Coin Portrait of the Week #30

[Drusus]

MEXICAN 10 CENTAVOS 1957

 

 

1957 Mexico 10 Centavo / Benito Juárez / KM 433 / Bronze

 

This is a bronze 10 centavos coin depicting Benito Juárez, five term president of Mexico and one of that nations most highly regarded leaders.

 

Benito Juárez was born at San Pablo Guelatao, Oaxaca, Mexico, on March 21, 1806. His parents died when he was very young so he lived with relatives in the Zapotec Indian village where he was born. When he was twelve he moved to the city of Oaxaca to live with a sister. He was illiterate and spoke only his native Zapotec tongue, he sought education, employment, and a better life in general.

 

He found a patron in the form of local catholic businessman Don Antonio Salanueva who aided him as he attended the Santa Cruz Seminary. With the help of the Church he learned to read, write, and speak Spanish in preparation for a life as a priest. After his graduation in 1827, he decided instead to study Law at the Instituto de Ciencias y Artes.

 

In 1831 he was able to practice law but instead chose to go into politics. With a liberal reformist agenda he became a member of the Oaxaca Town Council and then a Congressional Representative in 1833. At this time he still practiced law but it was mostly in defense of indigenous communities. In 1842 he served as a judge and from there he served as the Governor of Oaxaca from 1847 to 1853.

 

As Governor, Juárez continued to push a liberal reformist agenda. He sought to maintain a balanced economy and carried out numerous public works such as new roads, schools, and public buildings. In 1853 the Conservative party, led by Lucas Alamán and working with General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana, seized power. Many liberals, including Juárez, were expelled from Mexico. Juárez spent his exile in New Orleans working various odd jobs to make a living.

 

In 1855 the liberals took power and Benito Juárez returned from his exile to serve as the Minister of Justice. He then served as Chief Justice of the Mexican Supreme Court and Vice-President of Mexico in 1857 under the moderate president Ignacio Comonfort. He helped to institute a series of reforms to be included in the new constitution and issued the 'Law on the Administration of Justice and the Organic Law on the Tribunals of the Nation, of Districts and of Territories' (the Juárez Law).

 

He sought to abolish the privileges enjoyed by the military and by members of the clergy. The conservatives revolted and Juárez was imprisoned but escaped to lead the liberal side of what would be called the 'Reform Wars.' In July 1859, with the support of the liberals, he issued the Reform Laws which declared the independence of the State from the Church, laws for civil marriages and registration, and the transferal of church property to the nation. In January 1861 Liberal forces took Mexico city and Benito Juárez became the President of Mexico under the constitution of 1857.

 

Juárez was at the head of a bankrupt state. In hopes it would buy time to heal the fractured economy, he suspend payment on all foreign debts for a two year period prompting action from European nations such as England, Spain, and France looking to protect their business interests in a faltering nation. England and Spain retreated when it became apparent that France, under Napoleon III, would be taking advantage of Mexico's weakened state with plans of conquest.

 

France invaded Mexico with the help of Mexican Conservative forces in 1862. After fierce resistance they captured Mexico City in June 1863 placing the Archduke Maximilian of Austria on the Mexican throne of the new Mexican Empire.

 

Maximilian was first approached by Mexican monarchists with a proposal to become the Emperor of Mexico in 1859, an offer he refused. After the French invasion, under pressure from Napoleon III and after General Élie-Frédéric Forey's capture of Mexico City, he consented to accept the crown in 1863. His decision involved the loss of all his noble rights in Austria, though he was not informed of this until just before he left. With everything to lose he took the throne as the Emperor of Mexico and set to the task of pacifying resistance to his rule one way or the other. Juárez was offered a position in the new empire but he refused to accept the rule of Maximilian. The new emperor then tried another tactic, he killed anyone that might be involved with the resistance on sight.

 

Juárez and his government were forced to retreat to Ciudad where he continued to lead the resistance to the Maximilian government and continued to run his government in exile. After four years of continued resistance, growing pressure from America acting under the Monroe Doctrine and aiding the resistance with arms, the cost in men and money, the refusal of many nations to recognize Maximilian's rule, and politics in Europe, it became apparent that the New Empire would not last and the French occupational forces began to withdraw.

 

Though urged to abandon Mexico by Napoleon III himself, Maximilian refused to desert his new empire. Withdrawing in February 1867 to Querétaro, he sustained a siege for several weeks. The city fell on May 15, 1867 and Maximilian was captured and sentenced to death with his generals Miguel Miramón and Tomás Mejía. Many prominent figures of the day sought to reverse the sentence urging Juárez to spare Maximilian's life. Juárez refused to commute the sentence, believing that it was necessary to send a message that Mexico would not tolerate any government imposed by foreign powers. Maximilian was executed by firing squad on June 19, 1867. His body was embalmed and displayed in Mexico before being entombed in Vienna, Austria, the following year. Juárez was again elected president.

