History of Guatemala
Prior to becoming the country of Guatemala, the region was populated by various Mayan and Olmec cultures extending the development of the region to be between 8000 to 2000 BCE which is called the Archaic period in which the population survived on subsistence farming. The Early Preclassic Period from 2000 BCE to 250 AD, during this period there is gradual development of agriculture and basic forms of pottery. Toward the Middle Preclassic period small cities begin to form giving rise to the Classic Period from 250 AD to 900 AD. This period is compared to that of classical Greece or Renaissance Italy in which multiple city-states engage in a complex network of alliances. This is the time when the Mayan civilization flourished. Great cities were built and highly developed societies emerged.
In 1530 Pedro de Alvarado who was a conquistador was initially helped by the Kaqchikel people. This alliance did not last because the Kaqchikel did not like the excessive tribute demanded by the Spanish. By the 13th of March, 1697 the remaining independent Mayan groups were defeated. This began the colonization of Guatemala by the Spaniards. In 1821 conflicts in the Americas start to weaken the Spanish empire and begin to start the independence movement in Central America. In 1826 to 1829 the Central American Civil War erupts and Guatemala and the rest of Central America sign the Declaration of Independence of Central America from the Spanish empire. This led to a succession of leaders who strived for control of the country.
Many were not democratically elected. In 1951 Jacobo Arbenz Guzman was elected to the presidency. Arbenz was a Christian Socialist who tried to install reforms and was influenced by Franklin D. Roosevelt. Arbenz made progress with his reforms but with the agrarian reforms which redistributed large holdings of unused land to peasants. This angered the United Fruit Company because these were lands that were owned by them. The US State Department supported United Fruit Company's complaints and a coup d'état ensues to remove President Arbenz from the presidency. Operation PBFortune was the name of the covert United States operation the overthrow the democratically elected president. This operation was authorized by President Harry Truman and planned by the Central Intelligence Agency. Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas takes control and becomes the next president from 1954 to 1957. President Armas reversed all of the land reforms enacted by Arbenz. On July 26, 1957 Armas is assassinated. After his assassination a series military dictatorships take control of the government. This leads to the Guatemalan Civil War in 1960 between the US supported government and leftist rebels which ended in 1996. The Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca, URNC) and the presidency of Alvaro Arzu signed peace agreements to stop the war. Guatemala is struggling with a legacy of violence and corruption to this day.
This leads to the Guatemalan Civil War in 1960 between the US supported government and leftist rebels which ended in 1996. The Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca, URNC) and the presidency of Alvaro Arzu signed peace agreements to stop the war. Guatemala is struggling with a legacy of violence and corruption to this day.