Cinco de Mayo (reading and quiz) Página 5 de 6
Cris Iniguez
Did you know that Cinco de Mayo is not the Mexican independence? Actually, Cinco de Mayo is one of the battles that took place after the independence of Mexico.
The 5th of May is celebrated in the United States among the Mexican-American population, especially in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Various Mexican-American societies use the celebrations to commemorate the overthrow of the Mexican imperial monarchy headed by Maximilian of Austria. The imperial monarchy was imposed from 1864 to 1867 on Mexico by Napoleon III, Emperor of France (nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte) and the Mexican conservatives "Club de Notables.”
The Mexican-American societies were formed after the Mexican-American war (1846-1848) in response to atrocities committed by US troops occupying the lands annexed by the US following the war. The war was settled by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo with fifteen million dollars in payment for the annexed lands. The societies originally consisted of home guard units but evolved into social societies as stability returned to the US southwest. These societies contributed large amounts of material and money to the Mexican constitutional government in its fight against the Mexican imperial monarchy.
In 1858, Benito Juárez was elected President of the United States of Mexico to defend the Mexican constitution, established on February 5th, 1857. After much internal struggle, Juárez was re-elected in 1861. Because of financial instability, mainly due to the Mexican-American war, the Mexican congress suspended foreign debt repayment for two years.
The creditors in Europe (England, Spain and France) decided intervention was needed to collect the debts. Unbeknownst to the other two, France had its own agenda. France wanted to dispose of the Mexican constitutional government and set up a monarchy favorable to France. Napoleon III, emperor of the second French empire, had grandiose plans to impose a monarchical government upon the nations of Central and South America. This was to provide raw materials and trade for the European nations as well as to check the growing power of the US republic following the annexation of California, Arizona and New Mexico.
France's designs were fomented and abetted by the plutocratic and conservative land owners of Mexico, who feared loss of land and political power to the newly elected constitutional government of Benito Juárez. On December 8th, 1861, the European powers landed and occupied Veracruz. Spain arrived first. By April 11, 1862, after realizing France's intent, England and Spain withdrew their support.
Meanwhile, in Mexico City, President Juárez (a full blooded Zapotec Indian and a lawyer who had studied to become a priest), was taking countermeasures: "The Imperial Government will not succeed in subduing the Mexicans, and its armies will not have a single day of peace... we must stop them, not only for our country but for the respect of the sovereignty of the nations.” Juarez declared martial law and declared all areas occupied by the French in a state of siege.
After reinforcements arrived, a French force of seven thousand set out on the 225-mile route to Mexico City in early April under the illusion that the Mexican people would welcome them. This illusion was fostered by Juan N. Almonte, a Mexican reactionary, and by Count Dubois du Saligny appointed French ambassador to Mexico by Napoleon. President Juárez commanded General Ignacio Zaragoza to block the advance of the French army with 2,000 soldiers at the fortified hills of Loreto and Guadalupe by the city of Puebla.
On May 5th, 1862, cannons boomed, and rifle shots rang out as the French soldiers attacked the two forts. Before the day was over, one fort was in ruins, and more than 1,000 French soldiers were dead. The Mexicans had won the battle, but not the war. Nevertheless, this date was established as symbolic of the Mexicans' courage against a formidable army.
In June 1864, Maximilian of Habsburg and his wife Charlotte arrived in Mexico City as the crowned emperor and empress of the newly formed Mexican empire. Although Maximilian organized the administration, liberated the Indians from servitude, and developed the natural resources of the country, he was unable to avoid the opposition of the Mexican patriots. The republicans, led by Benito Juárez, did not accept the foreign intervention. They went north and requested assistance from the Californians and other Mexican-American societies to help them with volunteers and financial support.
Finally, Maximilian was overthrown and captured on May 15, 1867, tried by court martial, and executed by firing squad on June 19 at the Cerro de las Campañas along with his generals, Miguel Miramón and Tomás Mejía.
Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican national holiday. The battlefield is now a park in Puebla with a statue of General Zaragoza riding horseback
What Do Mexicans Celebrate on Cinco de Mayo (May 5th)?
