History
The region of Izabal has been a hub of commercial activity for millennia and, while still an active commercial region, is now also an increasingly popular tourist destination. Izabal’s extensive waterways, including the Río Dulce and Lago Izabal --Guatemala’s largest lake-- have provided access to the sea for the many civilizations that have risen and fallen around Lake Izabal and throughout the region.
In the days of the Mayan Empire, Izabal’s rivers provided a crucial link between Guatemala’s central highlands and the coastal lowlands. The waters allowed the traders who navigated the rivers to explore deep into central Guatemala. The extent of ancient trade routes is indicated by the diversity of artifacts that have been excavated here. These artifacts originate from across Central America and include the enigmatic Leyden Plaque, an elaborate jade engraving thought to be from Tikal. Archeological evidence suggests that a prosperous civilization on the banks of Lake Izabal reached its golden age around 750 AD, then began a slow and mysterious decline until, by the time Hernan Cortez reached the shores of Izabal in 1525, only a few scattered settlements remained in the region.
Following the arrival of the Spanish in the sixteenth century, Izabal once again became an important commercial region. In 1549 Spanish colonists established a permanent trade outpost on the southern bank of Lake Izabal and began exporting sugar, indigo, sarsaparilla, and balsa wood. As the port grew prosperous, it attracted the attention of pirates and buccaneers who sailed the Caribbean in search of vulnerable merchant ships and, at times, seaports. In 1595, to protect the colony at Izabal, King Phillip II built the Tower of Sande, a modest fort garrisoned by twelve soldiers. The Tower of Sande was soon replaced with the San Felipe Castle, whose imposing ramparts and towers continue to guard the lake today.
Following Guatemalan independence in 1821, President Mariano Galvez ordered the establishment of a new Atlantic port at the mouth of the Rio Dulce; in 1839, Livingston was established. For a time, the port of Lívingston boomed, exporting fruit across the world. However, in the first half of the twentieth century, Livingston was supplanted by other, deeper ports and the region settled into the quiet, tropical way of life that has persisted to the present day.
Puerto Barrios, the largest city in Izabal, was first founded in the 1880's but in the short period of its existence has managed to grow into a thriving commercial center. The town was named after a Guatemalan politician named Justo Rufino Barrios. Some of the leading exports that depart from Puerto Barrios are coffee beans and bananas - two things that the Guatemalans know a lot about. In fact, the town is still home to a thriving port which is owned by Chiquita Banana, and you will often see large cargo ships lined up at sea waiting to be loaded with goods and produce from Guatemala.
