Cinco de Mayo and the Battle of Puebla
May 5, 2016 21:14:46 GMT
Jean Lannes and Singlemalt like this
Post by General William T. Sherman on May 5, 2016 21:14:46 GMT
Given that today is Cinco de Mayo, i thought id make a thread about why it exists, the general history of it, and why it is so popular in the USA, but not so much in Mexico.
Benito Juarez
The decade is the 1860's, and North America is in an ever-changing time. Canada has confederated, the Spanish and the Cubans are fighting in the Ten-Years War, and the Americans are embroiled in a long, drawn out Civil War. During this time, the French decided to expand their influence to North America.
Emperor Napoleon III was, in a sense, trying to pursue the dreams of his uncle, Napoleon I, in making France the dominant European power and dominant global power. He had expanded into West and Northern Africa by moving into Algeria and Senegal, he had defeated the Austrians in the Second Italian War of Independence, defeated the Russians in the Crimean War, and now turned his sights to the Americas. France had previously meddled in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere, by supporting the Peru-Bolivian Confederation and Uruguayans against the Argentine Confederation in the 1830's-1850's. Now Napoleon decided to set his eyes on Mexico. He wanted to establish a French puppet government in Mexico in order to increase French influence in the region and to have a strong Catholic empire to the south of the USA in order to halt their expansion. In 1861, Napoleon gained the casus belli he had wanted when the liberal Mexican government, led by Benito Juarez, defaulted on their foreign debts. Before the 1860's, the Mexicans were involved in a civil war between the Conservative and liberal factions. The Liberals, led by Juarez, eventually won the war, but they had taken heavy debt in order to do so. When the Mexicans defaulted on their debt, the French formed a temporary alliance with the British and Spanish, two other nations who had their debt defaulted by the Mexicans, in order to force the Mexicans to repay their debts. They landed in Veracruz in December of 1861 and planned to occupy the city until the Mexicans repaid their debts. When Napoleon bought in reinforcements, however, the British and Spanish figured out his true intentions and decided to withdraw.
The French now advanced from Veracruz to Mexico City, the capital. The Mexicans, led by General Ignacio Zaragoza, intercepted the larger French army at Puebla on May 5th, 1862. The Mexicans were far outnumbered, but the Mexican cavalry was able to charge the better-equipped, trained, and numerically superior French army. The cavalry charge broke though the French lines and chaos began in the French lines. The French had to retreat by the end of the day and the battle was a massive victory for the liberals.
The Battle also had an effect on the American Civil War to the North. Mexicans in California, Arizona and New Mexico saw the American Civil War and the Franco-Mexican War as one large war. The Confederates were seen as the French Allies while France proper invaded Mexico. Following the Mexican victory at Puebla, a large amount of Mexican-Americans volunteered for the Union Army and were a major contribution to the Union victory during the Arizonan and Mew Mexican campaigns. Many Mexican-Americans also went across the border and went to fight for the Juarez.
Top: Cinco de Mayo festival poster.
Bottom: Cinco de Mayo advertisement for a local bar.
Despite the importance of the battle in Mexican history, the actual holiday itself is not celebrated by most Mexicans, the only major celebrations being held in Puebla itself. The holiday is more widely celebrated by Mexican-Americans. The first Cinco de Mayo in the USA was celebrated by Mexican-Americans in California in the 1860's. It would take another 100 years for the holiday to be really popular, however. The main reason for the revival of the holiday was mainly marketing, American businesses just love using holidays in order to attract a wider audience. The main businesses to use Cinco de Mayo as a way to attract more Mexican-American customers were bars, liquor stores, etc. They sold martinis, coronas, and other Mexican alcoholic beverages on Cinco de Mayo to attract the audience. Mexican restaurants then started using Cinco de Mayo was a way to attract more customers, and more and more businesses began using the holiday to attract the minority. Eventually, Cinco de Mayo became extremely popular, and today Cinco de Mayo is celebrated by Mexican-Americans across the United States.
On Cinco de Mayo, people eat Mexican foods, drink Mexican alcohol (Only the adults though!), have large festivals, and people dress up in traditional Mexican dress. Many parades are held across the United States, and the celebration in Los Angeles is the largest Cinco de Mayo celebration in the world, trumping the Puebla celebration by a landslide.
