Whilst the first evidence of human settlement dates back to some 12,000BC, the main players in the country’s Pre-Columbian history were the Mayans, with the height of their power here being between 300 and 900AD, with most of their cities being abandoned by the end of the same period.

By the time Spanish conquerors arrived in the 16^th century, most of what they found were ruins. They encountered little resistance, making their conquest a relatively effortless one. With time, most indigenous people were converted to Christianity, even though most kept their original beliefs. That said, those of Spanish descent, as expected, ranked first in society. Throughout this period of relative stability, multiple natural cataclysms took place, including floodings and earthquakes.

In 1821, Guatemala achieved its independence from Spain, being annexed to Mexico for a short period of time before a union with various other Central American countries was created to break free. Though successful in this regard, the union was short-lived. In between 1831 and 1871, the country’s politics was wrought with periods of instability and uprisings, with power shifting between the liberal regime and the republicans, eventually ending with Rufino Barrios’ dictatorship which greatly improved the country’s economy and strove to modernise it, though controversially and at a huge cost to its people.

Since then, Guatemala’s history has been tumultuous to say the least, with repressive regimes, political violence and poverty being pervasive throughout, all culminating during a civil war between the nationalist regime and left-wing guerrillas. After much bloodshed, a peace treaty was signed in 1996, resulting in some much-needed stability, with the country finally making strides with regards to economic growth through successive democratic elections, despite ongoing corruption and fraud.