War of the Cakes:conflict France blockade economy Mexico – 04/23/2023 – Market

The neighborhood of Tacubaya, in Mexico City —at the time, a neighboring town of the Mexican capital— was the scene in 1838 of a rather curious episode, according to popular memory.

Officers from the Mexican national army visited the place where a French citizen’s pastry shop operated, whose last name was Remontel. Some chronicles claim that the military looted the establishment; others say that the officers consumed cakes and left without paying.

In any case, Remontel suffered a loss of 800 Mexican pesos—a very considerable amount by the standards of the time.

Historians claim that there is no clear evidence that the episode actually happened the way it is popularly told, but years later it ended up baptizing a serious war between Mexico and France: the so-called War of the Cakes.

Hostilities began on April 16, 1838. France had given an ultimatum to the Mexican government, demanding payment of a large amount of money —600,000 pesos—, as well as an advantageous commercial agreement. And the ultimatum expired on that date.

“Very little is known about the cake incident,” Mexican historian Raúl González Lezama explains to BBC News Mundo, the BBC’s Spanish-language news service.

According to him, “there are stories that contradict each other, as if he was really a confectioner. Authors of the time referred to him as a fondista, that is, owner of a fonda [“restaurante”]. We’re not sure.”

“We took this reference to highlight how unfair and absurd the situation was”, continues the historian.

“How France took over such a banal matter to make a claim of huge proportions. First, for the amount demanded, but also for the economic advantages it demanded.”

However, in order to understand the First French Intervention in Mexico —which is the formal name of the War of the Cakes—, it is first necessary to analyze the geopolitics and internal panorama of the Latin American country at the time.

Building the Mexican Nation

Mexico became independent in 1821. But it took many years for the new country to have stability, a lasting government and be fully recognized by the world.

The country was born as a monarchy that lasted just three years. Then came the establishment of a republic, strongly disputed by the federalists, on the one hand, and by the centralists, on the other.

At the same time, the privileged sectors of the new regime —especially the Church and the Army— emerged as autonomous powers. With that, the resolution of questions of national life and the defense of the country against external threats began to generate conflicts.

In 1833, the country faced a serious cholera epidemic, which decimated a large part of the population. And, three years later, Mexico lost the territory of Texas, which unilaterally seceded from the country.

“Mexico was a very weak country, internally and externally,” says González Lezama.

On the geopolitical landscape, world powers such as France and the United Kingdom struggled to control the American continent, ruled largely by Spain for centuries.

The Mexican historian explains that France was waiting for the ideal moment to consolidate its position in America. And Mexico, due to its internal situation and geographical position, seemed the ideal place for this.

“The country was really vulnerable,” he observes.

“The French demanded not only compensation from the confectioner and other subjects of the French monarchy, but also advantages that would give them a better position, especially in relation to England.”

The requirements included access to retail trade, which foreigners were not allowed. If access were granted, Mexican traders would be in a very unfavorable position. Therefore, according to González Lezama, this requirement was unacceptable.

Blockade of the port of Veracruz

It was not uncommon at that time for merchants to be affected by power uprisings in Mexico, including foreigners who had diverse businesses in the capital and in the interior of the country.

Diplomatic reports from France indicated that there were around 450 French-owned establishments in Mexico, with an estimated value of 30 million francs.

In 1836, the government of French King Louis Philippe I instructed its diplomat in Mexico—Baron Antoine Deffaudis—to demand payment for damages caused to French merchants by the internal battles in Mexico.

The Mexican government refused, saying it “does not consider there to be the slightest obligation” to compensate for damages suffered by Mexicans or foreigners by acts of political factions.

With that, in March 1838, France sent a fleet of 26 ships to the Mexican port of Veracruz, led by Deffaudis.

The port is the main point of trade between Mexico and Europe and, therefore, was fundamental to the country’s weakened economy.

Mexico was “incredibly strangled, as the state’s main revenue was customs revenue”, explains González Lezama.

The country had just suffered the separation from Texas and “national pride was already quite shaken”, according to the historian. For this reason, the Mexican government asked France to pay the 600,000 pesos in installments. But he categorically rejected requests for commercial advantages.

Deffaudis did not accept the deal and gave an ultimatum until the last minute on April 15th. The following day, the blockade of the port of Veracruz began.

And, as the negotiations that followed were unsuccessful, French troops opened fire on the Fort of San Juan de Ulúa, in Veracruz, on November 27, 1838.

“In a few hours, they wiped out the port’s defenses. They killed the Mexican snipers and dismantled the Mexican batteries. The French cannons were much superior in quality,” says González Lezama.

The Mexicans “failed to damage the French ships”.

France’s blockade of Veracruz then shifted from being present at sea to occupying it on land. The French positioned themselves in various parts of the city, with no greater resistance from the Mexican forces.

The Mexican government switched to other Gulf of Mexico ports, but none of them had the customs capacity of Veracruz. And smuggling became a big problem.

The only Mexican counteroffensive took place on December 5, 1838. Under the command of General Antonio López de Santa Ana, Mexican forces pushed the French back, but they did not have enough strength to face the blockade of Veracruz.

“It had no weight in the situation”, explains the historian.

“What really mattered was when the English found out that France had a claim against Mexico and they got worried, because they knew very well what the French’s true intention was: to gain a commercial center.”

the english mediation

In reality, the French presence in Mexico during the intervention was limited to the port of Veracruz. And, except for three days of fighting, there were no further armed hostilities.

What changed the situation was the arrival in port of the English minister Richard Pakenham, accompanied by a fleet of 11 ships armed with 370 cannons. Pakenham presented himself as a mediator in the conflict.

González Lezama explains that England was Mexico’s main trading partner, and the dispute over France was not only harming English merchant ships, but also threatening to position France in a strategic point on the American continent.

“The heart of the matter was really the struggle between these two powers for control and participation in the division of what would later be called Latin America”, says the historian.

Faced with the British naval threat, France ended up accepting the mediation. After three months, they reached the agreement of March 9, 1839: Mexico would pay the 600,000 pesos in installments (as it had proposed from the beginning).

A few days before completing a year of blockade, France surrendered the Fort of San Juan de Ulúa and left the port of Veracruz the following month.

González Lezama argues that the War of the Cakes was a consequence of the precarious situation experienced by Mexico at the time. In a few years, the country lost Texas, faced French intervention and, shortly afterwards, lost more than half of its territory, after a war against the United States.

The country did not have a solid government. There were factions vying for power and few resources to react to external threats.

“The reflection came after the war against the United States, but this was a sign that should have warned us about what the problem was: we were not a nation”, explains the historian.

“Despite appearances, we had not constituted ourselves as a state.”

This text was published here.