Beating back an empire
- After Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821, other nations did not want to recognize its autonomy.
- After a civil war in the late 1850s, Benito Juárez became Mexico's first indigenous president in 1861.
- Juárez canceled repayments on foreign loans to protect Mexico's struggling economy.
- It angered Britain, Spain, and France, and they jointly sent a force to Mexico but withdrew when it became evident that Napoleon III had plans to overthrow the new Mexican government.
- On May 5, 1862, the Battle of Puebla took place. Although the Mexican Army was outnumbered two to one, they repelled attacks by the French army on the city of Puebla.
- Four days later, on May 9, 1862, Juárez declared Cinco de Mayo a national holiday.
- Even though the French eventually defeated the Mexican Army, the battle of Puebla proved that Mexico was a formidable opponent worthy of international respect.
16
57 reads
The idea is part of this collection:
Learn more about history with this collection
Different Easter traditions around the world
The significance of Easter eggs and bunnies in modern culture
The importance of the holiday in the Christian faith
Related collections
Similar ideas to Beating back an empire
Cinco de Mayo
Cinco de Mayo doesn’t mark Mexican Independence, as many believe.
Instead, it’s meant to celebrate the Battle of Puebla, which was fought between the Mexican and French armies in 1862.
Read & Learn
20x Faster
without
deepstash
with
deepstash
with
deepstash
Personalized microlearning
—
100+ Learning Journeys
—
Access to 200,000+ ideas
—
Access to the mobile app
—
Unlimited idea saving
—
—
Unlimited history
—
—
Unlimited listening to ideas
—
—
Downloading & offline access
—
—
Supercharge your mind with one idea per day
Enter your email and spend 1 minute every day to learn something new.
I agree to receive email updates