France declared war on Mexico over a pastry shop worth under 1,000 pesos — the baker wanted 60,000, and a king agreed with him.
In 1832, a French pastry chef in Mexico City known only as Monsieur Remontel claimed Mexican military officers looted his shop and refused to pay their bills. His shop was worth less than 1,000 pesos. He demanded 60,000 pesos in damages from the Mexican government.
France's King Louis-Philippe took the complaint seriously, bundling it with other grievances against Mexico and demanding 600,000 pesos in total damages for French citizens. When Mexican President Anastasio Bustamante refused to pay, France sent its navy.
In November 1838, French Rear Admiral Charles Baudin blockaded every Mexican port on the Gulf of Mexico, bombarded the fortress of San Juan de Ulúa, and seized the country's most important port, Veracruz. Mexico declared war in response.
Antonio López de Santa Anna, then in retirement, rushed to defend Veracruz and was hit in the leg by French grapeshot. His leg was amputated — and buried with full military honors, complete with its own funeral procession.
The war spilled over into Texas: with legitimate trade cut off by the blockade, Mexican smugglers began running goods through Corpus Christi Bay. One group dumped barrels of flour on a beach while fleeing — which is how Flour Bluff, Texas got its name.
A British-brokered peace ended the war in March 1839. Mexico agreed to pay the full 600,000 pesos in damages over the pastry shop and other claims — but never actually paid it, giving France its pretext for a much larger invasion of Mexico more than two decades later.