The royal road as a route of cultural, political, social and commercial relations between Chiapas and Huehuetenango, 16th, 17th and 18th centuries

Abstract

The fundamental purpose of this contribution is to expose the importance that the roads used and laid out in the colonial era, in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries have had in the communication of the inhabitants of the cities of Comitán, Chiapas, Mexico and Huehuetenango, Guatemala. , allowing cultural ties to be maintained. This contribution is the product of a broader research that was carried out as a thesis project of the international doctoral program in Territorial Development and Transborder Problems taught by CUNOC-USAC and the Autonomous University of Chiapas, UNACH. A review and analysis of specialized bibliographic documentation on the subject and routes on the network of the Camino Real routes between Huehuetenango, Guatemala and Comitán, Chiapas, Mexico, which are still used quite intensively by residents of both sides of the border between Chiapas and Huehuetenango. As a result of the investigation, important information is recovered that the Camino Real had and currently has, roads that have allowed cultural relations to be maintained between inhabitants of both sides of the border. The main conclusion focuses on the fact that the Camino Real was built on the already existing pre-Hispanic roads, routes that were improved and expanded according to the needs of control, commerce, mobility of people, religious activities, communications between family members, cultural activities that interested them. the Spanish Crown and the inhabitants of the two cities, reaching its greatest importance in the 16th and mid-18th centuries.