Central America · Independence and the federations
Guatemala
1821/1838–present
Guatemala declared independence on 15 September 1821 and became a separate republic after the federation's collapse (1838–1839); its capital is Guatemala City. The early republic was dominated by the conservative caudillo Rafael Carrera (in power 1838–1865, president-for-life from 1854), who rolled back liberal reforms, protected the Church and the indigenous peasantry that had backed him, and crushed the breakaway state of Los Altos.
- Existed
- 1821/1838–present
- Shown on the map
- 1840–2024
- Peak area
- 110k km²
- Region
- Central America
Overview
Guatemala declared independence on 15 September 1821 and became a separate republic after the federation's collapse (1838–1839); its capital is Guatemala City. The early republic was dominated by the conservative caudillo Rafael Carrera (in power 1838–1865, president-for-life from 1854), who rolled back liberal reforms, protected the Church and the indigenous peasantry that had backed him, and crushed the breakaway state of Los Altos. A liberal era later followed under Justo Rufino Barrios. The 20th century saw the reformist "Ten Years of Spring" (1944–1954) under Juan José Arévalo and Jacobo Árbenz, whose agrarian reform — threatening the United Fruit Company — was ended by a CIA-backed coup in 1954.
Later history and present status
The coup ushered in decades of military rule and the Guatemalan Civil War (1960–1996), among Latin America's bloodiest, in which state forces committed genocidal massacres against Maya communities (an estimated 200,000 killed or disappeared). The war ended with UN-brokered peace accords on 29 December 1996. Guatemala remains the most populous Central American state, with a large indigenous Maya population and persistent struggles over corruption, land, and inequality; the anti-corruption reformer Bernardo Arévalo (son of Juan José Arévalo) was sworn in as president in January 2024 amid intense institutional resistance.
Common questions
- What was Guatemala?
- Guatemala declared independence on 15 September 1821 and became a separate republic after the federation's collapse (1838–1839); its capital is Guatemala City. The early republic was dominated by the conservative caudillo Rafael Carrera (in power 1838–1865, president-for-life from 1854), who rolled back liberal reforms, protected the Church and the indigenous peasantry that had backed him, and crushed the breakaway state of Los Altos.
- When did Guatemala exist?
- Guatemala existed 1821/1838–present. On this map it is drawn 1840–2024.
- How large was Guatemala?
- At its greatest extent drawn on this map, Guatemala covered about 110,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.
- What is the present status of Guatemala?
- The coup ushered in decades of military rule and the Guatemalan Civil War (1960–1996), among Latin America's bloodiest, in which state forces committed genocidal massacres against Maya communities (an estimated 200,000 killed or disappeared). The war ended with UN-brokered peace accords on 29 December 1996.
Sources
This compendium cites its sources once for the whole document rather than per territory. Its bibliography names the English Wikipedia articles for each polity and for the key figures and events as the basis of these profiles, supplemented by Encyclopaedia Britannica, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Geographic, EBSCO Research Starters and academic sources. The article this entry is anchored on:
- Wikipedia — Guatemala en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guatemala
This entry was last updated .
This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made
Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.
Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).
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