Well, there's your informative lecture on Cinco de Mayo, hoped you learned something. This thread will be moved to the Polls and Presentations board after a week or so.
Benito Juarez
The decade is the 1860's, and North America is in an ever-changing time. Canada has confederated, the Spanish and the Cubans are fighting in the Ten-Years War, and the Americans are embroiled in a long, drawn out Civil War. During this time, the French decided to expand their influence to North America.
Emperor Napoleon III was, in a sense, trying to pursue the dreams of his uncle, Napoleon I, in making France the dominant European power and dominant global power. He had expanded into West and Northern Africa by moving into Algeria and Senegal, he had defeated the Austrians in the Second Italian War of Independence, defeated the Russians in the Crimean War, and now turned his sights to the Americas. France had previously meddled in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere, by supporting the Peru-Bolivian Confederation and Uruguayans against the Argentine Confederation in the 1830's-1850's. Now Napoleon decided to set his eyes on Mexico. He wanted to establish a French puppet government in Mexico in order to increase French influence in the region and to have a strong Catholic empire to the south of the USA in order to halt their expansion. In 1861, Napoleon gained the casus belli he had wanted when the liberal Mexican government, led by Benito Juarez, defaulted on their foreign debts. Before the 1860's, the Mexicans were involved in a civil war between the Conservative and liberal factions. The Liberals, led by Juarez, eventually won the war, but they had taken heavy debt in order to do so. When the Mexicans defaulted on their debt, the French formed a temporary alliance with the British and Spanish, two other nations who had their debt defaulted by the Mexicans, in order to force the Mexicans to repay their debts. They landed in Veracruz in December of 1861 and planned to occupy the city until the Mexicans repaid their debts. When Napoleon bought in reinforcements, however, the British and Spanish figured out his true intentions and decided to withdraw.
The French now advanced from Veracruz to Mexico City, the capital. The Mexicans, led by General Ignacio Zaragoza, intercepted the larger French army at Puebla on May 5th, 1862. The Mexicans were far outnumbered, but the Mexican cavalry was able to charge the better-equipped, trained, and numerically superior French army. The cavalry charge broke though the French lines and chaos began in the French lines. The French had to retreat by the end of the day and the battle was a massive victory for the liberals.
The Battle also had an effect on the American Civil War to the North. Mexicans in California, Arizona and New Mexico saw the American Civil War and the Franco-Mexican War as one large war. The Confederates were seen as the French Allies while France proper invaded Mexico. Following the Mexican victory at Puebla, a large amount of Mexican-Americans volunteered for the Union Army and were a major contribution to the Union victory during the Arizonan and Mew Mexican campaigns. Many Mexican-Americans also went across the border and went to fight for the Juarez.
Top: Cinco de Mayo festival poster.
Bottom: Cinco de Mayo advertisement for a local bar.
Despite the importance of the battle in Mexican history, the actual holiday itself is not celebrated by most Mexicans, the only major celebrations being held in Puebla itself. The holiday is more widely celebrated by Mexican-Americans. The first Cinco de Mayo in the USA was celebrated by Mexican-Americans in California in the 1860's. It would take another 100 years for the holiday to be really popular, however. The main reason for the revival of the holiday was mainly marketing, American businesses just love using holidays in order to attract a wider audience. The main businesses to use Cinco de Mayo as a way to attract more Mexican-American customers were bars, liquor stores, etc. They sold martinis, coronas, and other Mexican alcoholic beverages on Cinco de Mayo to attract the audience. Mexican restaurants then started using Cinco de Mayo was a way to attract more customers, and more and more businesses began using the holiday to attract the minority. Eventually, Cinco de Mayo became extremely popular, and today Cinco de Mayo is celebrated by Mexican-Americans across the United States.
On Cinco de Mayo, people eat Mexican foods, drink Mexican alcohol (Only the adults though!), have large festivals, and people dress up in traditional Mexican dress. Many parades are held across the United States, and the celebration in Los Angeles is the largest Cinco de Mayo celebration in the world, trumping the Puebla celebration by a landslide.
Well, there's your informative lecture on Cinco de Mayo, hoped you learned something. This thread will be moved to the Polls and Presentations board after a week or so.
