The territory of modern Guatemala hosted the core of the Maya civilization, which extended across Mesoamerica; in the 16th century, most of this was conquered by the Spanish and claimed as part of the viceroyaltyofNew Spain. Guatemala attained independence from Spain and Mexico in 1821. From 1823 to 1841, it was part of the Federal Republic of Central America.
For the latter half of the 19th century, Guatemala suffered instability and civil strife. From the early 20th century, it was ruled by a series of dictators backed by the United States. In 1944, authoritarian leader Jorge Ubico was overthrown by a pro-democratic military coup, initiating a decade-long revolution that led to social and economic reforms. In 1954, a US-backed military coup 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 Guatemalan military. The United Nations negotiated a peace accord, resulting in economic growth and successive democratic elections.
Guatemala's abundance of biologically significant and unique ecosystems includes many endemic species and contributes to Mesoamerica's designation as a biodiversity hotspot.
Although rich in export goods, around a quarter of the population (4.6 million) face food insecurity. Other extant major issues include poverty, crime, corruption, drug trafficking, and civil instability.
With an estimated population of around 17.6 million,0 Guatemala is the most populous country in Central America, the 4th most populous country in North America and the 11th most populous country in the Americas. Its capital and largest city, Guatemala City, is the most populous city in Central America. (Full article...)
... that the Adelaide L. T. Douglas House, built for a New York City socialite, housed the United States Olympic Committee before being sold to Guatemala?
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El Chal is a pre-ColumbianMaya archaeological site located in the upper San Juan River valley of the southeastern Petén Basin region, Guatemala. The site is situated in the municipality of El Chal, lying some 600 metres (2,000 ft) to the south of the municipal seat also called El Chal.
El Chal was occupied from approximately 300 BC through to 1300 AD (from the Late Preclassic through to the Early Postclassic Periods of Mesoamerican chronology), although some Middle Preclassic activity has been identified in the acropolis. The Late Preclassic occupation of the city was concentrated around an E-Group ceremonial complex some 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of the later site core. The site's major period of occupation was during the Late Classic Period, when it was an important centre in the southeastern Petén region. Among the structures at the site is a large quadrangular residential complex, a structural type that is uncommonly found at Southern Maya lowland sites although there is a smaller one with similar characteristics at Machaquilá. (Full article...)
Image 9View 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
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El Señor Presidente (Mister President) is a 1946 novel written in Spanish by Nobel Prize-winning Guatemalan writer and diplomat Miguel Ángel Asturias (1899–1974). A landmark text in Latin American literature, El Señor Presidente explores the nature of political dictatorship and its effects on society. Asturias makes early use of a literary technique now known as magic realism. One of the most notable works of the dictator novel genre, El Señor Presidente developed from an earlier Asturias short story, written to protest social injustice in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in the author's home town.
Although El Señor Presidente does not explicitly identify its setting as early twentieth-century Guatemala, the novel's title character was inspired by the 1898–1920 presidency of Manuel Estrada Cabrera. Asturias began writing the novel in the 1920s and finished it in 1933, but the strict censorship policies of Guatemalan dictatorial governments delayed its publication for thirteen years. (Full article...)
The following are images from various Guatemala-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1Coat of Arms of the Republic of Guatemala between 1858 and 1871. A replica was carved on the front side of the Carrera theater before it was remodeled in 1892. (from History of Guatemala)
Image 2The Jurun Marinalá power plant was conceived during the Arbenz government to compete with the generation of the Electricity Company of Guatemala, which at that time was an American company and was using foreign oil instead of natural resources in Guatemala. Construction was not completed until 1968, fourteen years after Arbenz was removed in a CIA sponsored coup d'état. (from History of Guatemala)
Image 4Map of railway lines in Guatemala and El Salvador, which were owned by the IRCA, the subsidiary of the United Fruit Company that controlled the railroad in both countries, while the only Atlantic port was controlled by the Great White Fleet, also a UFCO's company (from History of Guatemala)
Image 7Guatemala territory during Rafael Carrera and Vicente Cerna conservative regimes. Soconusco territories were given to México in exchange for their support to the Liberal revolution in 1871 by Herrera-Mariscal treaty of 1882. (from History of Guatemala)
Image 13General Carrera portrait celebrating the foundation of the Republic of Guatemala in 1847 (from History of Guatemala)
Image 14Captain General Rafael Carrera after being appointed president for life of the Republic of Guatemala in 1854 (from History of Guatemala)
Image 15Guatemalan National Penitentiary, built by Barrios to incarcerate and torture his political enemies (from History of Guatemala)
Image 16Marinalá power plant advertisement during Arbenz government (from History of Guatemala)
Image 17Route Map of the Great White Fleet of the United Fruit Company, which had the monopoly of freight and passenger maritime transportante to and from Puerto Barrios in Guatemala since 1903 (from History of Guatemala)
Image 18Plaza Central of Antigua Guatemala in 1829. The old『Palacio de la Capitanía General』was still destroyed after the 1773 earthquake. (from History of Guatemala)
Image 19Finance Center in 2011. In 1981, a powerful bomb exploded in the basement of the building, leaving it without windows for several years. The owners -Industrial Bank- decided to keep it open to the public to defy the leftist guerrilla. (from History of Guatemala)
Image 21Central America in the 16th century before Spanish conquest (from History of Guatemala)
Image 221861 map of the boundary between British Honduras (now Belize) and Guatemala (from History of Guatemala)
Image 23Chiltepe, a common pepper used on some Guatemalan dishes. (from Culture of Guatemala)
Image 24Day laborers pay day in Santa Rosa, ca. 1890, according to the Day Laborer Regulations established by Barrios (from History of Guatemala)
Image 25Criollos rejoice upon learning about the declaration of independence on 15 September 1821. Painting by Rafael Beltranena. (from History of Guatemala)
Image 26Proclamation Coin 1847 of the independent Republic of Guatemala (from History of Guatemala)
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