Guatemala is a country in Central America, bordering Mexico, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, the Pacific Ocean, and the Caribbean Sea. It is the most populous country in Central America. The Mayan Civilization once flourished here. The Spanish conquered the region in the sixteenth century, and it became incorporated into New Spain. It attained independence in 1821, though it has seen political instability throughout the twentieth century, including a civil war in the 1960s.