Cinco De Mayo

History: Cinco de Mayo is often confused with Mexico’s Independence Day (September 16, 1810), which freed Mexico from Spanish rule.Cinco de Mayo is about victory over the French on May 5, 1862, which was over half a century later! This time it was the French, headed by Emperor Napoleon III, who wanted to establish a French state in Mexico. The Mexican President Benito Juárez resisted immediately, blocking the advances in the fortified city of Puebla where French commanders had ordered an assault.Led by General Ignacio Zaragoza, the Mexican forces defeated the French at the Battle of Puebla (Batalla de Puebla). Despite being ill-equipped and outnumbered, the Mexican troops held off the French advances, thanks to the positioning of hilltop forts Loreto and Guadalupe and a deep trench. The battle, where hundreds of French troops and less than 100 Mexicans were killed, lasted less than a day.This battle was part of a French offensive to expand France’s empire in the New World. After a brutal civil war, Mexican leader Benito Juárez suspended foreign debt payments. In response, Spain, France, and England sent forces to Mexico, but it was only France that undertook significant military action. While the war with France was far from over following Mexico’s victory at the Battle of Puebla, it was seen as a symbol of the Mexican resistance against foreign domination. The city was later renamed Puebla de Zaragoza, a museum was devoted to the battle’s historical significance, and the battlefield is maintained as a park.