Motagua Colonial

The Classic era centers of Quirigua and Copan are the eastern most outposts of early Mayan civilization. The Middle Motagua served as the source of Mesoamerica's most precious material, jade, that was so highly valued by ancient peoples. With the fall, close to 1000 AD of Quirigua, Copan and their satellite communities, the lands of the Motagua drainage descend into an a historical void. Not until the end of the Hispanic colonial era do these lands receive any but the most cursory historical treatment. It is the intention of this book to explore this unknown time between the fall of the ancient cities and independence of Guatemala from the Spanish Crown. By using the earliest documents we can look at the end of prehistory, the culture that the Spaniards found upon their arrival among the Toquegua of the Motagua delta. The colonial era was neither a static backwater nor a time of uninterrupted prosperity (or disaster). Administrative papers tell of conditions in the towns along the busy riverine route between Spain and the Guatemalan capital and life in the tobacco and cacao lands that surrounded the old site of Copan. The story of this past, and the search for information on this past, is the subject of this volume.