Cinco de Mayo commemorates Mexico’s unexpected victory over France in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.
The conflict between the two countries began in 1861, when President Benito Juarez, then president of Mexico, froze the country’s foreign debt and responded by sending French troops to the Napoleonic III invasion.
The conquest at Puebla fueled Mexican forces but was short-lived and France then invaded the country, establishing Maximilian I as emperor.
It was not until 1867 that the new Mexican Republic finally expelled the French, hanged Maximilian I, and regained control of the country.