GUARNER1 



3725 



GUATEMALA 



GuarnerioRGuARNERius. Name 

 of one of the three great families 

 of Italian violin makers of Cre- 

 mona who nourished during the 

 17th and 18th centuries. Andreas, 

 the first of the family, was a com- 

 panion of Stradivarius in the work- 

 shop of Amati, and his work dates 

 from about 1650-95. He was suc- 

 ceeded by his sons, Peter and 

 Joseph, and his grandson, Peter, 

 son of Joseph ; but the most cele- 

 brated of the family was his 

 nephew, Joseph. He was known 

 as del Gesu, because the letters 

 I.H.S. appear after his name on the 

 labels in his violins. His finest 

 instruments date from about 

 1725-40. 



Guastalla. City of Italy, in the 

 prov. of Reggio Emilia. It stands 

 near the river Po, and is a rly. 

 junction 19 m. by rly. N. of Reggio. 

 Founded by the Lombards in the 

 7th century, it has 16th century 

 fortifications, a ruined castle, a 

 10th century cathedral (restored), 

 and a school of music. Here in 

 1734 the Austrians were defeated 

 by the Franco-Sardinian forces. 

 Pop. 11,881. 



Guatemala. Republic of Central 

 America. It lies S. and E. of 

 Mexico, and is bounded S.W. by 

 the Pacific, E. by 

 British Honduras 

 and the Gulf of 

 Honduras, and S. 

 by San Salvador 

 and Honduras. 

 Its area is 48,290 

 sq. m. ; the pop. 

 2,003,579, of 

 are pure Indians 

 and the majority of the rest half- 

 castes, only a very small propor- 

 tion being of European descent. 

 For administrative purposes the 

 republic is divided into 22 depts. 

 The capital was Guatemala, but on 

 Jan. 3 and 4, 1918, an earthquake 

 laid the whole city in ruins. Other 

 important towns are Quezalte- 

 nango, Coban, and Totonicapan. 



Physical Features 



The surface is mountainous, 

 except near the N.E. coast, where it 

 is low-lying and marshy forest 

 land. Several mountain ranges, 

 mainly belonging to the Antillean 

 system, traverse the country. The 



Erincipal ranges are the Cordilleras 

 om S.E. to N.W., the Sierra 

 Madre in the W. and S., the Sierra 

 de las Minas, the Sierra de Chama, 

 the Sierra de Santa Cruz, and the 

 Sierra de Copan in the centre and 

 E. , the latter close to the Honduras 

 border. The loftiest peaks in the 

 Cordillera are Tajamulco (12,600 

 ft.) and Tacama (12,400 ft.) in the 

 S.W. ; Acatenango (11,100 ft.) and 

 the volcano Fuego in the south - 

 central ; and the volcanoes Pacaya 



Guatemala arms 

 whom 60 p.c. 



and Santa Maria on the S. slope. 

 In Oct., 1902, the latter erupted, 

 causing widespread havoc. Earth- 

 quakes are of frequent occurrence. 

 One in April, 1902, shattered the 

 town of Quezaltenango, other 

 severe visitations being those of 

 1863 and 1874. The coast-line is 

 unbroken on the Pacific side, and 

 the only indentation on the Atlan- 

 tic side is the Bay of Amatique, 

 an extension of the Gulf of Hon- 

 duras. There are no promontories 

 of importance. 



The Usumacinta,which forms part 

 of the Mexican boundary, the Mota- 

 gua, and Polochic are the largest of 

 the numerous but comparatively 

 unimportant rivers. Steamships ply 

 on the Polochic and Dulce, and a 

 few other rivers can be navigated 

 by light craft, but the remainder 

 are unnavigable. The principal 

 lakes are the Izabal, Atitlan (noted 

 for its crabs), Amatitlan, Ayarza, 

 Peten, and Guija. The chief ports 

 are San Jose, Ocos, and Champerico 

 on the Pacific coast, and Santa 

 Tomas, Livingston, and Puerto 

 Barrios on the Caribbean Sea. 



