Guatemala City Map Map extracted from Google Images

Text Source: WikiPedia.com
Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala (Spanish: República de Guatemala, is a country in Central America, in the south part of North America, bordering Mexico to the northwest, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize and the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast.

History

The first proof of human settlers in Guatemala goes back to 10,000 BC. Although there are some evidences not yet clearly proved that put this date at 18,000 BC, some obsidian arrow heads have been found in different parts of Guatemala such as, Piedra Parada near Guatemala city, Chivacabé in Huehuetenango, Chajbal in El Quiché, Nahualá in Sololá, and other regions. They were hunters and gatherers, there is archeological proof in pollen samples from Petén and the Pacific coast that maize (Corn) crops were developed around 3500 BC. Archaic sites have been documented in Quiché in the Highlands and Sipacate, Escuintla on the central pacific coast line (6500 BC) By 2500.BC, small settlements were developing in Guatemala’s Pacific Lowlands, places as Tilapa, La Blanca,Ocós, El Mesak, Ujuxte, and others, where the oldest ceramic pottery from Guatemala have been found. From 2000 BC heavy concentration of pottery in the Pacific Coast Line has been documented. Recent excavations suggest that the Highlands were a geographic and temporal bridge between Early Preclassic villages of the Pacific coast and later Petén lowlands cities

Recent excavations in the Antigua Valley, at Urías and Rucal, have yielded stratified materials for the Early and Middle Preclassic, the first pottery in the Antigua Valley is very well made and not simply a copy of either coastal or piedmont types. Their paste analyses, however, indicate that the vessels were made on clays from different environmental zones, suggesting to them that these were people from the Pacific coast who expanded into the Antigua Guatemala Valley. There are at least 5000 archaeological sites in Guatemala, 3000 of them in Petén alone.

In Monte Alto near La Democracia, Escuintla some giant stone heads and Potbellies (Barrigones) have been found, Dated at 1800 BC, the so named Monte Alto Culture, they are classified as Pre-Olmec, letting the door open to the opinion of some scholars, that the Olmec Culture was born in that area of the Pacific Lowlands, although the size is the only relation with the posterior dated Olmec heads, it is more accurate to say that the Monte Alto Culture was the first Complex Culture of Mesoamérica and the Predecessors of all the other cultures. In Guatemala, there are some sites with unmistaken Olmec style, such as Chocolá in Suchitepéquez, La Corona, in Cotzumalguapa, and Tak'alik A´baj, in Retalhuleu, that is the only ancient City in America with Olmec and Mayan features. The renown Archeologist Dr. Richard Hansen, the director of the archaeological project of The Mirador Basin is sure that the Maya at Mirador Basin developed the first True political state in America, (Tha Kan Kingdom), around 1500 BC, although Maize (corn) pollen samples have been documented in lakes in the area dated in 2400 BC, not as thought before that the Olmec was the mother culture in Mesoamerica, he thinks, due to recent finding at Mirador Basin, Northern Petén, Guatemala, that the Olmec and Mayas developed its cultures, separately, and merged in some places like Tak'alik Abaj on the Pacific Low Lands; there is no evidence yet to link the Pre Classic Maya from Petén and those from the Pacific coast, but undoubtedly, they had cultural and economical links. Northern Guatemala has particularly high densities of Late Pre-classic sites, including Naachtún, Xulnal, El Mirador, Porvenir, Pacaya, La Muralla, Nakbé, Tintal, Wakná (formerly Güiro), Uaxactún, and Tikal. Of these, El Mirador, Tikal, Nakbé, Tintal, Xulnal and Wakná are the largest in the Maya world, Such size was manifested not only in the extent of the site, but also in the volume or monumentality, especially in the construction of immense platforms to support large temples. Many sites of this era display monumental masks for the first time (Uaxactún, El Mirador, Cival, Tikal and Nakbé ). These masks often seem to depict powerful natural forces such as Sun and Earth The Archeologist divide the cultural History of Mesoamerica in 3 periods: The Pre-Classic from 2000 BC to 250 AD, (Early: 2000 BC to 800 BC, Middle: 800 to 400 BC, and Late 400 BC to 250 AD), Classic from 250 to 900 AD, (Early 250 to 550 AD, Middle from 550 to 700 AD and Late 700 to 900 AD), and Post Classic from 900 to 1500 AD, (Early 900 to 1200 AD, and Late 1200 to 1500 AD)

