Most of us (or maybe it’s just me) think of Cinco de Mayo as the Americanized Mexican holiday celebrating Mexican heritage providing an excuse to drink margaritas and other Mexican alcoholic beverages excessively. I’ve always wanted to celebrate this fun-sounding holiday, but never really have because I don’t drink (which I always thought was the actual point of Cinco de Mayo).
So out of curiosity, I did a little research. No, I don’t plan to include a bibliography at the end of this mini report, but I do intend to tell you that I definitely used multiple sources, and only glanced briefly at Wikipedia. That being said, here is your history lesson for the day.
Let’s begin with Mexico’s Independence Day, which Cinco de Mayo is NOT. Independence Day for Mexico is actually celebrated on September 16 in commemoration of the achievement of independence from Spain in 1821. Cinco de Mayo refers to an event that took place on May 5, 1862. For those of you who are good at math, you will notice that 1862 is a good 40 years after 1821, clearly indicating that Independence Day and Cinco de Mayo are two very distinctly different holidays. For those of you who are not good at math, just take my word for it.
Anyone who sat through history class (yes, even those of you who sat through history at Harmony High School) knows that the U.S. Civil War was going on during this time in history (and if you don’t, then blame it on yourself, not on your teacher!). What I didn’t know is that while we were busy fighting each other, Mexico was busy fighting France (and anyone else who tried to take away their independence) as a result of Mexico’s suspended payment of debts due to financial unrest. The short version goes something like this: Mexico wasn’t ready to give up their independence, so they sent a little podunky troop comprised of locals, not soldiers, to fight the powerful French army (under the leadership of Napoleon III) near Puebla, Mexico, on May 5, 1862; Mexico won, causing the French to retreat (for the time being. Eventually, France DID overtake Mexico). Also, did I mention that this little podunky Mexican troop was out numbered by at least a couple thousand (some estimate that the French army was almost twice the size of the Mexican troop!) of the most powerful soldiers (army) in the world at that time? Pretty sweet, huh?
So what does this have to do with the U.S.? Well, keep reading… I promise it will connect! Napoleon III, Emperor of France, was a big fan of the American Confederacy. Some suspect that Napoleon was even prepared to aid (and perhaps WAS aiding) the Confederacy financially. If not for the defeat of the French army on Cinco de Mayo, Napoleon may have even gone so far as to send troops to aid the Confederate army! If he had done so, the Confederacy may have just gotten the extra push they needed to win the Civil War, changing the face of the United States as we know it. Because it didn’t end this way, no one can say for certain what would have happened had the French joined forces with the Confederacy, and I’m not saying that we owe the survival of our country to a podunky, yet brave troop of Mexicans (because that would definitely be an exaggeration), but imagine how different the story might have ended if the Mexicans hadn’t defeated the French at Puebla!
I hope you enjoyed this brief history lesson as much as I enjoyed writing it! I happen to love history and find this bit if information very intriguing!
Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone!
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