View source for El Progreso Department

{{Short description|Department of Guatemala}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!--See the Table at Infobox Settlement for all fields and descriptions of usage-->| official_name      = El Progreso Department
| other_name         = 
| native_name        = Departmento de El Progreso
| native_name_lang   = es<!-- ISO 639-2 code e.g. "fr" for French. If more than one, use {{lang}} instead -->
| settlement_type    = [[Departments of Guatemala|Department of Guatemala]]
| image_flag         = Bandera de El Progreso.jpg
| image_seal         = Progresolol.jpg
| image_map          = El Progreso in Guatemala.svg
| mapsize            = 
| map_caption        = El Progreso
| pushpin_label_position = bottom
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Guatemala
| coordinates        = 
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = [[Image:Flag of Guatemala.svg|25px]] [[Guatemala]]
| seat_type          = Capital
| seat               = [[Guastatoya]]
|seat1_type= Largest settlement
|seat1=[[San Agustín Acasaguastlán]]
| parts_type         = [[Municipalities of Guatemala|Municipalities]]
| government_type    = [[Department (country subdivision)|Departmental]]
| leader_title       = Governor
| area_footnotes     = 
| area_total_km2     = 1922
| population_as_of   = 2018
| population_footnotes = <ref name="population">[https://www.citypopulation.de/en/guatemala/cities/ Citypopulation.de] Population of departments in Guatemala</ref>
| population_total   = 176,632
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_urban   = 91416
| population_blank1_title = Ethnicities
| population_blank2_title = Religions
| population_blank2  = [[Roman Catholicism]], [[Evangelicalism]], [[Maya religion|Maya]]
| utc_offset1        = -6
}}

'''El Progreso''' ({{IPA|es|el pɾoˈɣɾeso}}) is a [[Departments of Guatemala|department]] in [[Guatemala]]. The departmental capital is [[Guastatoya]]. The Spanish established themselves in the region by 1551, after the [[Spanish conquest of Guatemala]]. El Progreso was declared a department in 1908, but was dissolved in 1920 before being reestablished in 1934. Guastatoya was badly affected by the [[1976 Guatemala earthquake]].

The department is located in northeastern Guatemala. It is bordered by the departments of [[Alta Verapaz Department|Alta Verapaz]], [[Baja Verapaz Department|Baja Verapaz]], [[Guatemala Department|Guatemala]], [[Jalapa Department|Jalapa]], and [[Zacapa Department|Zacapa]]. The department occupies an intermediate zone between the hot lowlands and the cooler [[Guatemalan Highlands]], and has a generally hot climate. The most important river is the [[Motagua River|Motagua]]. To the north, the department is crossed by the [[Sierra de las Minas]] mountain range. The main population centres in El Progreso are Guastatoya, [[Sanarate]] and [[San Agustín Acasaguastlán]]. The CA-9 Atlantic Highway links the department with [[Guatemala City]] and the Atlantic port of [[Puerto Barrios]].

The vast majority of the population of the department are Spanish-speaking [[Ladino people|Ladinos]]. The population is growing, but at a rate below the national average. At the same time, the illiteracy rate is falling.

==History==
Historically, the area now included in the department of El Progreso was known as ''Guastatoya'' or ''Huastatoya'', derived from [[Nahuatl language|Nahuatl]] ''huäxyötl'' or ''huäxin'' ("[[Crescentia alata|calabash]]") and ''atoyac'' ("last"), meaning the last place that calabashes grow, a reference to the change in altitude that occurs in the department, and corresponding climatic change from cold to hot.<ref>Hernández 2004. Gran Diccionario Nahuatl. SEGEPLAN 2001, p. 13.</ref>