Until a few years ago, the Pre Classic, was thought to be a formative period, with small villages of farmers, that lived in huts, and few permanent buildings, but this concept has been proved to be a big mistake, due to recent findings all over Guatemala, such as an altar in La Blanca, San Marcos, some 3 mt. in diameter from 1000 BC; Ceremonial sites at Miraflores, and El Naranjo from 800 BC, near Kaminal Juyú, in Guatemala City, El Portón in Baja Verapaz, The Mural paintings in San Bartolo, Petén, the Stucco Masks and monuments in Cival and of course The Mirador Basin major cities of Nakbé, Xulnal, Tintal, Wakná and Mirador, the Cradle of the Maya Civilization, where, the cities were not only numerous, but very sophisticated, and developed, with architectonic structures from 1400 BC, indeed the two biggest cities of the Maya Civilization (El Mirador and Tintal) are there, with the same religious believes, astronomical, mathematics and writing knowledge that those in the Classic period.

The city of El Mirador was the biggest city in ancient America, has the largest pyramid in the world, at 2,800,000 Mt2 of volume (some 200,000 more than the Giza pyramid in Egypt), and was by far the most populated city in the pre-Columbian America. In fact, Mirador was the first politically organized state in America, named the Kan Kingdom in ancient texts. There were 26 cities, some bigger than Tikal, the Jewel of the Classic period, all connected by huge Sacbeob (plural for highways ), or Sacbé (singular), meaning "White road", several km long and up to 40 mts. wide and 2 to 4 mts. above the ground, paved with stucco, that are clearly distinguishable from the air in the most extensive virgin tropical rain forest left in Mesoamerica, thus, these were kingdoms equal in power and culture to those in Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, etc.

The Classic is represented by countless sites, mainly in Petén, although there are Classic sites in any region in Guatemala, The Post Classic is represented by different kingdoms like the Itzá and Ko'woj in the Lakes area in Petén that were the last cultures in Mesoamérica to be conquered by the Spaniards on 1697 when Tayasal capital of the Itzá fell; and, by the Mam, Ki'ch'es, Kack'chiquel, Tz'utuh'il, Pokom'chí, Kek'chi and Chortí among others in the Highlands, Izabal, Petén and the Pacific Lowlands that kept the essential believes of the Maya Civilization but don't reach the splendour of the Pre Classic and Classic cities. In fact, they still retain the use of not only their languages, but also their believes and cosmology., even more they use the Tzolk'in calendar in their ceremonies and for crops.
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Colonial Period

The name Guatemala, was derived from Cuauhtemalan, meaning the land of many trees, the name that the Tlaxcaltecs Indians that came with the Spaniards gave to Iximché, the capital of the Cack'chik'el tribe,(cakchiquel), and generalized to name the country, by the Spaniards.

There were peaceful expeditions, since 1518, and, as mentioned in the "Memorial de Sololá", a deadly epidemic killed thousands in the country (by the descriptions, most certainly Viruela, Spanish smallpox). Hernán Cortés granted a permit to Captain Pedro de Alvarado, to conquer this land. On December 6, 1523, He leaves Tenochtitlán, with 120 Cavalry, 160 crossbowers and riflemans, 4 heavy artillery pieces, and 300 infantry men, along with 20,000 tlaxcaltec, cholulas, and mexicas. He entered Guatemala from soconusco on the Pacific lowlands, to a place named Xetulul Humbatz, (Zapotitlan), and started its conquest in Xepau Olintepeque, when the Kiche's 72,000 men, leaded by Tecún Umán, (now Guatemala's national heroe), was killed by Pedro de Alvarado, then he went to Gumarcaj, (Utatlan),the Kiche' Capitol, burning it on March 7, 1524. He then proceed to Iximche, and established near there in Tecpan on July 25, 1524, to launch several campaigns to other cities, as Chuitinamit the Capitol of the Tzutuhils,(1524), Mixco Viejo, capitol of the Pokomams, and Zaculeu, Capitol of the Mams, (1525). He was named Captain General in 1527. the battles with the Kak'chik'els continued up to 1530, the last battles were on 1548 when the Kek'chí in Nueva Sevilla , Izabal where defeated. Fray Bartolome de las Casas, pacified the Keck'chí in Alta Verapaz without violence.

