Cubulco
Cubulco is a small town, with a population of 10,681, located in the Guatemalan department of Baja Verapaz, at. It serves as the administrative seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. The municipality covers an area of 711 km² and has a population of 54,869.
History
Before the Spanish conquest
Worried about the defection of the aj K'ub'ul family chief, the K'iche' king sent a group of soldiers to control every single movement of them. He was afraid that the aj K'ub'ul would look for reinforcements from other peoples in the area to form a strong army and then attack the K'iche's. The warriors settled to the east of the aj K'ub'ul and since the latter had moved away to look for peace and tranquility, they were a very peaceful community. The warriors then told the K'iche' king not to worry about the exiled group as they were peaceful.As time went by, the K'iche' warriors realized that the lifestyle of the aj K'ub'ul was very different from what they were used to under the rule of their king, as they simply worked their land, harvested their crops and raised their families without having to worry about being invaded or called to fight in a war. Therefore, they went back to their place of origin, Tujalj ), but only to pick up their families and set out again to settle a new community where they were once stationed to keep an eye on the aj K'ub'ul.
Pacific conquest by the Dominican friars
On his second visit to Guatemala, in 1537, friar Bartolomé de las Casas, O.P. wanted to employ his new method of conversion based on two principles: 1) to preach the Gospel to all men and treat them as equals, and 2) to assert that conversion must be voluntary and based on knowledge and understanding of the Faith. It was important for Las Casas that this method be tested without meddling from secular colonists, so he chose a territory in the heart of Guatemala where there were no previous colonies and where the natives were considered fierce and war-like. Because the land had not been possible to conquer by military means, the governor of Guatemala, Alonso de Maldonado, agreed to sign a contract promising that if the venture was successful he would not establish any new encomiendas in the area. Las Casas's group of friars established a Dominican presence in Rabinal, Sacapulas and Cobán, reaching as far as Chahal and including Cubulco. Through the efforts of Las Casas' missionaries the so-called "Land of War" came to be called "Verapaz", "True Peace". Las Casas's strategy was to teach Christian songs to merchant Indian Christians who then ventured into the area. In this way he was successful in converting several native chiefs, among them those of Atitlán and Chichicastenango, and in building several churches in the territory named Alta Verapaz. These congregated a group of Christian Indians in the location of what is now the town of Rabinal. In 1538 Las Casas was recalled from his mission by Bishop Francisco Marroquín who wanted him to go to Mexico and then on to Spain in order to seek more Dominicans to assist in the mission.Cubulco's Catholic church was erected in the 1540 and was dedicated to Saint James.