Contributed by Dr. Cynthia E. Orozco, Professor Emeritus History & Humanities Eastern New Mexico University
Cinco de Mayo means the 5th of May. It commemorates a single victorious battle by Mexico over France at Puebla, Mexico led by Goliad-born Ignacio Zaragoza. It does not commemorate Mexico’s independence from France or Spain.
Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821. Thereafter Mexico struggled as a new republic recovering from 300 years of Spanish plunder. Mexico was in debt and for several decades, its citizens debated and shed blood over the question of what kind of government and economy it needed.
Mexico suffered a major setback in 1836 when it lost the territory Coahuila y Tejas (now known as Texas). In 1848 Mexico lost half of its land, the American Southwest, to the United States. Mexico’s troubles were not over.
In the 1860s, Mexico was still not free of foreign debt and foreign control. During the midst of the U.S. Civil War, France saw an opportunity to take over Mexico. Mexico owed France, England, and Spain. President Benito Juarez suspended payment. Some Mexican conservatives worked towards French rule over the nation and France sent 2,500 troops to occupy Mexico City. At Puebla near Mexico City a battle ensued.
Mexico won the battle at Puebla on May 5, 1862. Civilians and soldiers joined their leader General Ignacio Zaragosa, who was born in what is now Goliad, Texas. Mexico won this battle but lost the war to France. France made Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian of Austria Mexico’s emperor, and he ruled over Mexico until 1867 when he was shot by a firing squad, his body shipped back to Europe.
Maximilian and wife Carlota lived in Chapultepec, an elegant castle that still stands today. Maximilian was France’s puppet. Luckily, France had numerous foreign and domestic conflicts. It was beset with European wars–the Crimean War of the 1850s had just ended and the Franco-Prussian War would begin in 1870. There was also civil conflict. In other words, France could not hold on and Mexico did not want them there. Neither did the US.
Cinco de Mayo is a day Mexicans and Americans can celebrate. Freedom and fiestas belong to all nations.
