The Pastry War may sound like the title of a comedy film; in fact it was a little-known war that took place in Mexico between November 1838 through March 1839. What was the cause of this often forgotten conflict? The Pastry War earned its name following an episode of chaos and looting of several shops in Mexico City’s Parisian marketplace in 1828 but the actual war occurred nearly a decade later. The Pastry War was the eventual result of longstanding political tensions between France and Mexico. The financial decimation of French citizens living in Mexico coupled with the fact that the Mexican government refused to repay Mexican debt owed to the French government set into motion a series of tumultuous events. In 1838 a pastry chef named Remontel came forward and claimed that his shop in the Tacubaya district of Mexico City had been completely destroyed by looting Mexican officers back in 1828. Remontel had initially asked the Mexican government for compensation but was flatly denied, so he subsequently appealed to the French government which then demanded compensation from the Mexican government on his behalf. It didn’t help that the Mexican government had already defaulted on a large sum of loans from France. The French government gave Mexico an ultimatum to repay the debt or they would act accordingly. When Mexico refused to repay its debts, the French government initiated a trade blockade, further weakening the Mexican economy. As the conflict escalated, French troops invaded and occupied the city of Veracruz and captured the entire Mexican Navy. Economically and militarily weakened, Mexican President Bustamante appealed to the British government who helped negotiate a treaty whereby Mexico agreed to pay 600,000 pesos to France, thereby ending the war on 9 March 1839.
