Cinco de mayo

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Leslie WayneProfessorClassNovember 17 , 2007

Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo is important to Mexican communities . This is to commemorate the victory of the Mexican army over the French during the Batalla de Puebla . The battle represented the symbol of unity and patriotism among the Mexicans . This victory demonstrated that Mexico and all of Latin America were willing to defend themselves against foreign intervention

Mexico has been conquered by European powers . Their quest for independence began on September 16 , 1810 . They wanted to be free from the

Spanish rule . Mexico struggled for ten years . In 1821 , the first truly independent Mexican government was established

The roots of Cinco de Mayo spring back in France 's occupation of Mexico This took place in the aftermath of the Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1848 . This war made Mexico go through a period of national crisis in the 1850s . The aftermath was the devastation and bankruptcy of Mexico (Werner , 342

Mexico was new to being independent and it was not easy . Throughout the years , Mexico received economic support from different nations . England and France were two of them . Spain supported Mexico as well . Therefore Mexico was in debt . There was Wayne 2

political unrest due to the groups that were struggling for power making it harder for Mexico to pay back their loans

On July 17 , 1861 , President Benito Juarez issued a moratorium . Foreign debt payments were suspended for two years . It came with the promise that after this brief period , payments would resume

The Europeans , particularly the English , Spanish and French , didn 't give Juarez to do this . They dispatched their fleets along the shores of Mexico and seize whatever form of payment was necessary . A government representative greeted them and explained that Mexico acknowledged its debts but had no funds whatsoever to pay them . They were offered payment warrants instead

The English and the Spanish accepted the warrants and withdrew eventually . However , the French turned down the offer and prompted their troops to head toward the nation 's capital , Mexico City . They planned to make an Empire in Mexico under the rule of Napoleon III . They crossed through Puebla in to reach their destination

Some scholars argued that the French occupation was in response to the building American Power , as well as to the Monroe Doctrine (America for the Americans ) Napoleon III believed that if the United States was given the permission to prosper , it would eventually do so . They predicted that the state would become a power on its own (Davila 150

Benito Juarez , the Mexican President , immediately took action and prepared his line of defense . He commanded a young and brave general Ignacio Zaragoza to protect the city of Puebla and to turn away the French invaders . France had a bigger army . They

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had more than six thousand men but it was the courage and love for their country that motivated the Mexicans to fight them

General Ignacio Zaragoza and 5000 Meztiso and Zapotec Indians...