The narrow Pacific slope is well 

 watered, and productive up to an 

 elevation of 5,000 ft., and is the 

 most densely 

 populate d 

 part of the 

 country. The 

 Atlantic slope 

 is thinly popu- 

 lated, and of 

 no great com- 

 mercial im- 

 portance, al- 

 though coffee is raised in the Coban 

 district. Bananas are cultivated 

 in the Motagua valley and around 

 Lake Izabal, and lumbering is 

 carried on in the Peten region. 



The climate varies according to 

 the elevation. Torrid heat prevails 

 on the Pacific lowlands, where 

 yellow fever is a scourge. From 

 2,000 ft. to 5,000 ft. the climate is 

 agreeable and like perpetual spring. 

 Above 5,000 ft. it is cold. The 

 rainy season is from May to 

 October, extended by two months 

 on the coast. 



The most important crops are 

 coffee, plantains, bananas, corn, 

 rice, and potatoes. The cotton- 

 growing industryis being developed. 

 On the plateaux horses, mules, 

 cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs are 

 reared in large numbers. The 

 mineral wealth of the country is 

 immense, but the mining industry 

 is as yet undeveloped. The most 

 important mining zones are in the 

 depts. of Chiquimula and Huehue- 

 tenango. Gold, silver, coal, lignite, 

 manganese, copper, tin, lead, cinna- 

 bar, slate, alum, antimony, marble, 

 alabaster, plumbago, 



Guatemala Mer- 

 chant nag ; white 

 and light blue 



bitumen, porphyry, zinc, and chalk 

 are all found, while opals and other 

 precious stones exist. The Peten 

 forests abound in valuable trees, 

 producing mahogany, dyewoods, 

 oak, pine, and spruce wood. Man- 

 grove, bamboo, agave, coconut and 

 palm trees are also present, while 

 there is a wealthy variety of orchids 

 and other flowers and ferns. 



Among the animals met with in 

 Guatemala are the jaguar, cougar, 

 tapir, honey-bear, wild pig, quetzal, 

 ocelot, puma, armadillo, red deer, 

 and monkeys. Reptiles include 

 the alligator, iguana, turtles, boas 

 and various other kinds of snakes ; 

 bird life is prolific and varied; 

 the insects include mosquitoes, 

 locusts, tarantulas, grasshoppers, 

 and myriads of tormenting flies. 

 Railways and Communications 



The railways and communica- 

 tions of Guatemala are as yet in- 

 adequate. In 1912 the Guatemala 

 Rly. (195 m.), the Guatemala 

 Central Rly. (139 m.), the Occiden- 

 tal Rly. (51 m.), and the Ocos Rly. 

 (22 m. ) were incorporated as the 

 International Rly. of Central Amer- 

 ica. In 1914 "a 60-m. railroad 

 between Santa Maria and Las 

 Cruces was purchased, and traffic 

 was opened in Oct., 1916. Other 

 lines are projected, but away from 

 the rlys. most of the traffic is borne 

 by mules, although there are few 

 good roads in the country. An 

 intra-coastal canal, called the 

 Chiquimulilla canal, is being con- 

 structed from San Jose to the 

 Esclaves river, close to the Pacific 

 seaboard. There are 4,337 m. of 

 telegraph lines in -operation. The 

 prevailing religion is Roman 

 Catholicism, but all other creeds 

 are tolerated. Education is com- 

 pulsory and free. 



The republic, which dates from 

 March 21, 1847, is governed by a 

 president, elected for a term of 

 six years ; a national assembly 

 elected by popular vote at the rate 

 of one member for every 20,000 

 inhabitants ; and a council of state 

 consisting of 13 members, partly 

 appointed by the president and 

 partly by the national assembly. 



The money is the paper peso 

 with a nominal value of 4s., the 

 nickel real, half real, and quarter 

 real, worth 6d., 3d., and l|d. 

 respectively, and copper coins of 

 25 and 12 centavos. 



HISTORY. Guatemala was in- 

 vaded and subdued by Pedro de 

 Alvarado, an officer in the train of 

 Cortes, between 1522-1524, and 

 for nearly 300 years was ruled 

 from Spain. The territory then 

 included all the countries in the 

 region now called Central America, 

 and it was not until 1821 that 

 she threw off the Spanish yoke, 



