Pastry War

The Pastry War
Bombing of San Juan de Ulúa in 1838
Date November 27, 1838 - March 9, 1839 Location Mexico Result French victory
Belligerents
France	Mexico Supported by United Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Charles Baudin	Antonio López de Santa Anna Guadalupe Victoria Mariano Arista
Strength
3,000	3,239

The Pastry War (Spanish: Guerra de los pasteles or Primera Intervención Francesa en México, "first French intervention in Mexico"; French: Guerre des Pâtisseries) was an invasion of Mexico by French forces in 1838.

Background

History of Mexico
This article is part of a series
Pre-Columbian Mexico
Spanish conquest
Colonial period
War of Independence
First Empire
First Republic
War with Texas
Pastry War
Mexican–American War
Second Federal Republic
The Reform
Reform War
French intervention
Second Empire
Restored Republic
The Porfiriato
Revolution
La decena trágica
Plan of Guadalupe
Tampico Affair
Occupation of Veracruz
Cristero War
The Maximato
Petroleum nationalization
Mexican miracle
Students of 1968
La Década Perdida
1982 economic crisis
Zapatista Insurgency
1994 economic crisis
Downfall of the PRI
Mexican Drug War
Mexico Portal

The war arose from the widespread civil disorder that plagued the early years of the Mexican republic. In 1828, President Manuel Gómez Pedraza ejected Lorenzo de Zavala from the office of governor of the state of México. Zavala, supported by Antonio López de Santa Anna, was able to rally most of the garrison in Mexico City (then a part of México state) to his aid. Four days of fighting in Mexico City resulted in Zavala winning and installing a new president, Vicente Guerrero. The fighting in the streets destroyed a great deal of personal property. The average citizen had little recourse for damages suffered. They had no consuls, or representatives to speak on their behalf. Foreigners whose property was damaged or destroyed by rioters or bandits were usually unable to obtain compensation from the government, and began to appeal to their own governments for help. Despite the repeated French claims, the French government let the matter subside.

War

In 1838 a French pastry cook, Monsieur Remontel, claimed that his shop in the Tacubaya district of Mexico City had been ruined by looting Mexican officers in 1828. He appealed to France's King Louis-Philippe (1773–1850). Coming to its citizen's aid, France demanded 600,000 pesos in damages. This amount was extremely high when compared to an average workman's daily pay, which was about one peso. In addition to this amount, Mexico had defaulted on millions of dollars worth of loans from France. Diplomat Baron Deffaudis gave Mexico an ultimatum to pay, or the French would demand satisfaction. When the payment was not forthcoming from president Anastasio Bustamante (1780–1853), the king sent a fleet under Rear Admiral Charles Baudin to declare a blockade of all Mexican ports from Yucatán to the Rio Grande, to bombard the Mexican fortress of San Juan de Ulúa, and to seize the port of Veracruz. Virtually the entire Mexican Navy was captured at Veracruz by December 1838. Mexico declared war on France.

With trade cut off, the Mexicans began smuggling imports into Corpus Christi, Texas, and then into Mexico. Fearing that France would blockade Texan ports as well, a battalion of men of the Republic of Texas force began patrolling Corpus Christi Bay to stop Mexican smugglers. One smuggling party abandoned their cargo of about a hundred barrels of flour on the beach at the mouth of the bay, thus giving Flour Bluff its name. The United States, ever watchful of its relations with Mexico, sent the schooner Woodbury to help the French in their blockade. Talks between the French Kingdom and the Texan nation occurred and France agreed not to offend the soil or waters of the Republic of Texas.

The battle celebrated as Cinco de Mayo, occasionally mistaken as taking place in this war, was connected with a later (1862) invasion of Mexico orchestrated by Napoleon III.

Santa Anna's role

Meanwhile, acting without explicit government authority, Santa Anna came out of retirement from his hacienda near Xalapa and surveyed Veracruz. He asked the government to use his services, and he was immediately ordered to fight the French by any means necessary. He led Mexican forces against the French and in a skirmish with the rear guard of the French, Santa Anna was wounded in the leg by French grapeshot. His leg had to be amputated. Exploiting his wounds with eloquent propaganda, Santa Anna catapulted back to power.

End

With the diplomatic intervention of Great Britain, eventually President Bustamante promised to pay the 600,000 pesos and the French forces withdrew on 9 March 1839.

See also

• History of Mexico
• List of wars involving Mexico

References

• Nofi, Albert A.; The Alamo and the Texas War for Independence; Da Capo Press; ISBN 0-306-80563-4
• Warner, Michael S.; Consise Encyclopedia of Mexico; Fitzroy Dearborn.