===Early history===
The Spanish colonial ''[[corregimiento]]'' of [[San Cristóbal Acasaguastlán]] was established in 1551 with its seat in the town of that name, in what is now the eastern portion of the modern department.<ref name="MuniSanCrisAcasa"/> Most of the area of the modern department fell within the corregimiento of Chiquimula.<ref name="MinEco"/> Acasaguastlán was one of few pre-conquest centres of population in the middle [[Motagua River]] drainage, due to the arid climate.<ref name="Feldman98p29">Feldman 1998, p. 29.</ref> In El Progreso it included San Agustín de la Real Corona (modern [[San Agustín Acasaguastlán]]) and La Magdalena, but covered a broad area that also included parts of Baja Verapaz and Zacapa.<ref name="MuniSanCrisAcasa"/> San Cristóbal Acasaguastlán and the surrounding area were reduced into colonial settlements by friars of the [[Dominican Order]]; at the time of the conquest the area was inhabited by [[Poqomchi' people|Poqomchi' Maya]] and by the [[Nahuatl dialects|Nahuatl-speaking]] Pipil.<ref name="MuniSanCrisAcasa">Municipalidad de San Cristóbal Acasaguastlán 2011.</ref> In the 1520s, immediately after conquest, the inhabitants paid taxes to the Spanish Crown in the form of cacao, textiles, gold, silver and slaves. Within a few decades taxes were instead paid in beans, cotton and maize.<ref name="Feldman98p29"/> Acasaguastlán was first given in ''encomienda'' to conquistador [[Diego Salvatierra (conquistador)|Diego Salvatierra]] in 1526.<ref>Feldman 1998, pp. 29–30.</ref> The region was subject to a strong influx of Spanish colonists due to its location on the route between the colonial capital and the [[Caribbean Sea]], and hence to Spain, resulting in the [[hispanicisation]] of the territory.<ref name="SEGEPLAN2001p18">SEGEPLAN 2001, p. 18.</ref> Guastatoya was mentioned as a village in an edict issued in [[Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala]], the colonial capital, in 1758. In 1825, various settlements were integrated into the Acasagustlán district that would later be included in El Progreso department. In the 1870s, the territory was divided between the departments of Guatemala, Zacapa and Chiquimula.<ref name="SEGEPLAN2001p13">SEGEPLAN 2001, p. 13.</ref>

===Departmental history===
The department of El Progreso was created by executive decree on 13 April 1908, to include the municipalities of Acasaguastlán, Cabañas, Guastatoya (which was renamed as El Progreso), Morazán, Sanarate, Sansaria (now known as Sansare), San Antonio La Paz, and San José El Golfo. For a short time from December 1919 to June of the following year, the department was renamed [[Manuel Estrada Cabrera|Estrada Cabrera]] at the request of its constituent municipalities, in order to honour the then-president. On 9 June 1920, after the president was overthrown, the department was dissolved by the government.<ref name="SEGEPLAN2001p13"/> The municipalities that it had incorporated were returned to their previous jurisdictions.<ref>SEGEPLAN 2001, pp. 13–14.</ref> The department was reestablished on 3 April 1934 by the legislative assembly.<ref name="Hernandez04"/>

The departmental capital of Guastatoya was badly affected by the [[1976 Guatemala earthquake]], which completely destroyed all historic architecture in the town.<ref name="Hernandez04"/>

==Geography==
The department of El Progreso is located in northeastern Guatemala. It is bordered to the southwest by the department of [[Guatemala Department|Guatemala]], to the southeast by [[Jalapa Department|Jalapa]], to the east by [[Zacapa Department|Zacapa]], to the west by [[Baja Verapaz Department|Baja Verapaz]], and to the north by the department of [[Alta Verapaz Department|Alta Verapaz]]. The departmental capital is [[Guastatoya]]. The department occupies an intermediate zone between the hot lowlands and the cooler [[Guatemalan Highlands]]. It has a surface area of approximately {{convert|1922|km2|sqmi}}.<ref name="Hernandez04">Hernández 2004.</ref>

The terrain is varied, with altitude varying between {{convert|245|and|1240|m|ft}} [[above mean sea level]]. The department has a generally hot climate.<ref name="MinEco"/> The most important river is the [[Motagua River|Motagua]]. Other rivers in El Progreso include the Hato, Huija, Huyús, Las Ovejas, Morazán, Plátanos, and Sanarate rivers. To the north of the Motagua, the department is crossed by the [[Sierra de las Minas]] mountain range.<ref name="MinEco"/> The highest point in the department is Cerro El Pinalón, in the Sierra de las Minas, at {{convert|2962|m|ft}}.<ref name="ITMB">ITMB Publishing 1998.</ref>

The main population centres in El Progreso are Sanarate, Guastatoya, and San Agustín Acasaguastlán. The CA-9 Atlantic Highway crosses the department from west to east, en route from [[Guatemala City]] to the Atlantic port of [[Puerto Barrios]]. Other principal highways are the CA-17 from El Rancho towards [[Cobán]], and the RN-19 from Sanarate towards [[Jalapa, Jalapa|Jalapa]].<ref name="ITMB"/><ref>SEGEPLAN 2001, p. 11.</ref>

