Traveling Tolins 2

Guatemala , officially the  Republic of Guatemala , is a country in  Central America  bordered by  Mexico  to the north and west,  Belize  and the  Caribbean  to the northeast,  Honduras  to the east,  El Salvador  to the southeast and the  Pacific Ocean  to the south.  With an estimated population of around 17.2 million, it is the most populated country in Central America.  Guatemala is a  representative democracy ; its capital and largest city is Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción, also known as  Guatemala City . The territory of modern Guatemala once formed the core of the  Maya civilization , which extended across  Mesoamerica .  Most of the country was  conquered by the Spanish  in the 16th century, becoming part of the  viceroyalty  of  New Spain .  Guatemala attained independence in 1821 as part of the  Federal Republic of Central America , which dissolved by 1841. From the mid to late 19th century, Guatemala experienced chronic instability and civil strife.  Beginning in