1930 Bemporat Map of Guatemala

An attractive, colorful c. 1930 map of Guatemala produced by the Argentinian map publisher Bemporat as part of its Coleccion de Mapas Billiken. Aside from its aesthetic qualities, it is notable for referring implicitly the ongoing territorial dispute with Great Britain over British Honduras, future Belize.

A Closer Look

The entirety of Guatemala as well as British Honduras are displayed, along with neighboring portions of Mexico and Honduras. Individual departamentos are shaded different colors to easily distinguish them and have their capital cities noted. Other cities, railways, waterways, and mountains are also indicated. Latitude and longitude lines form a grid overlying the map.

British Honduras Territorial Dispute

The inclusion of British Honduras is not merely incidental; Guatemala claimed the territory as one of its own departamentos from the mid-19th century. An 1859 treaty seemingly settled the issue, but the deal was contingent upon Britain building a road from the Caribbean to Guatemala, which failed to materialize after difficult negotiations. The issue became contentious again in the 1930s and remained so for much of the 20th century, through the independence of Belize, with Guatemala occasionally threatening invasion. In recent years, the dispute has continued through mediation and is currently before the International Court of Justice.

United Fruit Company

Around the time this map was published, U.S. companies, especially the United Fruit Company, played a dominant role in the Guatemalan economy. The country's rail infrastructure, especially the line to Puerto Barrios, was built with the export of agricultural goods in mind and in the early 20th century came under United Fruit ownership (via its subsidiary the International Railways of Central America). The company also managed the country's postal service, paid no taxes, and was the largest landholder in Guatemala.

Publication History and Census

This map was produced by the Argentinian map publisher Bemporat as part of its series Coleccion de Mapas Billiken. From the railways present, the map must date from after 1908, and the inclusion of British Honduras suggests a date around 1930, when the dispute reignited after lying mostly dormant for several decades. It does not appear in the OCLC and has no known history on the market.