The Pastry War: France - Mexico, 1838 : Mexico History
Shep Lenchek
It's name is better suited to a Musical Comedy than a conflict between Nations and calls up visions of armies bombarding each other with Éclairs, Fruit Tarts, Napoleons and even Strudel. But on April 16, 1838 a French Fleet began the blockade of Mexico's east coast seaports, launching a war. It was based on a claim that since Mexico had first gained its independence, various French citizens living there, had lost both lives and property due to actions by Mexicans. In one such incident, a restaurant owned by one Monsieur Remontel either in Puebla or in Tacubaya - reports of its location vary - had suffered an assault on its supply of pastry valued at 60,000 pesos. He pointed a finger at some inebriated Mexican officials as the criminals. The ambiguity of the restaurant's location plus the size of the claim seem to cast doubt on the validity of all the French demands. However, this particular one caught the eyes of French journalists who immediately made this incident a cause celebre and dubbed the event "The Pastry War."
Actually, there was more to this than a raid on a restaurant's supply of pastry. Mexico had many loans from France and was in default on all of them. The Mexican economy was weak and a constant parade of claimants to the Presidency did little to assure debtors that payments would resume. The entire matter had been simmering for months. Rather than seek the repayment of the loans that totaled millions, the French now demanded a 600,000-peso indemnity based on the alleged losses of property. Mexico refused to pay, demanding that the blockade be ended before any negotiations could begin. Although the Mexicans had put an army into the field to defend Vera Cruz, lack of funding made significant armed resistance impossible. The French force of 30,000 men was opposed by only approximately 3000 Mexican troops.
Some negotiations were started but Mexico continued to demand an end to the blockade and negotiations failed. By November of 1838 the French had lost patience and began to bombard the Mexican fort of San Juan de Ulna that defended the harbor of Vera Cruz, the principal port of entry for imports. Three days later Mexico declared war on France. Now the French invaded the city. A one-day battle occurred and although the Mexicans enjoyed some early success, in the end they were forced to retreat. It was at this point that the Pastry War left its single significant mark on Mexican history. Although it was a defeat for Mexico, for one man it was a victory.
Read more at: http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/660-the-pastry-war-france-mexico-1838
"Some" traits of French culture probably stayed in Mexico but not a lot.
France intervened in Mexico 2 times, the 2nd time, to collect from a debtor nation.
