Portal:Guatemala
The Guatemala portal
Guatemala (/ˌɡwɑːtəˈmɑːlə/ (
listen) GWAH-tə-MAH-lə; Spanish: [gwateˈmala] (listen)), officially the Republic of Guatemala (Spanish: República de Guatemala), is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, Belize and the Caribbean to the northeast, Honduras to the east, El Salvador to the southeast and the Pacific Ocean to the south. With an estimated population of around 16.6 million, it is the most populated country in Central America. Guatemala is a representative democracy; its capital and largest city is Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción, also known as Guatemala City.
The territory of modern Guatemala once formed the core of the Maya civilization, which extended across Mesoamerica. Most of the country was conquered by the Spanish in the 16th century, becoming part of the viceroyalty of New Spain. Guatemala attained independence in 1821 as part of the Federal Republic of Central America, which dissolved by 1841.
From the mid to late 19th century, Guatemala experienced chronic instability and civil strife. Beginning in the early 20th century, it was ruled by a series of dictators backed by the United Fruit Company and the United States government. In 1944, authoritarian leader Jorge Ubico was overthrown by a pro-democratic military coup, initiating a decade-long revolution that led to sweeping social and economic reforms. A U.S.-backed military coup in 1954 ended the revolution and installed a dictatorship.
From 1960 to 1996, Guatemala endured a bloody civil war fought between the US-backed government and leftist rebels, including genocidal massacres of the Maya population perpetrated by the military. Since a United Nations-negotiated peace accord, Guatemala has witnessed both economic growth and successful democratic elections, though it continues to struggle with high rates of poverty, crime, drug trade, and instability. , Guatemala ranks 31st of 33 Latin American and Caribbean countries in terms of the Human Development Index.
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The Spanish conquest of Petén was the last stage of the conquest of Guatemala, a prolonged conflict during the Spanish colonisation of the Americas. A wide lowland plain covered with dense rainforest, Petén contains a central drainage basin with a series of lakes and areas of savannah. It is crossed by several ranges of low karstic hills and rises to the south as it nears the Guatemalan Highlands. The conquest of Petén, a region now incorporated into the modern republic of Guatemala, climaxed in 1697 with the capture of Nojpetén, the island capital of the Itza kingdom, by Martín de Ursúa y Arizmendi. With the defeat of the Itza, the last independent and unconquered native kingdom in the Americas fell to European colonisers.
Sizeable Maya populations existed in Petén before the conquest, particularly around the central lakes and along the rivers. Petén was divided into different Maya polities engaged in a complex web of alliances and enmities. The most important groups around the central lakes were the Itza, the Yalain and the Kowoj. Other groups with territories in Petén included the Kejache, the Acala, the Lakandon Chʼol, the Xocmo, the Chinamita, the Icaiche and the Manche Chʼol. Read more...
Did you know...
- The cult of Maximón (or San Simón) in the highlands of Western Guatemala venerates a cigar-smoking effigy with offerings of money, alcoholic spirits and tobacco.
- Remittances are the major source of foreign income for Guatemala, accounting for more than the combined value of exports and tourism.
- El Mirador was by far the most populated city in Pre-Columbian America and contains the second largest pyramid in the world by volume.
- Tecún Umán, a legendary king of the K'iche-Maya people, is controversially acclaimed as Guatemala's national hero.
- The Guatemalan Revolution, which lasted from 1944 to 1954, included an agrarian reform program that granted land to half a million landless peasants.
- Mano Blanca was an anti-communist death squad set up and run by the Guatemalan military with considerable assistance from the United States.
- Communist leader José Manuel Fortuny was a friend and adviser to Guatemalan President Jacobo Árbenz.
- The United States Central Intelligence Agency deposed the democratically elected government of Guatemala in 1954.
Subcategories
WikiProjects
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A low impact trail built for ecotourists to protect an archeological site in Guatemala
View from the top of the Lost World Pyramid, Temple IV on the right and top of pyramid 5C-49 (also known as the Talud-Tablero Temple) in the Plaza of the Lost World
Lake Atitlán, from a dock in San Juan La Laguna
A view of the beach in Livingston, Guatemala
A view of Flores, El Petén
Station and Customs of Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, Northern Railway, 1896
A camioneta or chicken bus, a typical mode of transportation in Guatemala
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Departments
Guatemala is divided into 22 departments (departamentos) and sub-divided into about 332 municipalities (municipios).
The departments include:
Guatemala news
The current date and time in Guatemala is Saturday, August 17, 2019, 06:25.
News media:
- The Guatemala Times
- La Prensa Libre (in Spanish)
- Wikinews Guatemala portal
Topics
Related portals
Things you can do
Here are some things you can do for WikiProject Guatemala:
- Create requested articles:
- El Viejo Palmar -- Village south of Quetzaltenango, hit by a volcanic eruption
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