History
Before the arrival of the Ocos and Iztapa tribes from the north, little is known of the history of the Pacific coast. By 1500 BC, however, these Mesoamerican tribes had developed village-based societies with considerable skills in the working of stone and pottery. Between 400 and 900 AD, the whole coastal plain was again overrun by Mesoamericans; this time it was the Pipil , who brought sophisticated architectural and artistic skills which they used in building ceremonial centres. The first Spaniards to set foot in Guatemala did so on the Pacific coast, arriving overland from the north. Alvarado's first confrontation with the Maya happened here, in the heat of the lowlands, before the Spanish moved north to Quetzaltenango. Once established there, they despatched a handful of Franciscans to convert the Pipil coastal population. In colonial times , the land was used for the production of indigo and cacao and for cattle ranching, never becoming anything more than a miserable, disease-ridden backwater. It was only after independence that commercial agriculture began to dominate this part of the country. Today this coastline is the country's most intensely farmed region, with coffee grown on the volcanic slopes and entire villages effectively owned by vast cotton- and sugar-cane-growing fincas. Much of the nation's income is generated here, and the main towns are alive with commercial activity and dominated by the assertive machismo of ladino culture. In the past, the highland Maya were forcibly recruited to work the plantations here; even today many thousands come to the coast for seasonal work and continue to be exploited by the fincas.
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