Independence Day with a Latin Flavor                                                                

General Zaragoza and the Brave 4000!

Or What is Cinco de Mayo, anyway?

Is it Mexican Independence Day? Or is it just a good reason to have a monumental party?
The answers to these questions are: 1) No, it’s not Mexican Independence Day, and 2) Yeah, it’s a great reason to party!
The Cinco de Mayo celebration is about the Mexicans and the French (and the British, Spanish, and Americans).

• Wars Cost Money

Start with the War of the Reform (1858-60) between the conservatives who supported the Church and status quo, and the liberals who wanted Church reforms and more personal freedoms. It was expensive.
The funding for the Mexican establishment cause came primarily from the European governments of Spain, Britain, and France, and though the conservative government brought on the debt to fight against the liberals, it was the liberals who eventually were left to pay it.
In January 1858, during the civil strife, then President Ignacio Comonfort resigned from office. Benito Juarez, a native of Oaxaca and the serving Attorney General was elevated to president.
Juarez served as President and was duly elected to office in March 1861. Then, in July 1861 he proclaimed that all payments of the foreign debt were suspended.
Juarez, himself a capitalist and reformer, had attempted to protect the financial interests of Spain, Britain, and France in a dialog with the British envoy, but congress rejected any agreement to pay. With the Mexican treasury nearly empty and debt payments suspended, the Europeans sent a force of warships and troop transports to Veracruz to seize the Customs house and begin collections. In December 1861, the European forces began to land in Mexico.

• The Expanded French Empire

The original agreement between the European powers was to secure the Mexican debt only, and after holding Veracruz for a period, the British and Spanish negotiated a settlement with Mexico and withdrew to home territories.
The French Emperor Napoleon III (not that Napoleon, his nephew) had other territorial ambitions, and in May 1862, an invading party of 8,000 French and affiliates began a march on Mexico City.
On April 29, after a skirmish at Acultzingo where Mexican forces were beaten, the French General Laurencez marched his troops to Puebla, hoping to take it and then move on to Mexico City.

• The Real Cinco de Mayo

On May 5, French troops approached the two forts defending the city of Puebla.
The Mexican army, under General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin, consisted of some 4,000 men. Deploying his forces at two adjacent hilltop locations, Fort Loreto and Fort Guadalupe,
and in a connecting trench between them, the young (33) General was able to repel the French frontal assault.
Mexican defenders inflicted some 500 casualties on the French invaders, and the French were forced to withdraw. The victory provided Mexico with an incredible morale boost and led to celebration across the nation.
The eventuality was not as happy for Mexico. General Zaragoza, who was born in Goliad, TX and educated in Monterrey, died of typhus just four months later. Mexico’s republican government was soon defeated and escaped from Mexico City to continue an armed resistance against the Emperor.

• The Beginning and End of an Empire

After another period of fighting, the French installed Maximilian of Austria as Emperor of Mexico. For three years the Emperor controlled Mexico, attempting to undo the reforms and establish Mexico as a part of the larger French Empire, while Juarez and republican supporters continued to organize and resist. It is estimated that over 30,000 Juaristas died opposing the forces of Maximilian.
An estimated 300,000 Mexicans died during the years of opposition.
Emperor Maximilian was eventually captured in Queretaro and executed on June 19, 1867, by firing squad. Also executed on that day were his Generals, Mejia and Miramon. Benito Juarez died in office in July 1872.
Though not celebrated nationally, Cinco de Mayo is still important to Puebla and is recognized there. Here in the US and other countries the day is festive and a reason to celebrate.

Here’s to General Ignacio Zaragoza and the 4,000 defenders
of Puebla!

Salud!

You may be in San Francisco…

Or what was once the Rancho San Francisco...

Much of Santa Clarita is located on what was once the Rancho San Francisco. The Rancho was established in 1804 with the construction of a mission outpost, the Estancia de San Francisco Javier. The Estancia was built on a bluff near the area that is now the Castaic Junction. In subsequent years, the Estancia became the ranch home of Antonio del Valle and his family. The Rancho San Francisco was originally created as the northern outpost of the Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana (San Fernando Mission), extending the Mission’s sphere of influence to a large area of the current Santa Clarita Valley. The land was ancestrally occupied by the Tatavium, many of whom were moved to Mission grounds, some of whom remained local and worked on the Rancho as it began to produce livestock and crops in support of the Mission.

Antonio del Valle, born in 1788, began his career in Alta California in 1819 as a lieutenant in the San Bias Infantry, where one of his first assignments was to move a company of 40 men to Presidio San Francisco. Three years later, in 1822, he was reassigned to Presidio Monterey, where he was given command of troops.

In 1834, after several years in Monterey and after Mexico had gained its independence from Spain, Antonio del Valle was assigned to the Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana. Del Valle was charged with secularizing the mission, transferring its lands and interests from the Church back to the people of the Mission. He served as administrator and majordomo of the San Fernando Mission until 1837.

In 1839, in recognition of service to the people and government of Alta California, Antonio del Valle was granted the 48,612 acre Rancho San Francisco. The Rancho San Francisco was a nearly 76 square mile swath of land covering much of present day Santa Clarita, including Castaic, Mint, San Francisquito or Bouquet, Soledad, and Placerita Canyons. The Rancho followed the Santa Clara River Valley west to Piru Creek, while the dry hills surrounding the Santa Clara River Valley and the Santa Clarita Valley formed northern and southern boundaries.

After receipt of his land grant, Antonio del Valle moved into the Estancia, but died soon thereafter (1841). He intended to leave Rancho San Francisco to his son Ygnacio, with whom he had a falling out years earlier, but died before reconciliation. Since Antonio had died intestate, the land was divided and given over to his second wife and the children of his two marriages, including Ygnacio. Ygnacio was able to purchase portions of the old Rancho from siblings and also later acquired Rancho Temescal, north of Piru.

The legacy of the Rancho San Francisco survives today in the 1800 acre Rancho Camulos, located just off of Highway 126, east of the modern day town of Piru . The chain of title at Camulos is short, with only two families, the del Valle’s and the Buhl’s having owned the land. The Ranch is still farmed, and is home to the Rancho Camulos National Historic Landmark

Who was the San Fernando Mission named for?

Mission San Fernando Rey de España was founded by Padre Fermin Francisco de Lasuen in September 8, 1797. The mission was the 17th in the chain of California missions and was named for Ferdinand III (St. Ferdinand), King of Spain, who is the patron saint of engineers. Ferdinand was canonized in 1671 by Pope Clement X.