Spanish Conquest
Spanish invasion into Guatemala began in 1518, bringing devastating epidemics of disease and violence to the indigenous people (7).  However, in 1523 the world of the Maya dramatically changed when under the authority of Hernán Cortés, Spaniard Pedro de Alvarado and his brother, Gonzalo de Alvarado, entered the Guatemala highlands.

Pedro de Alvarado, motivated largely by the prospect of wealth in gold and silver, allied with the Cakchiquel nation in their continual battles against their rivals – the Quiché (7).  After burning the Quiché capital Gumarcaj on March 7, 1524, Alvarado and his men conquered neighboring Mayan communities one-by-one using forceful military advantages like gun powder and steel swords against the Mayan obsidian spears and leather shields (8). 

During this time of colonization, the Spanish named the first capital of Guatemala “Tecpan,” on July 25, 1524, located near the Cakchiquel capital city of Iximché.  When the Cakchiquel attacked Tecpan, the Spanish then moved the capital to “Ciudad Vieja” in 1527. 

By 1527 when Guatemala was named a Captain General of the Viceroyalty of Mexico, Alvarado had conquered the Quiché, Tzutuhil, Poqomam and Mam people.  Turning against his allies, the Cakchiquels, he defeated them in 1530 after a number of battles and won control of most of Guatemala for the Spanish by 1548 (2). 

Under the control of the Spanish, the Captain General of Guatemala functioned separately from other lands conquered by the Spanish. This area consisted of what is now Chiapas, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica (11).  As the Spanish continued to conquer the remainder of the region, their capital was flooded in 1541 when earthquakes and heavy rains caused the collapse of the Agua Volcano crater. 

The capital was relocated four miles away from “Ciudad Vieja” to La Antigua, Guatemala where it remained the cultural, religious, political and educational center for the entire region until the end of the 18th century (7).

Spanish Colonialism
After the deaths of more than 750,000 indigenous people from disease and violence during the Spanish conquest, the Mayan people of Guatemala found themselves slaves in their own land as the Spanish implemented the encomienda system in the late 1500s (10).  Under this system, the conquistadores and priests received land grants from the royal Spanish government, and the land was worked by the indigenous people who were forced into indentured servitude through the early 1800s (10). 

While the encomienda system, similar to the Medieval feudal system, was designed in theory to indoctrinate the indigenous people into the Catholic faith by paying tribute to the Spanish in return for protection and religious instruction, it was largely abused by the Spanish (14).  Abused, oppressed, and exploited, the Mayan people were stripped of their freedom, rights, religion and culture.  

Because the region was not as rich in gold and silver as Mexico, Peru and other regions of Spanish conquest, the people were forced to work in the fields producing sugar cane and cocoa along with gathering precious woods for the construction of Spanish churches and palaces in their own land and in Spain (7).

During Spanish rule over the region, the Guatemalan capital was moved once more in 1773 to Guatemala City after Antigua suffered severe earthquake damage (11).

Works Cited