Many celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Mexican food and festivities (you can count me in on that!) But few realize the difficult backstory endured by the people of Mexico—who found themselves captive to the French at the same time as the American Civil War! So, I bring you an audiobook narration from The Mystery of History Volume IV with a lesson titled, “The French Rule of Mexico under Maximillien and Carlota.”  This story offers love, mystery, colonization, the Monroe Doctrine, and of course the Mexican victory in the muddy city of Puebla on “Cinco de Mayo.” This lesson is rated G for all ages, but for length and detail it is best suited for students about 5th grade and up.