French Influence on Mexican Nationalism
France had an outsized influence on Mexican politics in the 1860s. U.S. preoccupation with the Civil War allowed Napoleon III to turn his imperial ambitions toward Latin America and install Maximilian as Emperor of Mexico. France saw the institution of monarchy as a way to bring modernity to Mexico, but for native Mexicans this incursion was a step backwards from independence and republicanism. The documents in this section illustrate this conflict.
Three documents offer unique windows into the influence of French on Mexican governance. First, the propaganda poster made by Napoleon III’s regime justifies the French Intervention in México in 1861. A letter by the exiled Santa Anna illustrates the Mexican resistance to French occupation, and the nationalist sentiments it invoked. Lastly, a document from president Benito Juarez, written after the execution of Maximilian I, illustrates the feelings of the Mexican people during the years of French occupation. In combination, these primary sources show how Mexico played a central role in the geopolitics of the mid-19th century.
Contributors:
Brittney Aparicio, Nathan Ramirez, and Laura Hallas
Manifest of Justification for National Punishments
The Manifiesto Justificativo de los Castigos Nacionales en Querétaro is a document made by the Mexican president, Benito Juárez. The author sought to explain the consequences of the imposed monarchical rule by the French in Mexico and justify the castigo (here meaning execution) of the Mexican emperor, Maximilian I, as a resolve of the Mexican people given the usurpation of their legal power by a European empire. However, the document presented is re-published as it was not released in 1868 but rather in 1879. Seeing that the text was published after Juárez’s death and during the Porfiriato, this entails an attempt by Porfirio Díaz to use Juárez’s image to attract support.
French Propaganda Poster
Created during the reign of Napoleon III of France (1852-1870), this propaganda poster suggests that life under the French monarch would be better compared to the rule of local leaders. Displayed throughout are phrases in several different languages explaining France’s intentions, such as the one in Spanish jutting out of the bottom left of the portrait of Napoleon III. Translated to English, it says “To give peace to an oppressed people,” suggesting that monarchy would be a better alternative to the Republic of Mexico led by Benito Juarez. The bottom of the poster features the battle of St Lorenz in Veracruz, Mexico. It triumphantly highlights how only 11 Frenchman died while over 1,000 died on the Mexican side suggesting the attitude of superiority that the French had towards the Mexicans they were trying to rule.
Letters from Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
Transcribed in clean blue ink, this copy of a letter written by Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna to Colonel Francisco de P. Mora provides critical insight into the 1860s independence movement against Mexico’s imperial French government. While Santa Anna is perhaps best known for his involvement in the Mexican-American War, this 1865 call to arms against the French emperor Maximilian provides a compelling view of a leader whose immense political influence spanned the majority of the 19th century — even as he writes this letter from exile. Santa Anna’s career offers a quintessential example of the influence of caudillos in post-colonial Latin American politics.