==Population==
According to the 2018 census, the population of El Progreso was 176,632.<ref name="population" /> In 2013, the non-indigenous proportion of the population was 98.2% against 1.8% indigenous.<ref name="INE2014p14"/> The majority of the population consists of Spanish-speaking [[Ladino people|Ladino]]s, although some traces of indigenous culture survive, such as in modes of dress, linguistic traces, and local customs and beliefs.<ref>Low 1989, p. 120.</ref> By 2013 the total population had grown to 163,537. The 2012–2013 population growth rate was 1.73%, below the national average of 2.32%. By gender, 51.9% of the population are female, and 48.1% male. The majority of the population, 59.8%, lives in the rural portion of the department.<ref name="INE2014p14">INE 2014, p. 14.</ref> The predominant language in El Progreso is [[Guatemalan Spanish]].<ref name="Hernandez04"/> In 2013, 89.2% of the population were recorded as literate, with a year-on-year drop in illiteracy from 16.1% in 2009.<ref name="INE2014p23">INE 2014, p. 23.</ref>

===Mortality===
In 2013, 930 deaths were registered in the department, demonstrating a 3.5% drop on the previous year, and 1.3% of the national total:<ref name="ONE2014p18"/>
{|class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
|+ Mortality in 2013<ref name="ONE2014p18">INE 2014, p. 18.</ref>
! '''Cause'''
! '''%'''
|- 
|[[Heart attack]]
|32.2%
|-
|[[Diabetes mellitus]]
|10.7%
|-
|[[Pneumonia]]
|10.5%
|-
|[[Stroke]]
|9.7%
|-
|[[Gun violence|Assault with firearm]]
|9.7%
|-
|[[Stomach cancer]]
|6.6%
|-
|Unspecified
|6.6%
|-
|[[Liver cancer]]
|6%
|-
|Liver [[cirrhosis]]/fibrosis
|4.6%
|-
|[[Traffic collision|Vehicular accident]]
|3.4%
|}

==Economy and agriculture==
Agricultural products include [[Coffee production in Guatemala|coffee]], [[sugar cane]], [[tobacco]], [[maize]], [[Black turtle bean|beans]], [[cacao bean|cacao]], [[annatto]], [[tomato]]es, [[vanilla]], [[cotton]], and a variety of other fruits.<ref name="Hernandez04"/> Tomato production is especially important in El Progreso, representing 6% of the national total.<ref name="MinEco"/> Local craft production includes [[basket weaving|basketwork]], ropemaking, [[Leather crafting|leatherwork]], items fashioned from palm, and [[tulle (netting)|tulle]] netting.<ref name="Hernandez04"/> Sanarate has the greatest economic production in the department, followed by Guastatoya, then San Agustín Acasaguastlán.<ref name="MinEco"/>

==Tourism==
Local tourist attractions include thermal baths near Sanarate and San Antonio La Paz.<ref name="Hernandez04"/>

==Archaeological sites==
The best preserved archaeological site in the region is [[Guaytán]], which was inhabited from the Late Preclassic to the Late Classic periods of [[Mesoamerican chronology]] (approximately from 250 BC to 900 AD), and was  an important centre for the distribution of [[Jade use in Mesoamerica|jade]].<ref>Arroyave Prera 2012, pp. 601–603.</ref>

