In the United States, three American cities - Houston, Los Angeles, and Chicago - are home to some of the largest Cinco de Mayo celebrations on the planet. Though this date is often reveled over the entire U.S. with the partaking of tacos and margaritas, it is a tad more enthusiastically celebrated in the Latino sections of these three cities. At DataCom, we are honored to count ourselves among those in Northeast Ohio who pay homage on this day.
With that being said, I recently realized that I didn't actually have an in depth knowledge of what the significance of this day is. Asking various folks yielded various answers. The most prominent among them is that the holiday celebrates Mexico's Independence. For those of you who thought this, Mexican Independence Day falls on September 16, and was established in 1810, some 50 years before the date we're talking about. I didn't really know who to believe. Looking it up, I see that May 15, 1862 had a profound influence on whether it was the Union or the Confederacy that triumphed at the end of our Civil War. Hmmm, maybe we ought to pay more attention to this date. Allow me to explain.
In 1860, a bankrupt Mexico declared a 2-year moratorium on payment of debts to Spain, Britain, and France. Almost immediately, these three sent representatives to Mexico to express their disappointment in said declaration - and to demand immediate reinstatement of payments! Newly-elected, Mexican President Benito Juárez was able to secure tentative compromises with Spain and Britain, but French Emperor Napoleon III wasn’t having any of it! While all three Countries initially sent troops to Mexico, by April of 1861, Spain and Britain had withdrawn their forces. Only the French remained to wage the war that was to follow.
Looking back, it becomes apparent that this stand by France was more out of a desire to fulfill a military strategy than any example of plain old stubbornness. (There was a political bent to it as well, but I'm not writing about that today.) In 1861, at the beginning of America's Civil war, Union forces had emplaced a strict naval blockade of our Southern seaports. While this was intended to quell the resupply of Rebel forces, a byproduct of it was that France was experiencing a severe shortage of the American south's exports of, among other things, cotton for their textile mills. When, the year before, Napoleon was pondering options concerning France's war with Mexico, I'm certain that he had at least an inkling of this situation. He must have realized that if he could conquer his Mexican adversary - located that close to the cotton-rich Southern states - he could subsequently supply the Southern states with weapons for their war in exchange for cotton. His fate was sealed. Lending credance to this mindset was that, by 1862, cotton prices had doubled in France.
Fast forward to the Battle of Puebla. Spoiler Alert: Cinco de Mayo celebrates the Mexican victory over France - at Puebla - on May 5, 1862. Mexican forces, under General Ignacio Zaragoza of Texas, numbering only 2000, had in a very short time fortified the city and, though not heavily equipped, had built quite a stronghold. Napoleon may have been unaware of this when he sent General Charles de Lorencez to lead 6000 French soldiers against the city.
The battle is documented to have lasted from daybreak to dusk and despite the overwhelming odds, ended with French losses exceeding Mexican at more than 5-to-1. France retreated. (Unfortunately, just over a year later, they returned to Puebla and took the city.)
Apparently though, following the unexpected victory, the Mexican people and her army began to fight with renewed vigor; the tide of the war was not going the way that had been anticipated. Five years later, in 1867, despite Napoleon's earlier designs on supplementing American Confederate forces, French politicians back home were able to convince him that earning the ire of the recently-victorious Union, with her entrenched Government and purchasing power, was no longer worth a few bales of inexpensive cotton. The point was moot anyway, as he didn't have nearly enough goods left to share with the now-defeated Confederates even if he had wanted to. The French politician's desire was being fueled by their citizenry who were applying pressure to end the seemingly fruitless expenditures. This is how a single day, five years earlier, May 5, 1862 may have directly benefitted all of us here in America.
The American Civil war had ended on April 9, 1865; and by 1867 the blockades were a thing of the past and normal trade between the U.S. and France had resumed. While that pressure point was again freely flowing, the U.S., not really desiring French forces located quite that close geographically, was also exerting no small measure of political pressure for France to secede and leave Mexico. On June 21, 1867, the Franco American War was over and France retreated from North America. So why should this date, May 5th, the anniversary of the victory at Puebla, be considered by Americans to be a date that deserves a holiday? It was, after all, a minor, not long-lasting victory at best. It wound up not significantly affecting us at all here at home. Or did it?
While it might appear that way on the surface, this date marks a time where the vastly outnumbered, out gunned, less-supplied, Mexican army was able to resoundingly defeat an army from a much-superior force for the first time. France was a known war-power; Mexico was not. It is this date where the people of Mexico were given their first ray of hope. On May 5, it was graphically demonstrated that - while they may have been less wealthy, they may have had less large-scale war experience, they may have had a whole host of inadequacies compared to their antagonists - they were still a great people with a great spirit and determination to win. Their willingness to sacrifice for the “greater good” was unrivaled as the primary impetus to fight. And this, coupled with an undying courage and belief system, would sustain them through the long dark days and nights; and it did. And quite possibly, because it did, we in the U.S. continue to list English as our principle language instead of French.
To compare; one might argue that the U.S. should celebrate Apr 19, 1775 as the day that the United States came to the same realization that Mexican citizens did on their May 5th. This is the day of “The Shot Heard Round the World” as the U.S. won victory over the British at the battle of Lexington and Concord. But the circumstances were very much different. Ours was much more evenly matched what with the U.S. forces, though principally made up of untrained civilians, enjoying a force superiority of 3,960 to Brittain's 1,500. As on any battlefield, I’m certain that there were doubts over the outcome on both sides, but the Americans were there to fight; the British to seize weapons and powder stored at Concord. It isn’t entirely certain that they were ready to wage a battle.
On May 5th, 1862, courage, honesty, integrity, determination, and self-esteem were all reinforced to an entire country. It is only right and proper to pay homage to this feat and the embattled people who recognized it, particularly the combatants at Puebla who demonstrated this amazing human spirit on that glorious day!
On May 5th, of every year, DataCom Inc. proudly shouts to our southern neighbors “Feliz Cinco de Mayo!”
