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Independence
Guatemala got its independence from Spain and the Captaincy General of Guatemala joined the First Mexican Empire under Agustin de Itubide. -
Independent Republic
Guatemala declared itself an independent republic and Carrera became its first president -
Liberal Revolution
Liberal party members who were prosecuted and sent into exile were those who started the Liberal Revolution. Was under the leadership of Justo Rufino Barrios. -
Earthquake
Guatemala City was badly damaged in the Guatemala earthquake. -
Great Depression
Badly damaged the Guatemalan economy, causing a rise in unemployment. -
Jorge Ubico
Jorge Ubico won the election and enforced vagrancy law, requiring all men of working age who did not own land to work a minimum of 100 days of hard labor. The government became highly militarized; under his rule, every provincial governor was a general in the army. -
Guatemalan Revolution
Ubico was forced to resign from the presidency in response to a wave of protests and a general strike inspired by brutal labor conditions among plantation workers. -
Beginning Guatemalan Civil War
The war was between the government of Guatemala and various leftist rebel groups. Guatemala Revolution was disliked by the United States government which was predisposed by the Cold War to see it as a communist. -
Nobel Peace Prize
Rigoberta Menchú was awarded it for her efforts to bring international attention to the government-sponsored genocide against the indigenous population. -
End of the Guatemalan Civil War
The war ended with peace between the guerrillas and the government. More than 45,000 Guatemalans fled across the border to Mexico.