During the colonial period, Guatemala was a Captaincy General (Capitanía General de Goathemala) of Spain, and a part of New Spain (Mexico). It extended from the Soconusco region - now in southern Mexico (states of Chiapas, Tabasco) - to Costa Rica. This region was not as rich in minerals (gold and silver) as Mexico and Peru, and was therefore not considered to be as important. Its main products were sugarcane, cocoa, blue añil dye, red dye from cochineal insects, and precious woods used in artwork for churches and palaces in Spain.

The first Capital was named Tecpan Goatemalan, founded in July 25, 1524 with the name of Villa de Santiado de Goathemala) and was located near Iximché, the Kak'chik'el's Capitol City, It was moved to Ciudad Vieja on November 22 1527, when the Kak'chik'el attacked the city. in September 11, 1541 the city was flooded when the lagoon in the crater of the Agua Volcano collapsed due to heavy rains and earthquakes, and was moved 4 miles to Antigua Guatemala,on the Panchoy Valley, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This City was destroyed by several earthquakes in 1773-1774, and the King of Spain, granted the authorization to move the Captaincy General, to the Ermita Valley, named after a Catholic Church to the Virgen de El Carmen, in its current location, founded in January 2, 1776.
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Modern Period

Dictator Jorge Ubico was forced to resign his office on July 4, 1944 in response to a wave of protests and a general strike. His replacement, General Juan Federico Ponce Vaides, was later forced out of office by a coup de etat led by Major Francisco Javier Arana and Captain Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán on October 20, 1944. About 100 people were killed in the coup. Arana and Arbenz called Guatemala's first free election, which was won with a majority of 85 per cent by the prominent writer and teacher Juan José Arévalo, who had lived in exile in Mexico for 14 years. Arévalo was the first democratically-elected president of Guatemala to fully complete the term for which he was elected. His "Christian Socialist" policies, inspired by the U.S. New Deal, were criticized by landowners and the upper class as communist.

This period was also the beginning of Cold War between the U.S. and the USSR, which was to have a considerable influence on Guatemalan history. From the 1950s (with a suspension of military aid between 1977 and 1996), the US government directly supported Guatemala's army with training, weapons and money. The United States Army Special Forces (Green Berets) were sent to Guatemala to transform its army into a "modern counter-insurgency force" and made it the most powerful and sophisticated in Central America. CIA involvement included the training of 5,000 Cubans opposed to Fidel Castro and airstrips in its territory for what later became the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion in 1961.

