(Image Courtesy: Wikipedia)
The Battle of Puebla

By K.P. Sander

On Tues., May 5, we celebrate Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for “5^th of May”).  This celebration – honored primarily in the United States and Mexico – is a remembrance commemorating the Mexican army’s unexpected victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla on the same date in 1862.

According to Wikipedia, after the Mexican-American War in 1846 and subsequent Reform War in 1858, Mexico became occupied by France.  These wars left Mexico in a state of bankruptcy, and in 1861, then-president Benito Juárez issued a moratorium in which all foreign debt payments would be suspended for two years.  In response, France – as well as Britain and Spain – sent naval forces to Mexico to collect payment.  Britain and Spain negotiated terms and returned home.  France had other plans, and under the rule of Napoleon III, used the opportunity to force an empire that would benefit the French.

Interestingly enough, with the United States completely engulfed in its own Civil War, Napoleon III thought to use the opportunity to replace Juárez with an emperor of his own choosing, and then use Mexico to help the Confederates win the war

The French fleet stormed Veracruz and headed toward the capital of Mexico City; however, at the forts of Loreto and Guadalupe, near Puebla, the poorly equipped Mexican army of just 2,000 managed to crush the elite French army.

Although just a year later the French were able to defeat  the Mexican army, capture the capital, and install Emperor Maximilian I as ruler, the victory at Puebla “came to symbolize unity and pride for what seemed like a Mexican David defeating a French Goliath,” according to Times magazine.  Mexico was able to enjoy a momentous morale boost.

By 1865, the American Civil War had concluded, and the U.S. was able to provide more political and military assistance to help rid Mexico of the French.

On May 9, 1862, President Juárez declared that the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla would be a national holiday regarded as the “Battle of Puebla Day,” or “Battle of Cinco de Mayo.”  It is a day to remember the strength, pride and patriotism that led to victory and unity.