Who were the first Europeans to sight Guatemala? Who were the first to settle? Where? Why?

Answer 1

The Spanish were the first modern Europeans in Guatemala. They settled at Antigua Guatemala, where they founded their capital, to take control of the 20 mile long Central Valley, which was the only exploitable resource they could find. That valley has rich volcanic soil, is relatively flat, and has adequate water for agriculture. Geography made the city easy to defend. The Spanish would probably have settled near a gold mine, if they could have found one.