Swede’s PhotographsGood morning. 💤☕🐶
5 May 2026
Hurray — it’s Cinco de Mayo, the day Mexico commemorates its army’s victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Most of us in the United States don’t study much Mexican history, but we know the 5th of May carries real significance. The battle was part of a larger attempt by Napoleon III to install a European‑style monarchy in Mexico. His first advance failed thanks to the Mexican Army under General Ignacio Zaragoza. But the following year, the French returned with reinforcements, captured Mexico City in 1863, and Napoleon III installed Archduke Maximilian of Austria as Emperor of Mexico.
This happened despite the Monroe Doctrine, which declared the Western Hemisphere off‑limits to new European colonization or interference. But in 1863, the United States was consumed by the Civil War (1861–1865) and unable to enforce the doctrine.
Even though Maximilian was declared Emperor, Mexico still had a functioning republican government led by President Benito Juárez. He refused to surrender and continued resisting the French occupation. In practice, the French controlled the major cities, but Juárez’s forces controlled much of the countryside through persistent guerrilla warfare.
After the American Civil War ended, the United States began supporting Juárez’s government. With renewed strength and U.S. pressure on France, the French withdrew from Mexico. Maximilian was captured soon afterward and later executed by firing squad, bringing an end to the French‑backed empire.
“The people who love freedom will in the end be free.” — Benito Juárez
“The policy of the United States is to leave the nations of this hemisphere to themselves.” — James Monroe
“Puebla is proof that dignity can defeat might.” — Enrique Krauze
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