Agrarian society in the Guatemalan Montana, 1700-1840
Description
Agrarian society in Guatemala, since its contact with Spanish civilization, has been moving along a continuum within a broad spectrum of cultural development from the original Mayas to the modern ladinos. Each region, however, has changed at a different rate and must be examined by means of historical perspective. This study analyzes the roots of the transition of the eastern Guatemalan highlands, commonly known as the Montana, from a stable and peaceful peasant society with substantial landholding Indian towns in 1700 to a violent and more politically active ladino society in 1840. New and acute grievances after 1750 brought changes in demography, economy, and land tenure. Natural disasters, administrative reforms, epidemics, and the moving of the capital caused hunger, financial ruin and, consequently, the dispersal of Indians and greater ladinoization. Disease, particularly, affected both the rate of population growth as well as the ethnic composition of the region. Ladinos gained in political and economic power, and further ladinoization brought greater political awareness to all peasant groups. Liberal government after independence from Spain and the effects of the cochineal boom accelerated these trends. Although during the colonial period the Spanish crown had a vested interest in preserving Indian communities, that interest came into conflict with the economic and political goals of creoles. When Liberal political reforms threatened the last hope for the survival of cohesive Indian communities, peasants who had been peaceful for nearly three centuries took advantage of a weak and divided elite and took up arms. The changes that had occurred since 1700 made the Montana uniquely ripe to be the central stage for a peasant revolt in 1837 that ended the first installment of Liberal rule and shattered forever the United Provinces of Central America