanding his empire into North America. As for Archduke and “Emperor” Maximilian I, he was executed by the Mexican Republic. Thanks to those brave men who fought and risked their lives at the First Battle of Puebla, the United States was spared being torn apart and slavery’s potential expansion into South America were both prevented.
Consider this the official Cinco de Mayo reading list:
* El Cinco de Mayo: An American Tradition by David Hayes-Bautista
* Hapsburgs on the Rio Grande: The Rise and Fall of the Second Mexican Empire by Raymond Jonas
* Maximilian in Mexico: A Woman’s Reminiscences of the French Intervention, 1862-1867 by Sara Yorke Stevenson
* The Last Emperor of Mexico: The Dramatic Story of Austrian Archduke Who Created a Kingdom in the New World by Edward Shawcross
* Maximilian and Carlota: Europe’s Last Empire in Mexico by M.M. Allen
* The Mexican Adventure, 1861-67 by Rene Chartrand
* The Shadow Emperor: A Biography of Napoleon III by Alan Strauss-Schon
* A Life of Benito Juarez, Constitutional President of Mexico by Ulick Ralph
Oh that's very helpful! (Not that anyone will read any of this while they're out drinking tequila, oblivious to what they're celebrating. But we can try.)