Although Cinco de Mayo has become a well celebrated holiday in the
United States, it remains relatively insignificant within most of
Mexico. Despite the festivities celebrated on this day all across the
United States, the average American may not know the why behind the
celebration.
Many American’s believe Cinco de Mayo is Mexican independence day, but that is actually celebrated in September.
The celebration of Cinco de Mayo marks the extraordinary victory of
about 4000 Mexican patriots over several battalions of French troops on
May 5, 1862. The French force, which possibly outnumbered the Mexicans
by a margin of 2:1, were soundly defeated in this battle due to the
strategy of the Mexican leader, General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín.
Seguin used everything at his disposal to beat the French, including
Native American Indians from central Mexico and a local herd of cattle
stampeded into the core of advancing French troops.
Unfortunately, it was a short- lived victory. France sent
reinforcements, battled their way to Mexico City, and eventually
conquered the nation a year later.
The question which is usually raised at this point of the narrative
is why the French Army was even in Mexico in 1862. Ostensibly, they
were sent to collect a debt.
The story begins with Mexican indebtedness to France, Great Britain,
and Spain after securing loans to mitigate the government’s near
bankrupt status as a result of the Mexican Civil War of 1858 and the
internal Reform Wars between liberal and conservative political factions.
The period known as “La Reforma” ended with the liberals taking
control in 1860 with the intent to create a more modern Mexican civil
society with a capitalist economy using the United States as a model.
In March of 1861, Benito Juárez, the first Native American to be
elected president of Mexico, was provided a four-year term under the
Constitution of 1857. Unfortunately, as he took the reigns of
government he discovered the real economic circumstances of a destitute
treasury.
By July 17, 1861, Juarez issued a moratorium aimed at suspending all
foreign debt payments for two years. It was not a good move. France,
Great Britain, and Spain all sent warships into the Gulf of Mexico and
jointly seized the custom house in the port city of Veracruz in December of 1861.
The obvious intent of the troika was to stay until they collected on
their respective outstanding loans. Britain and Spain simply
renegotiated the debt with the Juarez administration and the troops got
in their ships and sailed back to Europe. But, the French did not.
France left their ships parked in the Gulf of Mexico and left their
troops on alert. Their intent was not initially obvious, but Napoleon III,
the French emperor, had cleverly decided to utilize the crisis to
establish a French empire in Mexico. The emperor had sent Maximilian
von Habsburg, a younger brother of the Emperor of Austria, to become the new emperor of Mexico.
Marching from Veracruz towards Mexico City,
the first major battle occurred near the little village of Puebla. It
was there on May 5, 1862 the powerful French battalions with 8,000
troops encountered heavy resistance from a Mexican band which numbered
about 4,000 consisting of Mexican cavalry, troops, and Zapotec and
Mixtec Indians as well as a herd of cattle that the Mexicans stampeded
into the oncoming French footsoldiers. This victory surprised the
French and galvanized the Mexican resolve to fight for their freedom.
Unfortunately, it was simply a temporary setback for the French forces.
In 1863 with 30,000 troops, the French forced the Juarez government
to flee north and ultimately to the city of El Paso del Norte, which is
now know as Ciudad Juárez.
Here is where he established his government in exile. In July of 1863,
the French took over Mexico City. On April 20, 1864, the French
installed Maximilian as Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico
and essentially made Mexico a French colony. The United States could
not do anything because our country had splintered and the nation was
in the midst of the Civil War.
One of the fears of the Lincoln administration was that the French
were in a great position to aid the Confederacy, which some historians
believe was one possible effect of the French colony. Jefferson Davis
had appealed to the British and French to assist the Southern cause in
the “Second Revolution” against the tyrannical Federal administration
under Lincoln. Because of the victory at Puebla, it delayed French
attempts to assist the Confederates for one full year.
By July of 1862, Lincoln felt grave concern over the ability of the
Union forces to prevail and decided to issue an edict to free the
slaves as he was uncertain that the Army of the Republic had not been
effective in prevailing over the Confederate forces. He was aware of
Napolean III taking advantage of the situation. With the Union victory
at Gettysburg, which came 14 months after the Battle of Puebla, the
tide of the war began to turn and Lincoln regained confidence. In 1864,
Congress issued a resolution which expressed opposition to the monarchy
in Mexico.
President Lincoln developed a new policy regarding the Latin
American crisis, which in addition to the Monroe Doctrine, addressed
the issue of the sovereignty of the autonomous nations in the Western
Hemisphere. Unfortunately, with the resolution of the Civil War in
April of 1865 and the U.S. being able to act forcefully to back up the
policies, President Lincoln was assassinated. Nevertheless, Andrew
Johnson followed the initiative of Lincoln and took action to push the
French out of Mexico.
This incredible period of shared crisis should strengthen the ties
that bind the U.S. and Mexico as neighbors. The very lethal threat to
Mexican sovereignty and independence, although not easily dealt with at
the outset, was met with decisive action by the united States when our
internal war had subsided. Also, the potential threat to the continued
unity of the United States was hampered by the victory at Puebla on May
5, 1862. Those are two good reasons to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, but
beyond that it is just plain fun to celebrate with neighbors.