The Natives of El Salvador
In pre-Columbian times the land was occupied by various Native American peoples, including the Pipil, a Nahuatl-speaking group. El Salvador's human civilization begins with the Pipil people of Cuzcatlán, which means The Place of Precious Diamonds and Jewels. The people of El Salvador are typically called Salvadorians, but the term Cuzcatleco is used to describe someone of Salvadorian heritage.
The Mayan civilization which inhabited El Salvador has left ruins such as those at Tazumal, Joya De Ceren, San Andres, Casa Blanca, Cihuatan, and Chalchuapa.
The Mayan civilization which inhabited El Salvador has left ruins such as those at Tazumal, Joya De Ceren, San Andres, Casa Blanca, Cihuatan, and Chalchuapa.
Spanish Colonization & Fight for Independence
Before El Salvador was actually El Salvador, Spanish conquistdores came to claim the land as their own and named it "Provincia De Nuestro Señor Jesus Cristo, El Salvador Del Mundo" ("Province of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World"), which was then shortened to "El Salvador" (The Savior).
By the end of 1811, nationalism began to arise within the Central American elites to attempt to gain independence from the Spanish Crown(colonists).
The most important internal factors were the desire of the local elites to control the country's affairs free of foreign influence from the Spanish authorities, and the Creoles' long-standing desire for independence.
The main external factors motivating their own independence movement were the success of the American and French revolutions in the eighteenth century, and the fall of the Spanish Crown's military power as a result of the Napoleonic Wars, with a side effect of an inability to control its colonies effectively.
On 5 November 1811, Salvadorian priest José Matías Delgado rang the bells of Iglesia La Merced in San Salvador, calling for an uprising and the start of 1811 Independence Movement. This "revolution" was suppressed and many of its leaders were arrested and served sentences in jail. Another uprising was set in motion in 1814, and again it too was stopped. Finally, on September 15, 1821, in light of unrest in Guatemala, Spanish authorities signed the Acta de Independencia (Deed of Independence) which freed all of the Captaincy of Guatemala (comprising current territories of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica and the Mexican state of Chiapas) from Spanish rule and declared its independence. In 1821, El Salvador joined Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua in a union named the Federal Republic of Central America.
By the end of 1811, nationalism began to arise within the Central American elites to attempt to gain independence from the Spanish Crown(colonists).
The most important internal factors were the desire of the local elites to control the country's affairs free of foreign influence from the Spanish authorities, and the Creoles' long-standing desire for independence.
The main external factors motivating their own independence movement were the success of the American and French revolutions in the eighteenth century, and the fall of the Spanish Crown's military power as a result of the Napoleonic Wars, with a side effect of an inability to control its colonies effectively.
On 5 November 1811, Salvadorian priest José Matías Delgado rang the bells of Iglesia La Merced in San Salvador, calling for an uprising and the start of 1811 Independence Movement. This "revolution" was suppressed and many of its leaders were arrested and served sentences in jail. Another uprising was set in motion in 1814, and again it too was stopped. Finally, on September 15, 1821, in light of unrest in Guatemala, Spanish authorities signed the Acta de Independencia (Deed of Independence) which freed all of the Captaincy of Guatemala (comprising current territories of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica and the Mexican state of Chiapas) from Spanish rule and declared its independence. In 1821, El Salvador joined Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua in a union named the Federal Republic of Central America.