Mexico’s war against the U.S. and then the country’s own civil war bankrupted the country. Juárez cancelled payments on all foreign debt, but this brought an invasion of the French army of Napoleon III. Remember Cinco de Mayo? That day celebrates the Mexican victory over the French in Puebla. But the victory was short lived and the French won Mexico. Maximilian Von Habsburg, the brother of the Emperor of Austria, was crowned Maximilian I of Mexico. Juárez fled to the north of the country while Maximilian ruled with the support of Conservatives and the church.
