What’s Going on Here?
And how can you contact me or buy me some coffee?
Hi, everybody. I’ve been blogging for a very long time (more than 4,000 daily posts!) in addition to writing on Medium for over two years. I blog daily about history; on Medium, I write about history, education, the environment, and politics.
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The usual frame for these pleas is to “buy me a cup of coffee,” so above you will find a picture of U.S. Marines enjoying some coffee before invading Veracruz, Mexico, in 1914. American troops occupied Veracruz for most of that year.
Why did America occupy a Mexican city? There were larger issues, like decades of bad relations between the two countries, and the chaos of the Mexican Revolution, but the immediate cause of the occupation was the arrest of several American sailors, who had gone where they weren’t allowed. Veracruz authorities freed the sailors but did not perform a 21-gun salute to apologize, so the US got ready to avenge the act of disrespect. The decision to attack was solidified when Americans became aware of arms shipments coming into the city (the shipments had been arranged by an American businessman).
The US invasion of Veracruz was one of many American interventions in Latin America. A Marine general who helped to invade Veracruz later admitted that these invasions made him a “gangster for capitalism,” as these actions served mostly to protect American economic interests.
I may use your contributions to buy coffee, but, unlike the Marines above, I promise never to perform violent acts of imperialism after drinking it. Instead, I will keep sharing what I find interesting with you.
Thanks!
