By: Daniel Nardini
We know that Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) was the Mexican victory over the French forces of Emperor Napoleon III in 1862 at the First Battle of Puebla. We know that this military victory had a strong morale impact on the Mexican people trying to fight against an invading force. What we may not be as familiar with is that the French invasion of Mexico (and the attempt to make Mexico a French Crown colony in North America) was in many ways an attempt to break the United States of America as well. Because the French wanted not only to conquer Mexico but also to dismember the United States, the Mexican and American peoples had a common purpose.
As the United States will soon celebrate the Battle of Gettysburg, fought between July 1-3, 1863, we must remember that while Emperor Napoleon III stayed neutral during the U.S. Civil War (1861-1865), he unofficially wanted the Confederate States of America to win its independence. There were three main reasons why he wanted the Confederacy to win. First, the Confederacy would safeguard the French conquest of Mexico and deny the Mexican government-in-exile under Mexican President under Benito Juarez any chance at retaking Mexico. Second, France depended heavily on cotton supplied by the Confederacy, and secretly traded with the Confederacy for cotton and other products blockaded by the United States.
Finally, if the French were able to firmly control Mexico, they could begin a conquest of Central America without any interference from the United States. Although Napoleon III did not want to become engaged in a fight with the United States, he hated democracy and he wanted to build a French Empire in the Americas. If the Confederate States of America won, the French border would be secured since all of the Confederate States bordered on Mexico. So the French in fact conspired to help the Confederacy. To give one example, the French tried to sell an ironclad ship, built in France, to the Confederacy in 1864. The ship, the CSS Stonewall, was not sold to the Confederacy because the United States found out about it. Eventually, the ship was sold in secret to the Confederacy in January of 1865. That the French would sell a military vessel to the Confederacy was an act of war, so hence why it was kept secret.
Eventually, the United States would return the favor. When the Confederacy was defeated, the U.S. government began to arm, train and supply the Mexicans with whatever they needed to defeat the French. The United States did not want a French colony on its borders, and certainly an undemocratic one. Many American military personnel even volunteered to command and fight in Mexican army units. Realizing that the United States had entered the Mexican fight against the French, Napoleon III eventually withdrew his troops in 1866—leading to victory by the Mexicans. Both the United States and the Mexican fight for independence dashed Napoleon III’s dreams of a French Empire in North America, and the great significance of Cinco de Mayo is that it was a triumph of democracy over monarchical tyranny.
Cinco de Mayo: The Deadly French Connection
By: Daniel Nardini
As the United States will soon celebrate the Battle of Gettysburg, fought between July 1-3, 1863, we must remember that while Emperor Napoleon III stayed neutral during the U.S. Civil War (1861-1865), he unofficially wanted the Confederate States of America to win its independence. There were three main reasons why he wanted the Confederacy to win. First, the Confederacy would safeguard the French conquest of Mexico and deny the Mexican government-in-exile under Mexican President under Benito Juarez any chance at retaking Mexico. Second, France depended heavily on cotton supplied by the Confederacy, and secretly traded with the Confederacy for cotton and other products blockaded by the United States.
Finally, if the French were able to firmly control Mexico, they could begin a conquest of Central America without any interference from the United States. Although Napoleon III did not want to become engaged in a fight with the United States, he hated democracy and he wanted to build a French Empire in the Americas. If the Confederate States of America won, the French border would be secured since all of the Confederate States bordered on Mexico. So the French in fact conspired to help the Confederacy. To give one example, the French tried to sell an ironclad ship, built in France, to the Confederacy in 1864. The ship, the CSS Stonewall, was not sold to the Confederacy because the United States found out about it. Eventually, the ship was sold in secret to the Confederacy in January of 1865. That the French would sell a military vessel to the Confederacy was an act of war, so hence why it was kept secret.
Eventually, the United States would return the favor. When the Confederacy was defeated, the U.S. government began to arm, train and supply the Mexicans with whatever they needed to defeat the French. The United States did not want a French colony on its borders, and certainly an undemocratic one. Many American military personnel even volunteered to command and fight in Mexican army units. Realizing that the United States had entered the Mexican fight against the French, Napoleon III eventually withdrew his troops in 1866—leading to victory by the Mexicans. Both the United States and the Mexican fight for independence dashed Napoleon III’s dreams of a French Empire in North America, and the great significance of Cinco de Mayo is that it was a triumph of democracy over monarchical tyranny.