By Eduardo Rojas Vega
Having inherited troubled finances, a bankrupt treasury, and army after the War of the Reform, Mexican President Benito Juarez declared a two-year moratorium on the payment of Mexico's foreign debt. The outcry in Europe was anguished. On October 31, 1861, the representatives of Queen Isabella II of Spain, Queen Victoria of Great Britain, and Emperor Napoleon III of France signed the Convention of London by which the three nations agreed on a joint occupation of the port of Veracruz to collect their claims. The purpose was to occupy the customhouse and apply all customs receipts to the debt. The Convention text stated that their intention was not to impair the right of the Mexican nation to choose and freely constitute the form of its own government.
England and Spain were sincere, but France, a month after the Spanish and British withdrawal, brought 4,500 troops and began marching inland on its war of occupation. Their objective was to occupy Mexico City. General Latrille, commanding the French troops, was informed that the French would be welcomed with open arms in Puebla (a conservative and pro-clerical city), and that the local clergy would shower them with magnolia blooms and would offer a special Te Deum in their honor.
President Juarez assigned the defense of Puebla to General Ignacio Zaragoza. Encountering unexpected opposition on May 5, 1862, Latrille attacked recklessly and within two hours, the French had expended half of their ammunition. The decisive action of the day was carried out by young Brigadier General Porfirio Diaz, who later that afternoon repelled a determined assault on Zaragoza's right flank. The invaders, witnesses of more glorious days in Crimea, retreated to lick their wounds in Orizaba. That's how May 5 —Cinco de Mayo— would be added to the national calendar of holidays!
The French, after one year of preparation, re-attacked Puebla and made their way to Mexico City. Maximilian of Habsburg was named Emperor of Mexico attending the invitation of the conservative "Club de Notables" led by Miguel Gutierrez Estrada and Father Francisco Javier Miranda. Although in intention Maximilian was not a monster and acted in ways that the conservatives and clergy criticized (declared free press, proclaimed general amnesty for political prisoners, donned regional costumes, ate local food, and suggested that many priests he met could profit from some basic lessons in Christian charity), he signed the October decree in 1865 by which the death penalty was made mandatory for all captured Juaristas still bearing arms and was to be carried out without appeal within 24 hours of capture.
After Napoleon made the decision to withdraw his troops in early 1867 (due to a dwindling treasury in France), Maximilian was left in an impossible position. He thought of abdicating his throne, but his sense of Hapsburg dignity and the hope that his wife's pleas to Napoleon, Pope Pius IX, and even Queen Victoria would bring military support convinced him not to abdicate and flee his throne. Maximilian took command of the Mexican Imperial Army but quickly found himself surrounded by republican troops. Even though plans had been laid for his escape, he surrendered to General Mariano Escobedo on May 15, 1867. The emperor would be tried and the state would request the death penalty.
In spite of pleas for clemency from European monarchs, New World presidents and delegations of tearful supplicating women, Juarez remained adamant. On the morning of June 19, 1867, after having received the last sacrament, Maximilian was led to the Cerro de las Campanas, in Querétaro and executed along with Miramón and Mejía, two conservative Mexican officers. As tragic as this event was for Maximilian, it should be remembered that fifty thousand Mexicans had lost their lives fighting the French.
Many historians say that after the failure of this attempt to tamper with Mexico's sovereignty, Mexican nationalism and self-esteem began to grow perceptibly for the first time in history.
Cinco de Mayo Reading Quiz Name________________________
Date_________________________
Class_________________________
Circle the best answer, based on the information given in the two Cinco de Mayo articles.
[-7 points for each error]
1. What did President Benito Juarez decide to do about the money his country owed England, France, and Spain?
2. What did England, France and Spain decide to do in 1861 in order to collect money that was owed to them by Mexico?
3. What did France do after the English and Spanish left Mexico?
4. What kind of reception did the French general expect to get in Puebla?
5. Whom did President Juarez appoint to fight the French in Puebla?
6. What happened to the French on May 5, 1862?
7. Who helped General Zaragoza in the fight against the French?
a. General Latrillle
b. General Diaz
c. General Crimea
d. General Orizaba
8. Where did the French go after they were defeated in Puebla?
a. Mexico City
b. France
c. Orizaba
d. Ciudad Porfirio Diaz
9. Which Mexicans invited Maximilian to become emperor of Mexico?
10. What human rights did Maximilian guarantee the Mexicans?
11. Why was Maximilian’s regime in trouble in 1867?
12. Who did Maximilian send to Europe to get help for his regime in 1867?
13. Did Maximilian escape form Mexico when Juarez’s soldiers surrounded him?
14. What punishment did Juarez dole out to Maximilian?
[eslprof.com/handouts/Reading/CincoDeMayo.doc]
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