Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ward Chisec and the jungle flatlands extending northward, the temperature is substantially
warmeranditcanbeextremelyhumid.Alloftheseconditionsarefurtherinfluencedbythe
seasons (rainy and dry) dominating the entire country, though this area tends to see much
more rainfall throughout the year with a shorter dry season (Dec.-Apr.) than elsewhere in
Guatemala.
The history of the Verapaces is also quite different from elsewhere in Guatemala. The re-
gion was populated by the fierce Achi' Mayans, who were historically at war with the
K'iche' of the Western Highlands before the Spanish conquest. The Spanish themselves
were unable to conquer the Achi' and eventually gave up on this task, declaring the area a
tierra de guerra,
or “land of war.” The church eventually succeeded where the conquerors
had failed. Convinced by Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, the Spanish military forces agreed
to leave the region for five years to give de las Casas and his men a chance to pacify and
converttheIndians.DelasCasasandthreefriarssetoutfortheVerapazHighlandsin1537,
quickly befriending the Achi' chiefs and learning the local dialects. New converts were
made and the Mayans living in scattered hamlets were convinced to move into Spanish-
stylesettlements. Afterthisfive-yearterm,theAchi'wereofficially recognized assubjects
of the Spanish crown, partially as a result of the passing of the New Laws in 1542 granting
Indians basic rights and prohibiting their enslavement. The Spanish crown renamed the re-
gion Verapaz, or “true peace.”
The region began to grow and develop with the arrival of coffee cultivation in Guatem-
ala, aided by its proximity to the Caribbean port via the Río Polochic and across Lake Iza-
bal. A railroad would eventually be built along this corridor. In the early 1900s, a flood
of German immigrants snapped up large pieces of land and began cultivating coffee and
cardamom, thus further altering the regional demographics. By 1915, half of all Guatem-
alan coffee was grown on land owned by these German immigrants, who sold a large per-
centage of the harvest to their fatherland. Cobán in particular was greatly altered by this
demographic shift, as it took on the appearance of a German mountain town. The vestiges
of this Old World influence can still be seen here and there. German economic and cultural
dominionovertheregionwasabruptlyputtoanendduringWorldWarII,whentheUnited
States prevailed upon Guatemala to deport the German farm owners, many of whom were
unabashed in their support for the Nazis.
Today, the Achi' still inhabit Baja Verapaz in the area around Rabinal, with a largely
Q'eqchi'andPoqomchi'populationinhabitingthelandsofAltaVerapaz.Theregionisstill
very much rural, much like the rest of Guatemala. Coffee and cardamom cultivation are
still at the heart of the economy, with tourism beginning to make some significant inroads.
