Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Colonial Period (1524-1821)
The Spanish effectively enslaved Guatemala's indigenous people to work what had been
their own land for the benefit of the Spanish, just as they did throughout the hemisphere.
Refusal to work meant death. The colonists believed themselves omnipotent and behaved
accordingly.
Enter the Catholic Church and Dominican friar Bartolomé de Las Casas. Las Casas had
been in the Caribbean and Latin America since 1502 and had witnessed firsthand the near
complete genocide of the indigenous populations of Cuba and Hispaniola. Horrified by
what he had seen, Las Casas managed to convince Carlos V of Spain to enact the New
Laws of 1542, which technically ended the system of forced labor. In reality, forced labor
continued, but wanton waste of Maya lives ceased. Las Casas and other friars went about
converting the Maya to Christianity.
A large portion of the church's conversion success can be attributed to its peaceful ap-
proach, the relative respect extended to traditional beliefs, and the education provided in in-
digenous languages.
Returning from the Americas, Christopher Columbus introduced Europeans to a whole range of foods
they'd never seen before - including tomatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, potatoes, avocados, corn and co-
coa.
