Mataquescuintla

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Mataquescuintla

Municipality

Mataquescuintla seen from Miramundo and Pino Dulce

 Location within Guatemala

Coordinates:  14°32′1″N 90°11′2″WCoordinates:  14°32′1″N 90°11′

2″W

Country  Guatemala
Department  Jalapa

Villa 1848
Incorporated 1848

Government
 • Type Mayor–Council
 • Body Mataquescuintla municipal council
 • Mayor of Mataquescuintla Hugo Manfredo Loy

Area
 • Total 262 km2 (101 sq mi)

Elevation 1,727 m (5,000 ft)

Population
 (2018 census)[1]
 • Total 41,848
 • Density 160/km2 (410/sq mi)
 • Urban 9,833

Demonyms  Mataquescuintleco
 Mataquescuintleca

Time zone UTC-6 (Central America)

Climate Cwb
 Website Mataquescuintla municipality

Mataquescuintla (from Nahuatl, meaning net to catch dogs) is a town

and municipality in the Jalapa department of south-east Guatemala.[2] It covers
262 square kilometres (101 sq mi).[3]
Mataquescuintla played a significant role during the first half of the nineteenth
century, when it was the center of operations of conservative general Rafael
Carrera, who led a Catholic peasant revolution against the liberal government
of Mariano Gálvez in 1838, and then ruled Guatemala from 1840 until his death
in 1865.
It is divided into 6 zones. [4]

Toponymy[edit]
The toponym "Mataquescuintla" comes from Nahuatl, and is composed of the
words "matatl" (meaning "net bag"), "Itzcuintli" (meaning "dog") and "tlan"
(meaning: "abundance"), and means "net to catch dogs". [5]

History[edit]
Main article: History of Guatemala
See also: Rafael Carrera and Francisco Morazán
The first settlers in Mataquescuintla were Pipils that came from the province
of El Salvador.
After Central American independence[edit]
Main article: Act of Independence of Central America
In the 1825 Constitution of Guatemala, Mataquescuintla was established as part
of Cuilapa, in District 3; also in Cuilapa are Los Esclavos, Oratorio, Concepción,
La Vega, El Pino, Los Verdes, Los Arcos, Corral de Piedra, San Juan de Arana,
El Zapote, Santa Rosa, Jumay [es], Las Casillas, and Epaminondas.[6]
Overthrow of Mariano Gálvez[edit]
Main article: Mariano Gálvez

Doctor Mariano Gálvez during his time as Head of State of Guatemala (1831-1838)
In 1837, an armed struggle began against the regime of Francisco Morazán,
president of the Federal Republic of Central America, a political entity that
included Guatemala, Comayagua (later named Honduras), El
Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The rebellion also fought against those
who governed the State of Guatemala, like Chief of State Mariano Gálvez. The
leader of the insurgency was Rafael Carrera; among its forces were numerous
natives,[7] since on 9 June 1837, the State of Guatemala had reintroduced
indigenous populations that had been suppressed since colonial times by
the Cortes of Cádiz. The insurgents began hostilities by means of a guerrilla
war: attacking populations without giving them an opportunity to have meetings
with government troops. At the same time, Gálvez's clerical enemies spread
ideas, accusing him of poisoning river water to spread cholera morbus, which
hadn't happened even with the large population growth and the poor health
structure in the region. The accusation, however, was beneficial to Carrera,
putting a large part of the population against Mariano Gálvez and liberals in
general.
Standing out among the battles of Carrera: in the barracks at Mataquescuintla;
at Ambelis in Santa Rosa, defeating the army commanded by Teodoro Mejía;
on 7 December 1837 in the plaza at Jalapa where he was defeated; and on 13
January 1838 where the Garrison of Guatemala was attacked. Some of these
military events were accompanied by robberies, robberies, searches and
murders of defenseless people. In particular, the Gálvez government, upon
learning that Carrera was the leader of the revolt, invaded Mataquescuintla and
captured his wife, Petrona Álvarez, whom the soldiers seized by force. When
Carrera heard of this, he vowed to avenge his wife, and newly accompanied by
her, restarted the fight with new vigor. Petrona Álvarez, inflamed with the desire
for revenge, committed numerous atrocities against the liberal troops, to the
point that many of Carrera's coreligionists feared her more than the caudillo
himself,[8] although by that time Carrera had already showed his military
leadership and expertise that would come to later characterize him.
The fight had taken on the form of holy war, for it was the parish priests of
the secular clergy who argued for the peasants to defend religious rights and to
fight against the liberal atheists; Carrera had been educated by the parish
priest of Mataquescuintla who taught Catholicism and started to worry about the
liberals' power. Another factor that influenced the revolt were the concessions
given by the liberal government of Francisco Morazán to the English—whom
they called "heretics" because they were Protestants. In Guatemala, they had
been given Belize and San Jerónimo in Salamá—which was an expensive and
profitable property that the liberals had seized from the Dominicans in 1829.
[9]
 The contraband English items from Belize had impoverished the artisan
Guatemalans, who joined Carrera's revolt.[10] The priests announced to the
natives that Carrera was their protector angel, who had descended from the
heavens to take revenge on heretics, liberals, and aliens, and to restore their
ancient dominion. They devised various tricks to make the natives believe this,
which were announced as miracles. Among them, a letter was thrown from the
roof of one of the churches, in the middle of a vast congregation of natives. This
letter supposedly came from the Virgin Mary, who commissioned Carrera to
lead a revolt against the government. [11]
To counteract the violent attacks made by peasant guerrillas, Gálvez approved
and then praised the use of a scorched earth policy against the uprising
peoples. Several of his supporters advised him to desist from this tactic,
because it would only contribute to increasing hostility. [12] In early 1838, José
Francisco Barrundia, the liberal leader of Guatemala, disillusioned with Galvez's
management, managed to bring Guatemala City under Carrera's command,
and fought the head of state. Later that year, the situation in Guatemala
became unsustainable: the economy was paralyzed by the lack of security and
roads, and the liberals negotiated with Carrera to end the warring. Gálvez left
power 31 January 1838, before an "Army of the People", giving control to
Rafael Carrera that initiated the battle in Guatemala City with an army of
between ten thousand and twelve thousand men, after the agreement left
Carrera against Barrundia.
Carrera's troops victorious, they shouted "Long live religion!" and "Away with
foreign heretics!" Consisting mainly of poorly armed peasants, they took
Guatemala City by force pillaged and destroyed the liberal government
buildings, including the Archbishop's Palace, where Gálvez had resided, and
the house of the English presenter William Hall. [10] On 2 March 1838, Gálvez's
absence was unanimously accepted in Congress, and after a period of
uncertainty, Rafael Carrera came to power, although first would suffer some
defeats.