Cinco de Mayo
– Fifth of May – a great
battle, a great victory
By Patrick Osio,
Jr.
On May 5, 1862,
Mexican troops defeated invading French
troops in the outskirts of Puebla, a city
around 60 miles east of Mexico City. How
did events come to this point in time,
what were French troops doing in Mexico
and why?
On September 15,
1810, a priest, Miguel Hidalgo, sounded
the church bells to unite Mexicans in a
war of independence from Spain – Independence
was declared the following day, September
16th. But it took Mexicans 11
years to oust the Spaniards.
They were barely
getting their house in order when an
unprovoked war was thrust on them –
the US wanted and took about 50 percent
of its territory. Needless to say,
Mexicans weren't happy with this
circumstance and blamed their leader,
Santa Anna, accusing him of great
treason. This led to a rebellion to
oust him from office.
Once this done, Mexicoentered
into one of its most important historical
periods, the formation of its
Constitution of 1857.
There were two
political forces at work, the Liberals
who wanted to create a country not unlike
the US: A representative republic,
democratic, federal, religiously
tolerant, free market economy, and an
educational system independent of
religion, and, most importantly -
separation between the State and
religion. This instrument would provide
Mexican citizens with vast constitutional
protections rivaling those in the U.S.
The other political
force was the Conservatives who wanted
strong ties to Spain, only the Catholic
religion would be allowed, national
industrial protectionism (limited
imports), regulated freedom of
expression, no opposing political
parties. They also believed Mexico should
be tied to a European monarchy with the
head of Mexico having absolute power, and
to distance the country as much as
possible from the US.
This terrible schism
led to the civil war known as "La
Guerra de Reforma" (The War of
Reform). In 1861, the Conservatives were
defeated, and their leaders executed.
But the combination of so many years of
fighting had placed Mexico in heavy
international debt with England, Spain
and France.
Meantime in the
French court of Emperor Napoleon III, a
wealthy Mexican land owner and
Conservative, who had access to, and
meetings with, the Emperor's wife, the
Spaniard Eugenia de Montijo, planted the
idea of establishing a monarchy in Mexico
as a way of stopping the further
territorial expansion ambitions of the
U.S..
The U.S. was tied up
in its Civil War, so France convinced
Spain and England to join in sending
troops to collect monies owed them by the
new Liberal controlled government
presided by Benito Juarez.
Troops from the
three countries landed in Veracruz in
late 1861. The English and
Spaniards were able to negotiate a
repayment schedule that was acceptable to
all. The parties, including the
French, signed the agreement. The
Spaniard and English troops left Mexico
without incident.
The French
commander, Dubois de Saligny, declared,
"My signature is worth as much as
the paper it is written on." Declaring
they were there at the invitation of the
exiled Conservative government to
establish a monarchy and save Mexico from
its non Catholic leaders, French troops
began their long march to capture Mexico
City.
And so it was that
on May 5, 1862, the most potent army in Europeof
its day met the Mexican army of veterans
and farmers outside of Puebla. Mexican
General Ignacio Zaragoza, addressed his
troops, "…. Your enemies are
the first-rate soldiers of the world; but
you are the sons of Mexico, and they are
here to take your country."
The battle began at noon
- the French stormed the Mexican
defensive position once and were
repelled. A second charge brought
the same results. It was then that
the Mexican troops attacked, driving the
French back in disarray. Hostilities came
at the end of the day due to heavy
rainfall making any more action
impossible.
French commanders
were so sure of quick victory that before
beginning their march had sent a message
to Napoleon III declaring the Emperor
owner of Mexico. Instead, it took three
months to capture Puebla, and eventually
all of Mexico.
Having captured the
country, the French were never able to
appease the population. Widespread
resistance finally led to their defeat
and departure from Mexico. The
Intervention lasted until 1867.
So as history goes,
Cinco de Mayo was one day in which the
soldiers of Mexicofought bravely for
their country, and bathed themselves in
honor.
So raise your glass
to them, and to all, who have bravely
fought for their country.
_______________________________________
Patrick Osio, Jr. is
the Editor of HispanicVista.com (www.hispanicvista.com).
Contact at:
hispanicvista@cox.net
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