The War of the Cakes was the first warlike intervention of France in Mexico. It took place from April 16, 1838 to March 9, 1839. France was backed by the United States and the Republic of Texas (a sovereign and independent US state from 1836 to 1846). For its part, Mexico had the support of the United Kingdom and British Canada (1764-1867).
This armed conflict between Mexico and France originated due to multiple diplomatic frictions between the Mexican cabinet and the French ambassador Antoine Louis Daffaudis. Simultaneously, there was the murder of a French citizen at the hands of pirates in the area, and thus, the tensions between both nations were increasingly evident.
Several foreign powers had pressured the Mexican government to take responsibility for the damages that foreign citizens suffered during the years of civil unrest.
However, the catalyst for the war was the formal claim of several French merchants at the French embassy in Mexico, who complained of grievances against their establishments.
In particular, a French pastry chef named Remontel, who lived in Tacubaya, near Mexico City, demanded the payment of 60,000 pesos for damage repairs to merchandise and furniture that some Mexican army officers damaged in his restaurant.
That is why this lawsuit was called the War of the Cakes. Ambassador Deffaudis tried to mediate with the Mexican government on the requests of these merchants, but was unsuccessful and decided to leave the country.
On March 21, 1838, he returned to Mexico, backed by French warships, to demand the compensation that the merchants of that country requested from the Mexican government.
The Anastacio Bustamante government had no willingness to negotiate with Deffaudis, and the Mexican ports were blocked for 7 months.
The Fortress of San Juán de Ulúa and the City of Veracruz were attacked by French bombardments, and both cities capitulated without the approval of the Mexican government. In turn, the Mexican government decided to declare war by sending Antonio López de Santa Anna as commander of the local troops.
The enemy sides met in a contest in the Port of Veracruz, and that was the climax of the War of the Cakes.
The peace agreement between France and Mexico was concluded thanks to the mediation of the English embassy. The peace treaty contemplated the payment of 600,000 pesos to the French government, in compensation for the damages caused to French citizens.
However, this amount was never paid, and later, in 1861, this action was the rationale for a second French intervention in Mexico.
After the Mexican victory in 1867 and the collapse of the second French empire in 1870, Mexico and France maintained their diplomatic distance until 1880.
By then, both countries chose to settle their differences peacefully, putting aside war claims.
References
- Computación Aplicada al Desarrollo, SA de CV (2013). The Pastry War. Mexico, Mexico. Recovered from: searcher.com.mx.
- History of Mexico in brief (2015). The Pastry War. Mexico, Mexico. Recovered from: historiademexicobreve.com.
- The Century of the Tower (2012). 1838: The War of the Cakes begins. Torreón, Mexico. Recovered from: elsiglodetorreon.com.mx.
- Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. (2017) Pastry War. London, England. Recovered from: britannica.com.
- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2017). Pastry War. Recovered from: en.wikipedia.org.