The Pastry War, also known as the first French intervention in Mexico or the first Franco-Mexican war (1838–1839), began in November 1838 with the naval blockade of some Mexican ports and the capture of the fortress of San Juan de Ulúa in the port of Veracruz by French forces sent by King Louis Philippe I. It ended in March 1839 with a British-brokered peace. The intervention followed many claims by French nationals of losses due to unrest in Mexico. This would be the first of two French invasions of Mexico; a second, larger intervention would take place in the 1860s.

Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón, usually known as Antonio López de Santa Anna, or just Santa Anna, was a Mexican soldier, politician, and caudillo who served as the 8th president of Mexico multiple times between 1833 and 1855. He also served as Vice President of Mexico from 1837 to 1839. He was a controversial and pivotal figure in Mexican politics during the 19th century, to the point that he has been called an "uncrowned monarch", and historians often refer to the three decades after Mexican independence as the "Age of Santa Anna".