The Coffee, the Cause of the German Territorial and Architectural Transformation of the Q’eqchi’ Alta Verapaz

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30827/sobre.v11i.31550

Keywords:

Alta Verapaz, Q'eqchi'-K'ekchi, Germany, Coffee, Agricultural territory

Abstract

This article explores the impact of the coffee industry, developed mainly by Germans, on the territory of Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, and the indigenous Maya-Q'eqchi communities. Alta Verapaz received hundreds of Germans between 1865 and 1941. The integration of the coffee industry and German society and culture resulted in the acquisition and transformation of a large amount of Alta Verapaz as coffee plantations, the reconfiguration of the territory, the construction of new means of transportation, and the integration of new architectural typologies, public spaces, objects, and customs. This article explains the sequence of architectural and spatial consequences that the arrival of coffee had on the local Q'eqchi' habitat, their territory, architecture, and way of life.

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References

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Hogares y cultivos q’eqchi’s embebidas en fincas cafetaleras alemanas, Andrea Bardón de Tena, 2024

Published

2025-01-31 — Updated on 2025-01-31

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How to Cite

Bardón de Tena, A. (2025) “The Coffee, the Cause of the German Territorial and Architectural Transformation of the Q’eqchi’ Alta Verapaz”, SOBRE, 11. doi: 10.30827/sobre.v11i.31550.

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Panorama