In 1954, Arévalo's freely-elected Guatemalan successor Jacobo Arbenz was overthrown by a small group of Guatemalans, MLN, backed by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), after the government expropriated by a decree (No.900), land owned by private sector and the United Fruit Company, a U.S.-based banana merchant. The CIA codename for the coup was Operation PBSUCCESS, its second successful overthrow of a foreign government after the 1953 coup in Iran. It begun from Honduras and gained popular support, and finally the Arbenz government fell to the MLN. The subsequent military rule, beginning with Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas, that was murdered by a member of its personal guard on 1957, in the election that follow, General Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes, assumed power, he is most celebrated for challenging the Mexican president to a gentleman’s duel on the bridge on the south border to end a feud on the subject of illegal fishing by Mexican boats on Guatemala's pacific coast ( two of those sinked by the Guatemalan Air Force). His corrupt government was ousted on 1963 when the Air Force, attacked several Military bases, led by his Defence Minister Colonel Enrigue Peralta Azurdia, the same year, a group of young Officials of the Army initiated a Marxist Movement named FAR, they where supported by the clandestine Communist party PGT. On 1966 was elected Miguel Angel Méndez Montenegro, a member of the PR, the same party of Arévalo and Arbenz. The FAR, supported by Cuba's Dictator Fidel Castro, begun their bloody movement on the Eastern Highlands and the Motagua Valley region, mainly attacking businessman and land owner, killing them or asking ransom in order to avoid being kill. The US Ambassador John Gordon Mein as well as the German ambassador Karl Von Spretti, where murdered by the FAR,(Germany's government broke relationships with Guatemala, because of this, due to the refusal of the Guatemalan Government to free Guerrilla leaders in exchange of the German Ambassador). On 1970 Colonel Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio, defeated the FAR and was elected president, the guerrilla was almost eliminated, and they move to the Western Highlands, due to the lack of popular support on the eastern part of the country, on 1974 General Kjell Lauguerud was elected, defeating the Socialist from the DC party, and General Efraín Ríos Mont, that proclaimed fraud, but accepted a diplomatic job in Spain. In February 4, 1976, a Major Earthquake, destroyed several cities and caused more than 25,000 deaths. In 1977, the guerrilla started again its attacks to the private sector, now as the EGP, followed by the ORPA, and FAR, that led to a bloody conflict, when more than 150,000 civilians where killed in massacres committed by the Army and the Guerrilla,[3] the kidnapping and killing of the private sector, was the every day dues of the Guerrilla, asking the so called "War Tax" and killing those who refuse to pay. In 1978 in a fraudulent election General Romeo Lucas García assumed the power. In 1980 a group of Quiche indians took over the Spanish embassy in Guatemala City, taking hostage diplomatic personnel. Even though the Spanish government wanted the occupation to be ended through negotiations and strictly forbade an assault on its embassy, the Guatemalan government launched an assault that killed almost everyone insideas a result of a fire that consumed the building. The Guatemalan government claimed that the indians set the fire and immolated themselves. However, the Spanish ambassador, who survived the fire, indicated that the Guatemalan police intentionally killed almost everyone inside and set the fire to erase traces of their acts. As a result of this violation of international law and human rights, the government of Spain broke diplomatic relations with Guatemala (the only time that such act has taken place between Spain and one of its former colonies in modern times).This corrupt government was overthrown on 1981 when another fraudulent election was not supported by the people and the army. General Efraín Ríos Mont was named President of the "Junta Militar", initiating its bloody campaigning of rampant torture, disappearances, "scorched earth" warfare and many other brutal methods, the country became a pariah state internationally. He was overthrow by General Mejía Víctores, that called for a free election of an "Asamblea Nacional Constituyente" to redact a new constitution, leading to a free election in 1986, that was won by Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo.

On the late 80's the four Guerrilla groups, EGP, ORPA, FAR and PGT, merged and formed the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity URNG, influenced by the El Salvadorian guerrilla FMLN, the Nicaraguan FSLN and Cuba's Government, in order to become stronger. During the "scorched earth" era more than 45,000 Guatemalans leave the country going to Mexico, were they where gathered in Communities by the Mexican Government in Chiapas and Tabasco.

In 1992, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Rigoberta Menchú, an indigenous human rights activist, ling in Mexico DF for her efforts to bring international attention to the government-sponsored genocide against the indigenous population.

The bloody 35-year war ended in 1996 with a peace accord between the guerrillas and the government of President Álvaro Arzú, negotiated by the United Nations. Both sides made major concessions. The Guerrilla fighters gave away less than 1,000 arms (Most of those very old), and received land to work. According to the U.N.-sponsored Truth Commission, government forces and paramilitaries were responsible for over 93% [4] of the human rights violations during the war. During the first 10 years, the victims of the state-sponsored terror were primarily students, workers, professionals, and opposition figures of all political tendencies, but in the last years, they were thousands of mostly rural Mayan farmers and non-combatants. More than 450 Mayan villages were destroyed and over 250,000 people became refugees. This is considered one of the worst ethnic cleansings in modern Latin America. In certain areas, such as Baja Verapaz, the Truth Commission considered that the Guatemalan state engaged in an intentional policy of genocide against particular ethnic groups Civil War [5]. In 1999, then US president Bill Clinton stated that the United States was wrong to have provided support to Guatemalan military forces that took part in the brutal civilian killings [6].

Since the peace accord, Guatemala has enjoyed successive democratic elections, most recently in 2003. The current government has made serious efforts to end the corruption in the public sector, and have successfully signed free trade agreements with the US, Mexico and Panama.
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