Colonial Period

After Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztec Empire in Mexico in 1519, he sent his lieutenant, Pedro de Alvarado, to invade Guatemala in 1523 Alvarado led a small Spanish force and thousands of indigenous Mexican allies. Alvarado found the native Guatemalans engaged in civil war and already suffering from diseases introduced by Europeans, which were spreading over the Americas even more rapidly than Spain's armies. He formed an alliance with the Cakchiquels to defeat the Quiché. Alvarado then faced a four-year rebellion of the Cakchiquels, which he suppressed by 1528, and established Spanish rule over the region.

The group led by Captain Pedro de Alvarado entered through the Western side. They immediately faced the k'iches, and later briefly allied themselves with the kaqchikeles. The first town was founded on July 25, 1524 near to Iximché, capital of the kaqchikeles, obtaining the name “Santiago de Guatemala” in honor of the revered apostle.

On November 22, 1527 this city was moved to the Valley of Almolonga (today San Miguel Escobar, Sacatepéquez), due to the constant siege that they were suffering from the natives attacks. The city was destroyed during the dawn of September 11, 1541 by an avalanche of mud and stones coming from the top of the Volcan de Agua (Volcano Hunahpú, as it was generally known by the indigenous people), that buried the capital of the region and the majority of their inhabitants including Governor Mrs. Beatriz de la Cueva, widow of Pedro de Alvarado. This forced the city to be moved again near Valle of Panchoy, approximately 6 km further down, to the region known today as Antigua Guatemala. It served as the capital to the kingdom of Guatemala up to its transfer in 1775 to the Valley of the Chapel, current place of the capital. King Felipe II of Spain and Portugal and the Indias granted it the name of “very noble and very loyal City of Santiago of the Gentlemen of Goathemala."

During the almost 300 years of Spanish domination, Guatemala was a kingdom of great character (General Captaincy of the Kingdom of Guatemala) and was dependent on the Virreinato of the New Spain (today Mexico). Guatemala’s territory extended from the region of Chiapas (now Mexican territory) up to Costa Rica. During this period, the borders between the different provinces changed quite often. Mid-way through the 17th century, the kingdom had 32 provinces, 12 of which were in the territory that today constitutes the Republic of Guatemala: the valley of Guatemala, where the City of Santiago used to be, High Court of Justice; the Alcaldias de Amatique, Suchitepéquez and Verapaz, Corregimientos de Acasaguastlán, Atitlán, Chiquimula, Escuintla, Guazacapán, Quetzaltenango, Sololá (Tecpanatitlán) and Totonicapán.

This region was as rich in minerals and metals as Mexico, Bolivia and Peru. Nevertheless, it stood out principally for its agricultural production. Principal resources were sugar-cane, cocoa, natural wood resources, and indigo ink used to dye textiles. The city of Santiago of Guatemala went so far as to develop a notable level in architecture characterized as “baroque”, found in religious imagery, painting, and music. Daily life revolved around liturgical festivities, which focused mainly on religion. Cathedrals were the center of all religious activities, and possessed a life of extraordinary intensity.

On July 21, 1775, always vulnerable to natural disasters, the city of Antigua Guatemala had to be moved again, after being destroyed by two earthquakes (the remnants were later preserved as a Central Gov monument). The City of Guatemala was founded officially on January 2, 1776, and went on to become the largest and most populated city of the whole isthmus.

Towards the end of the 18th century, after turning into a Governor-based region, the number of provinces went down to 15, 9 of which are in the current territory of Guatemala: the Alcaldias of Chimaltenango, Escuintla, Sacatepéquez, Sololá, Suchitepéquez, Totonicapán and Verapaz, and the Corregimientos de Chiquimula and Quetzaltenango.

After the Cadiz Constitution was instituted in 1812, the kingdom of Guatemala disappeared and was replaced by two provinces: that of Province of Guatemala, which included the territory of Chiapas, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, and the Province of Nicaragua and Costa Rica. In 1821, during the second stage of this Constitution, the Provinces of Comayagua (Honduras), Chiapas and El Salvador separated from the Province of Guatemala.

Several Spanish conquerors competed for control of the Central American isthmus until the Spanish monarchy united the entire region as an audiencia (Superior Court) in 1542. Territorial adjustments followed, but by 1570 the audiencia, also called the Kingdom of Guatemala, had jurisdiction from what is now Chiapas State in Mexico to Costa Rica. The kingdom was officially part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, the large colonial territory based in Mexico. But a captain general, appointed by the Spanish king, ruled the kingdom from its capital at Santiago de Guatemala (today known as Antigua Guatemala). Guatemala became the center of government, commerce, and religion in the region, as well as the major province of the kingdom. Devastating earthquakes struck the city in 1773, causing officials to move the capital to present-day Guatemala City in 1776.

Colonial Guatemala produced relatively little of value for the Spanish Empire, except for a little cacao, until the 18th century. At that time the monarchy, seeking to raise more money from its colonies, instituted measures known as the Bourbon Reforms to stimulate greater export production. In Central America, this especially affected El Salvador, which began producing large amounts of indigo for dye. El Salvador belonged to the province of Guatemala until 1786, when Spanish administrative reforms established it as a separate unit of the kingdom. Chiapas, Honduras, and Nicaragua were also made separate units, while Guatemala remained a province. This reform defined the future independent states of Central America.

Guatemala City remained the capital of the kingdom, but the loss of indigo-rich El Salvador was a blow to the power of the Guatemalan merchant elite. The provinces gained even more autonomy from 1810 to 1814, while Spain was occupied by French troops during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1812 an interim Spanish government adopted a liberal constitution that granted the colonists greater participation in government and representation in Spain. During this time, independence movements began in many of Spain's American colonies.