POULSBO — Cinco de Mayo is to Mexican-Americans what Norway’s Constitution Day is to Americans of Norwegian ancestry.

It was on May 5, 1862 that Mexican troops, outnumbered 3-1, defeated the French at the Battle of Puebla. France was successful in a subsequent battle and installed a monarch, but the resistance led by Mexico’s indigenous Zapotec president, Benito Juarez, ultimately prevailed. France withdrew from Mexico in 1867 and Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian — who had been installed as Emperor Maximilian I — was captured and executed. Juarez restored the Republic of Mexico and modernized his country.

An increasing number of Poulsbo residents are observing the day: 9.2 percent of Poulsbo’s population is of Mexican ancestry, according to the U.S. Census. Poulsbo’s population was 9,393 in 2010, according to the Census.