First Act: You are a soldier from the 19th Century. You and your comrades walk into a French pastry and order a cake.
Second Act: The baker who runs the pastry, works hard and he makes a delicious cake and brings it to your table. After enjoying it, you and your friends don’t have money and decide not to pay the check.
Third Act: The baker gets angry (obviously) and sends a letter to the French government complaining about the situation. Then, you and your comrades solve the situation by firing at the pastry with a canon.
What’s the name of the show? That’s right! The First French Intervention in Mexico, also commonly known as The Pastry War of 1938.
The name of this event may seem like a low-budget and an old soap opera. In reality, it scaled into an economic measure that seized a rich and advanced country in trade in a nation that was slow to recover from the attack it received.
During the 19th century, Mexico was considered one of the most important countries in the Americas, in an economic sense. Moreover, Mexico had notable business dealings with European countries such as Spain, Britain and France. This distinction that marked the Noth American country did not go unnoticed.
In 1828, a conflict emerged between Mexico’s first President Guadalupe Victoria and Governor Lorenzo de Zavala. These confrontations gave victory to Zavala and left Vicente Guerrero as the next president of Mexico, and the first Afro-descendant president in North America. During these clashes and disturbances, many merchants were affected, both Mexicans and foreigners. This situation caused great discomfort among people because they did not receive any type of material compensation. Among those merchants affected were the French, who repeatedly expressed their complaints to the French ambassador in Mexico, Mr. Baron Deffaudis.
The complaints of merchants bothered Baron Deffaudis, who tried to solve the injustices that his compatriots were suffering without any success. One of the merchants who was most energetic in denouncing him was a pastry chef named Remontel, who owned a business in Mexico City.
Mr. Remontel demanded compensation from the government for the damages received at the hands of Mexican military officials, who had broken into his business after eating a lot of cakes, without paying. This is why the conflict between Mexico and France, began on April 16, 1838.
And who won this Pastry War?
After beginning the attack and therefore, the blockade against Mexico; France managed to corner the Mexican forces. The problem was that they had no way to obtain enough resources. So, the Mexican army tried to smuggle, it into Texas (which was a Mexican territory at that time). However, the fear that they would also be victims of French aggression forced Texans to stop any kind of smuggling crime, which left Mexico without alternatives For this reason, France won this war and both countries signed a peace treaty in 1839.
And what was the aftermath?
Mexico was an important trade point in the continent. One of the most important suppliers to countries was Britain. Therefore, when the French attacked, the English were forced to intervene.
It left more than 100 injured and 19 dead.
The peace agreement had serious economic repercussions for Mexico. The French government demanded that Mexico pay a total of $600,000 Mexican pesos (current $46,968 CAD) for any damage that those French citizens residing in Mexico.
For almost 20 years France exercised power in Mexico’s economy.