War of the French Intervention 1862-67

The civil war, commonly known as the War of the Reform, that engulfed Mexico between 1858 and 1861 ended in a Liberal victory. In March 1861, Benito Juarez won the presidential election, but the war left the treasury depleted. Juarez proceeded to declare a moratorium on all foreign debt repayments, provoking Spain, Britain, and France to launch a joint occupation of the Mexican Gulf coast to force repayment. In December troops from the three nations landed at Veracruz and advanced to Orizaba. After conferring with Mexican representatives, Britain and Spain recalled their armies, convinced that the Juarez government would compensate them. The French army remained and, with the support of Mexican conservatives, embarked on an occupation of Mexico on April 16, 1862.

The French army intended to march on Mexico City. In Puebla, French troops encountered strong resistance by Mexican forces, led by General Ignacio Zaragoza, who defeated the French army in battle on May 5, 1862 (May 5th – Cinco de Mayo – is still celebrated today as a national holiday in Mexico). The defeated French retrenched and waited for reinforcements from France. In 1863, Puebla was once again surrounded by French troops, who laid siege to the city for two months until it surrendered on May 17th. The fall of Puebla meant easy access to Mexico City, and Juarez decided to evacuate the capital after receiving approval from Congress. The government retreated to the far north of the country.

The French encountered no resistance to their occupation of Mexico City. In June, a provisional government was chosen, and in October a delegation of Mexican conservatives invited Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph von Habsburg of Austria to accept the Mexican crown, all according to the plans of French emperor Napoleon III. Maximilian was a well-intentioned monarch who accepted the crown believing that this act responded to the desire of a majority of Mexicans. Before departing for Mexico, Maximilian signed an agreement with Napoleon III, under which Maximilian assumed the debts incurred for the upkeep of the French army in Mexico. On June 12, 1864, the Emperor Maximilian I and his Belgian wife arrived in Mexico City.

Maximilian, schooled in the European liberal tradition, soon found resistance from all quarters of the political spectrum, however. Most of the population was opposed to Maximilian and guerrilla warfare broke out all over Mexico. In response, Maximilian accepted the view of his advisers and signed the Black Decree which made bearing arms for the republican cause a treasonable offense punishable by death. The decree alienated more Mexicans and boosted support for Juarez.

Meanwhile, Mexican liberals appealed for military assistance from the United States on the basis of the French violation of the 1823 Monroe Doctrine, but the United States was involved in its own civil war. The end of the Civil War in the United States in 1865, however, prompted a more assertive foreign policy toward Mexico and released manpower and arms that were directed to help Juarez in his fight against the French. American diplomatic demands for a French withdrawal were supported by the deployment of 50,000 troops along the Rio Grande. Rather than risk war with the United States, a phased withdrawal of French forces began in 1866.

The conduct of the war was gradually turned over to Mexican conservative supporters of the imperial regime. As the French fell back the liberals achieved several minor battlefield victories during 1866. Some conservative forces switched sides and began supporting the Mexican liberals during this period. The liberal-conservative forces were united as republican forces which advanced as the French retreated. On February 5, 1867, the French evacuation was complete. Republican forces resumed their offensive on February 19th. From March, Emperor Maximilian and his army were surrounded by a republican army at Queretaro until on May 14th one of the imperial officers betrayed him, leading republicans into Queretaro to capture Maximilian and surrender on May 14, 1867. He was tried and, on Juárez's orders, was executed on June 19.

Notes

[1] Correlates of War ends the inter-state war (40) on February 5, 1867 (when the French forces depart) and considers the rest of the war an intra-state (587: February 6, 1867 to May 4, 1867).

[2] CoW battle deaths for the intra-state war are 1,500 Conservatives and 1,000 Liberals. These deaths have been incorporated throughout.

References

Clodfelter, 543-5; COW40, 587; Kohn, 295-6; Mexico - A Country Study.

Category

Inter-State War

Region

Central America

Belligerents

France,
Mexican Conservatives, Mexican Liberals

Dispute

Governance

Initiation Date

April 16, 1862

Termination Date

May 14, 1867^[1]

Duration

5 years, 29 days
(1855 days)

Outcome

Imposed Settlement
(Mexican Liberal victory)

Fatalities

Total: 47,350^[2]
France: 7,150
Conservatives: 7,200
Liberals: 33,000

Magnitude

4.7