 

Now at the head of a government under a constitution which guaranteed free speech, free press, right of assembly, and the abolishment of special legal privileges, Juárez sought to reform Mexico and build its infrastructure. The government built railroads and schools, the military budget was cut, and he continued to strip the Church of it privileges and its large landholdings.

 

There was still heavy resistance to his reforms, even within his own party. Juárez found it difficult to trust others enough to delegate power and was accused of conducting himself more as a dictator than a president. In fact he was facing growing division and opposition in the liberal party as well as personal problems in the form of a stroke in October of 1870 and the death of his wife in 1871. He won the controversial presidential elections in 1871 where he is accused of using his powers to suppress opposition. He died of a heart attack while working at his desk on July 18, 1872. He was succeeded by Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, his foreign minister.

 

Juárez is considered by many as one of the greatest Mexican leaders in that countrys history as he fought for reform, a fair constitution, he refused to bow down to foreign subjugation, and fought for the freedom of his nation. Although he fell well short of his stated goals of equality, greater rights, and prosperity to the poor and rural working classes, he is remembered as a reformer and a Mexican patriot. With high ideals he was a driving force in the establishment of Mexico as a constitutional democracy, in the building of infrastructure, as a champion for equal rights for the indigenous population and the poor, a champion for better education, and lessening the political and financial power of the Roman Catholic church in his country.

 

 

 

 

 

Archduke Maximilian of Austria and Emperor of Mexico

 

 

The body of Maximilian on display after his execution

[Scottishmoney]

So much of what transpired in Mexico after 1861 was eased by the situation in the United States with the Civil War. In the nascent stages of the Civil War there were parties hoping to divert attention from the slavery issue by fomenting a war with Mexico, and then taking Mexico as a US territory and making it open to slavery. Of course that never got beyond discussion stage, as the politicians, North and South, were quickly silenced by the steam rolling of events which led to the beginning of hostilities in April 1861.

 

But had the situation of war in the United States not have intervened it would have been most interesting to see how the US would have enforced the Monroe Doctrine, which effectively declared the America's to be the US's sole sandbox. It is generally known that the Confederate government was favourable to the regime of Maximilian and gave them tacit support. After the conclusion of hostilities in the USA, the US quickly moved the Army to the southern border as a reminder to the French, that the Monroe Doctrine was still an enforced principal. With this being an ongoing presence, it emboldened the resolve of the Mexican nationalists, and it was only a matter of time before they prevailed and took back the leadership of their nation.

[Drusus]

The civil war also helped the Mexican nationals as the US had loads of extra weapons, and were able to dump them on the resistance...

 

And it would have been interesting if US was forced to act to enforce the Monroe Doctrine, although I disagree that the doctrine was to make the Americas the US's sole sandbox as much as it was meant to prevent exactly this kind of action taken by Napoleon III and his boy Maximilian against nations in the Americas including the US. To keep European or other nations who would deciding to invade sovereign nations and expel existing governments in the Americas to set up regimes.

 

I ALMOST feel a bit sorry for Maximilian as he was clearly a puppet and was duped...He obviously wasnt that keen on the idea in the first place as he preferred to travel and study his real passion...botany. He was then persuaded on a plebiscite vote that was misrepresented to him, then driven to desperation by the fact that went he left, he had little to come back to...putting all his eggs in one basket...I would ALMOST feel sorry for him if it wasnt for the fact that I find it hard to feel sorry for the ill fates of pampered entitled royalty like him... But I do think he was pushed into the role and was a bit of a dupe.

[Scottishmoney]

I ALMOST feel a bit sorry for Maximilian as he was clearly a puppet and was duped...He obviously wasnt that keen on the idea in the first place as he preferred to travel and study his real passion...botany. He was then persuaded on a plebiscite vote that was misrepresented to him, then driven to desperation by the fact that went he left, he had little to come back to...putting all his eggs in one basket...I would ALMOST feel sorry for him if it wasnt for the fact that I find it hard to feel sorry for the ill fates of pampered entitled royalty like him... But I do think he was pushed into the role and was a bit of a dupe.

 

 

The biggest fault one could find with Maximilian was that he listened and trusted the French. He should have been wise enough to see through Napoleon III's duplicitous activities from the get go.

