Cinco de Mayo
Happy Cinco de Mayo, a national holiday in Mexico and some parts of the United States of America. Honestly, I never celebrated it, I am from Eastern Europe, but I always heard about it during my childhood when I used to watch a lot of cartoons. So, let's see what's the history behind it.
Young kids celebrating Cinco de Mayo
So, the origins of this holiday can be traced back to the 19th century. Mexico, a former Spanish colony which had just gained its independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821, was in financial trouble. In 1861, being unable to repay its debts to France, Spain and the UK, the government decided to declare a moratorium, which basically delayed the repayment of all obligations. The three European nations were not very happy and, as a result, declared war on Mexico. By April 1862, however, the British and Spanish retreated from the coalition, thus letting France facing the Mexicans alone. That year, on May 5th, the Battle of Puebla took place. The Mexican forces, outnumbered and poorly-equipped, won an astonishing victory against the French army.
Battle of Puebla, 1862
So, with that being said, the Mexican won and the French left Mexico for good, right? Well, no😂. Actually, the French managed to capture Puebla in 1863. In 1864, with the help of the Mexican conservatives, they also overthrew the republican government, thus establishing a monarchy. The emperor of the newly formed Mexican Empire was Maximilian, the younger brother of emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary.
Emperor Maximilian I
Eventually, the French were not able to totally subdue the Mexicans, and, by 1867, the Mexican Republic had been restored, the French had departed for good, and as for our emperor, well, he had been executed 😅😅😅.
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