== Municipalities ==
[[File:Guastatoya carretera.jpg|thumb|right|The entrance to Guastatoya]]
El Progreso is divided into eight municipalities:<ref name="MinEco">Ministerio de Economía 2015.</ref>
# [[El Jícaro, El Progreso|El Jícaro]]
# [[Guastatoya, El Progreso|Guastatoya]]
# [[Morazán, El Progreso|Morazán]]
# [[San Agustín Acasaguastlán]]
# [[San Antonio La Paz]]
# [[San Cristóbal Acasaguastlán]]
# [[Sanarate]]
# [[Sansare]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
{{refbegin|indent=yes}}
*Arroyave Prera, Ana Lucia (2012). ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20160515150621/http://asociaciontikal.com/pdf/051_Arroyave-1.pdf Recordando a Guaytán, una propuesta de restauración en la acrópolis y en el Juego de Pelota B2]'' (in Spanish). XXV  Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2011 (edited by  B.  Arroyo,  L. Paiz,  and  H.  Mejía),  pp.&nbsp;601–610.  Guatemala: Ministerio  de  Cultura  y  Deportes,  Instituto  de  Antropología  e  Historia  and Asociación Tikal. Retrieved 2016-10-29. Archived from [https://web.archive.org/web/20160515150621/http://asociaciontikal.com/pdf/051_Arroyave-1.pdf the original] on 2016-05-15.
*Feldman, Lawrence H. (1998). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=3_lqngEACAAJ Motagua Colonial]''. Raleigh, North Carolina, US: Boson Books. {{ISBN|1-886420-51-3}}. {{OCLC|82561350}}. Archived from [https://books.google.com/books?id=wfwJCRgmxeUC the original] on 2015-01-21. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
*Gran Diccionario Náhuatl [online] (2012). ''"[http://www.gdn.unam.mx/diccionario/consultar/palabra/huaxin Huaxin]"'' (in Spanish). Mexico City: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Retrieved 2016-10-29. 
*Hernández, Gonzalo (8 August 2004). ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20111203004623/http://servicios.prensalibre.com/pl/especial/mapas/05.pdf Mapa No. 5: El Progreso: También conocida como la tierra de los ayotes]'' (PDF) (in Spanish). Guatemala: Prensa Libre. Retrieved 2010-12-26. Archived from [http://servicios.prensalibre.com/pl/especial/mapas/05.pdf the original] on 2011-12-03.
*INE (2014). ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20160418083326/http://www.ine.gob.gt/sistema/uploads/2015/07/20/t1y5iSV0C6s3pqWlp7ri81xgblTAJ2oO.pdf Caracterización departamental de El Progreso 2013]'' (in Spanish). Guatemala: Instituto Nacional de Estadística. Retrieved 2016-10-29. Archived from [http://www.ine.gob.gt/sistema/uploads/2015/07/20/t1y5iSV0C6s3pqWlp7ri81xgblTAJ2oO.pdf the original] on 2015-07-20.
*ITMB Publishing (1998). ''Guatemala'' (Map) (3rd ed.). 1:500000. International Travel Maps. ITMB Publishing Ltd. {{ISBN|0-921463-64-2}}. {{OCLC|421536238}}.
*Low, S. M. (1989), "[https://books.google.com/books?id=mUuhAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28 Gender, Emotion, and ''Nervios'' in urban Guatemala]". In Dona L. Davis and Setha M. Low. ''Gender, Health And Illness: The Case Of Nerves''. New York, Washington, and Philadelphia, US and London, UK: Taylor & Francis. pp.&nbsp;115–140. {{ISBN|0-89116-903-2}}. {{oclc|19922432}}.
*Ministerio de Economía (2015). [https://web.archive.org/web/20161029164832/http://uip.mineco.gob.gt/mapainteractivo/index.php?controller=crm&action=detalles&id=5 Información Socioeconómica de Guatemala: Departamento de El Progreso] (in Spanish). Guatemala: Ministerio de Economía. Archived from [http://uip.mineco.gob.gt/mapainteractivo/index.php?controller=crm&action=detalles&id=5 the original] on 2016-10-29. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
*Municipalidad de San Cristóbal Acasaguastlán (2011). "[https://web.archive.org/web/20140103210651/http://www.sancristobalacasaguastlan.gob.gt/portal/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=52&Itemid=82 Historia del Municipio]" (in Spanish). Municipalidad de San Cristóbal Acasaguastlán. Archived from [http://www.sancristobalacasaguastlan.gob.gt/portal/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=52&Itemid=82 the original] on 2014-01-03. Retrieved 2012-09-24.
*SEGEPLAN (2001). ''[http://www.segeplan.gob.gt/nportal/index.php/biblioteca-documental/biblioteca-documentos/category/49-planes-desarrollo-departamental?download=37:pdd-el-progreso Plan de desarollo departamental El Progreso 2011–2025]'' (in Spanish). Guatemala: Secretaría de Planificación y Programación de la Presidencia SEGEPLAN. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
{{refend}}

{{Departments of Guatemala}}

{{coord|14|51|14|N|90|04|07|W|type:adm1st_region:GT-PR_source:dewiki|display=title}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:El Progreso Department| ]]
[[Category:Departments of Guatemala]]
[[Category:1908 establishments in North America]]
[[Category:1934 establishments in Guatemala]]
[[Category:1920 disestablishments in North America]]