 

Historical context on the Monroe Doctrine, it was created in an era when Simon Bolivar had just then liberated South America whilst the Mexicans through off the Spanish yoke also. Brazil had been then parted from Portugal, and while the USA was not overly concerned with it's own territory, the territory that was still up for grabs in the western N. America was a huge issue. The USA and Great Britain avoided all out war twice in the very late 1830's and early 1840's, over Aroostook in Maine and what is now New Brunswick, but also over the Oregon territory. The USA in 1842 claimed the Pacific coast from the Mexican border in what is now Northern California to the upper portion of what is now British Columbia in Canada. There was a slogan that the USA used, 54'40 or fight. Fortunately cooler heads prevailed and the USA ended up with a bit more territory than the British did in both disputes. Aside from the "Trent Affair" in 1861 the USA and Britain never again came close to blows.

[Dave]

Another great write up!

 

This time in North American History is very interesting. There was actually a lot more going on then than a lot of people know anymore. I have talked about the French invasion of Mexico with friends at work in the past and whenever I do, there is always someone who says that they never heard of that before. Then I ask them if they ever heard of Cinco de Mayo! It seems most people in teh USA think it's a day set aside for drinking margaritas.

 

Thanks for another Coin Portrait of the Week!

[Scottishmoney]

Another great write up!

 

This time in North American History is very interesting. There was actually a lot more going on then than a lot of people know anymore. I have talked about the French invasion of Mexico with friends at work in the past and whenever I do, there is always someone who says that they never heard of that before. Then I ask them if they ever heard of Cinco de Mayo! It seems most people in teh USA think it's a day set aside for drinking margaritas.

 

Thanks for another Coin Portrait of the Week!

 

 

In my estimation, read please what I cited above, the Mexicans got the short end of the stick every which way during the 19th century. They threw off the yoke of the Spanish colonialists, then they had Iturbide declare himself Emperor and go mad. Then Santa Anna became president and was more concerned with his amorous activities than protecting Mexican territory from the Yanquis in Tejas. Then the USA went after Santa Anna again in the 1840's and basically took more than half of what was recognized as their territory. Then being bankrupted by corruption as per the article Drusus cites, Benito Juarez suspended payments to foreign nations, resulting in France going off and deciding that since Lincoln and the USA had more pressing worries than a clear cut violation of the Monroe Doctrine, that they would install a puppet to rule Mexico in favour of France.

[Drusus]

yeah, when researching these things you learn a lot...not that I was in the dark about Mexican history and I have known most of my life what the 5th of may was all about (I live in Texas though) ...but its difficult...in the hopes of it NOT turning it into a 10 page dissertation...to keep on topic when there was so much more going on that affected events that could warrant a diversion...I try my hardest not to express any kind of personal judgment...with Juárez there are a lot of biased sources that paint him as a saint and do little but praise him...so I take pains to make sure that the information I use is not from such a biased source. All are biased I assume but I try to only use facts as they are known and if its not known fact...let it be known that something is 'believed to be true' or say 'his detractors' or 'his supporters' when quoting how people at the time felt about the person.

 

As for General Santa Ana...that is another part of history that DOES tie into the story of Juárez but I didnt want to diverge by going into the man and his history (I chose to delve a bit deeper into Maximilian instead)...without doubt he was, for most of his career, on the opposite side of the fence than Juárez although Juárez DID vote in favor of some of his actions in Texas...certainly Juárez probably agreed that something needed to be done..not with the way they were done (he felt incompetently) which left the Mexican government on the verge of bankruptcy. Juárez, in general, did not like Santa Ana and what he represented (large wealthy land owners, supremacy of the military, the church, etc...)

[KurtS]

The USA in 1842 claimed the Pacific coast from the Mexican border in what is now Northern California to the upper portion of what is now British Columbia in Canada. There was a slogan that the USA used, 54'40 or fight. Fortunately cooler heads prevailed and the USA ended up with a bit more territory than the British did in both disputes. Aside from the "Trent Affair" in 1861 the USA and Britain never again came close to blows.

 

Maybe that explains why BC border guards are so touchy?

 

What a beautiful coin. The portrait reminds me of the mural style of Diego Rivera.

[Scottishmoney]

As for General Santa Ana...that is another part of history that DOES tie into the story of Juárez but I didnt want to diverge by going into the man and his history (I chose to delve a bit deeper into Maximilian instead)...without doubt he was, for most of his career, on the opposite side of the fence than Juárez although Juárez DID vote in favor of some of his actions in Texas...certainly Juárez probably agreed that something needed to be done..not with the way they were done (he felt incompetently) which left the Mexican government on the verge of bankruptcy. Juárez, in general, did not like Santa Ana and what he represented (large wealthy land owners, supremacy of the military, the church, etc...)

 

 

Surely living in Texas as you do, you have heard the rumoured real "Yellow Rose of Texas" haven't you? She was a flower, but not of the floriant variety, but one that busied the General whilst the Texians were defeating his vastly superior forces.