| Antigua Guatemala Population Smaller |
| Tuesday, April 1, 2008 |
Antigua Guatemala Population Smaller
This is probably the first time I have read about a city becoming smaller for no obvious reasons.
1770 - 60,000 Inhabitants of Antigua, Guatemala
2007 - 34,685, plus or minus a few…
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Antigua, Guatemala.
One hour from Guatemala City
Monday, March 31, 2008
Andy of HoboTraveler.com --- Free Hotel Webpage
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This link has some Google.com Earth Maps and Distances to local cities:
http://www.hobohideout.com/guatemala/antigua
- The city had a peak population of some 60,000 in the 1770s; the bulk of the population moved away in the late 18th century. Despite significant population growth in the late 20th century, the city had only reached half that number by the 1990s. According to the 2007 census, the city has some 34,685 inhabitants.
La Antigua Guatemala means the "Old Guatemala" and was the third capital of Guatemala. The first capital of Guatemala was founded on the site of a Cakchiquel-Maya city, now called Iximche, on July 25, 1524 -the day of Saint James- and called La Muy Noble y Muy Leal Ciudad de los Caballeros de Santiago de Goathemalan (The Very Noble and Very Loyal City of the Knights of Saint James of Guatemala). Naturally, St. James became the patron saint of the city. After several Cakchiquel uprisings, the capital was moved to a more suitable site in the Valley of Almolonga on November 22, 1527, and kept its original name. When this city, now named Ciudad Vieja, was destroyed by a flood, the authorities decided to move once more, this time to the Valley of Panchoy. So, on March 10, 1543 the Spanish conquistadors founded present-day Antigua, and again, it was named Santiago de los Caballeros. For more than 200 years it served as the seat of the military governor of the Spanish colony of Guatemala, a large region that included almost all of present-day Central America and the southernmost State of Mexico: Chiapas. In 1566 King Felipe II of Spain gave it the title of"Muy Noble y Muy Leal" ("Very Noble and Very Loyal").
In 1773, a series of earthquakes destroyed much of the town, which led to the third change in location for the city. The Spanish Crown ordered (1776) the removal of the capital to a safer location, the Valley of the Shrine, where Guatemala City, the modern capital of Guatemala, now stands. This new city did not retain its old name and was christened Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción (New Guatemala of the Ascension) and its patron saint is Our Lady of Ascension. The badly damaged city of Santiago de los Caballeros was ordered abandoned, although not everyone left, and was referred to as la Antigua Guatemala, or Old Guatemala. -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antigua_Guatemala
Cities in the past were close to water, drinking water and water transportation. Sometimes a major highway will go through and remove the reason for the city.
Antigua Guatemala Population Smaller |
posted by Andy HoboTraveler.com @ 4:44 AM   |
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