Happy Cinco de Mayo! The Battle of Puebla

 

Happy Cinco de Mayo! The Battle of Puebla celebrated today commemorates the Mexican Army's victory over France at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. But what many people don't know is that the battle was also also relevant to the outcome of the American Civil War. When this battle happened, a forthcoming civil war in the USA was very likely. The French plan was for a quick conquest of Mexico. A French controlled Mexico would then become an ally with the South against the North, assuring that the United States would be split into two countries- thereby enabling France to become the dominant power in the northern hemisphere. The Battle of Puebla helped create a political will of resistance in the Mexican populace against the French, and France was never able to fully consolidate control of Mexico. All French dreams of returning to this continent ended with the execution of the naïve Maximilian I of Mexico, who was recruited by the French to rule Mexico on their behalf. (He actually believed he was going to be welcomed by Mexicans as their newly appointed emperor.) Lastly, while a French-Mexico never became an ally of the Confederacy, there was an actual Mexican Cavalry unit that served in the Confederacy. Proving once again that truth is stranger than fiction. Painting- One of my favorite paintings- "The last moments of Maximilian" painted by Jean Paul Laurens