Cinco de Mayo, which has evolved into a general celebration of Mexican heritage in the United States, commemorates the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, which was an important victory for Mexico during the French-Mexican War.
Mexico, in the years leading up to the war, faced severe financial challenges which forced the country to default on many loans it had taken from European countries. The governments of France, England and Spain sent naval forces to intimidate Mexico, and eventually the English and Spanish were able to negotiate an agreement with Mexico’s president Benito Juarez and returned home.
The French, however, used Mexico’s default as an excuse to further their territorial ambitions in the Americas, and curb the growing power of the United States in the region. The French sent a large force ashore at Veracruz, the city President Juarez had moved the capital to from Mexico City. The powerful French forces drove Juarez and his army from the city.
Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin. Credit: Designpics/Universal Images Group 
Battle of Camerone, campaign of Mexico, 1863. Credit: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group 
Portrait of Benito Juarez. Credit: Photo12/Universal Images Group 
French intervention in Mexico: Battle of Puebla, 5 May 1862 (Battle of Cinco de Mayo). Credit: World History Archive/Universal Images Group
French General Charles Latrille de Lorencez led his army towards the town of Puebla, two hundred eighty five kilometers west of Veracruz. The French force consisted of 6,000 troops along with artillery and their general expected a swift victory against the poorly trained and supplied ragtag Mexican army of 2,000 troops, which were led by General Ignacio Zaragoza.
That expected victory never came. Instead, the French retreated after the day-long battle, suffering heavy losses. The French lost as many as 1,000 soldiers while the Mexicans suffered 100 deaths.
French Intervention in Mexico. Siege of Jonuta (February 21, 1863). Colored engraving.Credit: Prisma Archivo/Universal Images Group 
Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico. Credit: World History Archive/Universal Images Group 
Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico. Credit: World History Archive/Universal Images Group 
Last moments of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico before his execution by firing squad in 1867. Credit: Designpics/Universal Images Group
As the Civil War in the United States ended, the Americans began to turn their attention to aiding their southern neighbor with military and financial support for Mexico’s resistance movement. During 1867, Juarez’s resistance forces captured and assassinated Emperor Maximilian. France would finally withdraw from Mexico later that same year.
Puebla would later be renamed Puebla de Zaragoza in honor of the famed general.
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Sources:
History.com. The Editors of History.com. “Cinco de Mayo”. History.com 30 April 2024.
https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/cinco-de-mayo
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Cinco de Mayo”. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 30 Apr. 2024.