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The history of Guatemala traces back to the Maya civilization (2600 BC – 1697 AD), with the country's modern history beginning with the Spanish conquest of Guatemala in 1524. By 1000 AD, most of the major Classic-era (250–900 AD) Maya cities in the Petén Basin, located in the northern lowlands, had been abandoned.
Following independence from Spain (1821) and Mexico (1823), Guatemala was the political centre of the United Provinces of Central America.
Guatemala, country of Central America. The dominance of an Indigenous culture within its interior uplands distinguishes Guatemala from its Central American neighbours. The origin of the name Guatemala is Indigenous, but its derivation and meaning are undetermined.
According to some archeologists, Guatemala has the oldest recorded human history in Central America, with some evidence of human existence going back to 18,000 BC. Whether or not people actually were in Guatemala that long ago is disputed.
A chronology of key events in the history of Guatemala, from the time it became a Spanish colony in 1524
The territory of modern Guatemala hosted the core of the Maya civilization, which extended across Mesoamerica; in the 16th century, most of this was conquered by the Spanish and claimed as part of the viceroyalty of New Spain. Guatemala attained independence from Spain and Mexico in 1821.
But with his sudden fall and flight from Mexico, in 1823, Guatemala decides to assert its own independence. The region from the southern border of Mexico to Panama now declares itself to be a new nation. It is to be known as the Central American Federation, with its capital in Guatemala City.