The cultural context of biodiversity conservation - Oapen

The local context
Map 4.1 Distribution of indigenous languages spoken in Guatemala 11
4.1.2 Historical accounts
The colonial era in Guatemala began – as in most other Latin American countries – in
1524 with the arrival of the Spanish conquerors, who imposed their colonial reign
known as encomienda. This system saw the concentration of much land in the hands of
few colonists. It not only handed the territorial control to these new landowners, but
also obliged the indigenous population to pay royal tributes to the Spanish crown.
Since they usually could not meet these demands in material goods, they were forced
to pay in the form of labour. In addition, as throughout the ›New World‹, the establishment
of colonial rule was accompanied by missionary work to convert the indigenous
population to Catholicism. In general, the process of subordination was characterised
by violent changes that deeply altered indigenous economic, social and symbolic
worlds (Carrasco 1990: 128). This initial situation imparted a specific character to
the history and culture of the region.
11 Apart from Spanish, there are 23 officially recognised languages: Garífuna, Xinca and the 21 Mayan
languages. The map indicating their spatial distribution is adapted from
http://www.informpressca.com/municipal/mapag.htm
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