The history of Guatemala is marked by moments both magic and tragic. Guatemala’s indigenous Maya people form the base of Guatemalan culture, and their large indigenous presence is perhaps what makes Guatemala most standout from other Central American countries. The surviving Maya people not only give a face to the country, but to much of its history as well. The magic in Guatemala’s history comes from the Maya and from the people of Guatemala as a whole, for they are people who continue to celebrate life in the face of adversity. Throughout the history of Guatemala, wars over land and power characterize the tragic. Thankfully, the democratic society that many Guatemalans desire to adhere themselves to is becoming more and more a reality.
Guatemala History first sees proof of human settlers
as far back as 10,000 BC, with possible human activity
as far back as 18,000 BC. Predominantly hunters and gatherers,
these original inhabitants only begin to establish more
permanent settlements near the beginning of the Pre-Classic
Era. Pre-Columbian Guatemala history is divided into 3
periods, with the Pre-Classic Era lasting from 2000 BC
to 250 AD. The period from 250 AD to 900 AD is known as
the Classic Era, and the Post-Classic Era covers from
900 to 1500 AD. During the Pre-Classic Era, the first
nation states and cities were being formed. It is also
a period that sees the first examples of the large scale
architecture that characterizes the ceremonial ancient
Maya. The Pre-Classic period highlights the important
early Maya cities that flourished during this time, among
them El Mirador. Among the
more interesting Guatemala facts, El Mirador was not only
the most populated pre-Colombian city in the Americas,
but also the region’s first politically organized
state. During the Classic Era, Teotihuacan,
found near present day Mexico
City, replaced El Mirador as the prime Mesoamerican
power. The greatest Maya cities from this era were Tikal,
Palenque (Mexico)
and Copán (Honduras). By this time, the Maya had
already established the most advanced form of writing
in the New World, as well as developed their mathematic
and artistic genius. During the Post-Classic Era, the
ancient Mayan civilizations begin their mysterious fall
and as the Aztecs begin their domination of Mesoamerica,
the coming of the Spanish conquistadors changes everything.
Beginning expeditions to Guatemala by 1518, the first
Spanish visitors came under a friendly guise. However,
before long their arrival would unleash a smallpox endemic
that had rather unfortunate effects on the native populations.
Having conquered Mexico, Hernán Cortés would
authorize Gonzalo de Alvarado and his brother Pedro de
Alvarado to conquer Guatemala. Pedro de Alvarado was an
especially ruthless soldier who used warring Maya factions
to his advantage. Entering from the Pacific coast, he
would cause wide-scale death and destruction on his way
to Quetzaltenango. His
newly conquered lands were called the Kingdom of Guatemala.
At the time, this kingdom extended from Chiapas, Mexico
down to Panama. The capital of this new Spanish territory
would be moved to Antigua
by 1543, then subsequently re-located to its present spot
in 1776, due to earthquakes that damaged much of Antigua.
After Alvarado died in a war in Mexico, the army and monks
he left behind withheld the territory, often failing to
convert the surviving Maya to Christianity. The ornate
churches and cathedrals the Spanish built in Guatemala
were often supplied by the Maya temples they destroyed,
which figures among the uglier Guatemala facts. Near the
end of the 18th century, the Spanish would lose interest
in Guatemala, finding little silver or gold. They would
relinquish their hold over the area, however, causing
great civil unrest in the 1800's. Among the most important
dates in Guatemala history is September 15, 1821, when
the country declared its independence from Spain. Around
this time, Central America began to split from Spanish
Mexico, forming separate countries.
Corrupt officials, shifting land ownership and coups would characterize the following decades leading up to the beginning of the Guatemalan Civil War in 1960. The United States and the American-owned United Fruit Company were partly to blame for building unrest, as their control of land and other assets drew stark contrast between them and the starving Guatemalan people. By 1960, the seeds of rebellion had been sowed, and the Guatemalan Civil War began to slowly build. In 1961, left-wing military personnel staged a rebellion against the American-backed government, and Guatemala facts show that America’s sending of arms to the Guatemalan army only helped to flame the fire. As was the case throughout Latin America, the Civil War, which lasted until 1996 caused the death or disappearance of thousands, many of whom were innocent. Among the Although tensions remain to this day, the war officially ended with the peace treaties that were signed after the election of Alvaro Arzu, then leader of the leftist and indigenous National Advancement Party. As continuing democracy seems like it will be the way of the future, Guatemalan culture and tourism appear to be making positive strides.
