History
The history of the Verapaces is quite distinct from the rest of Guatemala. Long before the Conquest the local Achi Maya had earned themselves a unique reputation as the most bloodthirsty of all the region's tribes, and were said to sacrifice every prisoner that they took. Their greatest enemies were the K'iche' , with whom they were at war for a century. So ferocious were the Achi that not even the Spanish could contain them by force. Alvarado's army was unable to make any headway against them, and eventually he gave up trying to control the area, naming it tierra de guerra , the "land of war". The church, however, couldn't allow so many heathen souls to go to waste, and under the leadership of Fray Bartolome de Las Casas , they made a deal with the conquistadors. If Alvarado would agree to keep all armed men out of the area for five years, the priests would bring it under control. In 1537 Las Casas and three Dominican friars set out into the highlands, befriended the Achi chiefs, learnt the local dialects and translated devotional hymns. By 1538 they had made considerable progress and had converted large numbers of Maya. At the end of the five years, the famous and invincible Achi were transformed into Spanish subjects, and the king of Spain renamed the province Verapaz (True Peace). Since the colonial era the Verapaces have remained isolated and, in many ways, independent. All their trade bypassed the capital by taking a direct route to the Caribbean, along the Rio Polochic and out through Lago de Izabal. The area really started to develop with the coffee boom at the turn of the century, when German immigrants flooded into the country to buy and run fincas, particularly in Alta Verapaz, around Coban. The Germans quickly prospered and exported huge quantities of coffee back to Europe, only to be expelled during World War II, when the USA insisted that Guatemala remove the enemy presence. Today, the Verapaces are still dominated by the huge coffee fincas and the wealthy families that own them, and there are also hints of Germanic influence here and there. Taken as a whole, however, the Verapaces remain very much indigena country: Baja Verapaz has a small Achi outpost around Rabinal, and in Alta Verapaz the Maya population is largely Poqomchi' and Q'eqchi' . The production of coffee and, more recently, cardamom for the Middle Eastern market has cut deep into their land and their way of life, with many people being driven off prime territory and onto marginal plots. Traditional costume is also worn less here than in the western highlands. The northern, flat section of Alta Verapaz includes a slice of Peten rainforest, and in recent years Q'eqchi' Maya and landless mestizos from the south have expanded into this region, carving out sections of the forest and attempting to farm, a process which offers little security for the migrants and also threatens the future of the rainforest.
Your Tip for Verapaces
Help other backpackers! Write your own guides and backpacking tips to Verapaces - they will appear instantly on this page - Please only write a tip/guide to Verapaces - visit the main Verapaces forum to ask a question!
Please do not post links to your site here (they won't work) - please use the Verapaces webguide section below! Thanks.
|
