El Salvador
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Atlacatl - Rodolfo Villeda

Before the Spanish conquest, the territory that is now the Republic of El Salvador was occupied by three great indigenous states and several principalities. The indigenous tribes of the region were the Lencas, Chortis, Xincas, Uluas, Chorotegas, Pocomames, and Pipiles, all of them pertaining to the mesoamerican cultural area.

Around 10.000 years ago, El Salvador was inhabited by Paleo-Indians. Their influence can still be seen through the intriguing paintings (dating from 8000BC) at the Cave of Espíritu Santo, in the town of Corinto, department of Morazán.

The Mayan and Lenca tribes arrived around 1500 BC. Between 600 and 1000 the culture of Cotzumalhuapa settles down, and to this day, their archaeological evidence in El Salvador can be seen at the town of Cara Sucia. At the same time, the Lencas of the Eastern zone formed the principality of Managuara Najochán. In the year 900, because of the arrival of people pertaining to the real Copán family, the principality was divided into three crowns: Managuara, Sesori Cacaguatique and Uxulvután (Usulután). In the XIV Century, it reunify again under the name of Mayan-Lencan Principality of Najochan, which survived until the Spanish conquest in 1530.

During the classic period, the dominant sites of the western and central area dealt and they were influenced greatly (still more in the architecture) by Copán.

El Salvador was an important trading centre, and its archaeological remains suggest a number of influences, including Teotihuacán and Pipil Mayan in the west and Lenca, Chorti and Pok'omama in the east. The step-pyramid ruins at Tazumal, San Andrés and Chalchuapa show there has been constant pre-Hispanic occupation for more than 3000 years and that the Maya lived in western El Salvador for over 1000 years. The indigenous population of El Salvador was divided in two great families: the native Lencas, absorbed culturally by the invading Mayan and Nahua (one of the Aztec groups); and the Pipil (that arrived in year 900), descendants of Náhuatl-speaking Toltecs and Aztecs, both Mexican tribes The Pipiles named the the Center of the country, Cuzcatlán (meaning Land of Jewels), and built their capital - now known as Antiguo Cuscatlán - outside San Salvador. Their culture was similar to that of the Aztecs, with heavy Mayan influences on agriculture and economy, including a maize-based agricultural economy that supported several cities, and a complex culture that embraced hieroglyphic writing, astronomy and mathematics.

Until then, the indigenous community enjoyed a social structure and a political organisation. The political organisation before and during the conquest can be divided into three parts:

1. Kingdom (Señorío Chorti) (Extending to the north of the Lempa river and also formed with territories in Guatemala and Honduras)
2. Señorío of Cuzcatlán (Extending from the Paz river and until the Lempa river)
3. Señorío of Chaparrastique (Señorío Lenca) (Extended in all the Eastern zone and also forming territories with Honduras)

Central America was conquered from two places: from the Valley of Anahuac in Mexico, and from the isthmus of Panama. The expeditions sent from Mexico by Hernán Cort, headed by Pedro de Alvarado, had the mission to conquer Cuscatlán, to convert Indians to Christianity and to put them under the laws of the crown of Castile, bringing the district under control of the Captaincy General of Guatemala. On May 31, 1522, the Spaniard Andrés Niño disembarked in the island of Meanguera (in the Gulf of Fonseca); later discovering the bay of Jiquilisco and the Lempa river.

In 1524, Pedro de Alvarado and his brother Diego invaded Cuscatlán, crossing the Paz river, near the town now known as Hachadura. It took the Spaniards fifteen years to completely dominate the Pipil, whom they expelled from their land, destroyed their temples and Gods, and force the natives to work for their benefit putting under the authority of the caciques the one of the invaders.

Alvarado, founded the colony's first capital near present-day Suchitoto before it was moved to its current location a few years later. After a year-long struggle against the Pipil, the Spaniards prevailed and laid claim to the land, sowing plantations of cotton, balsam and indigo.

Throughout the 1700s agriculture boomed, but a group of 14 elite European families maintained control of most of the land, which was farmed by indigenous and African slaves. Father José Matías Delgado organised a revolt against Spain in 1811, but it was quickly suppressed. Napoleon's invasion of Spain the following year increased the impetus for reform, and El Salvador eventually gained independence in 1821. However, this did not alter the dynamics of land ownership, an issue at the core of an unsuccessful rebellion by indigenous peoples in 1833, led by Anastasio Aquino. In 1841, following the dissolution of the Central American Federation (formed between El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua), El Salvador became a sovereign independent nation.

Monumento a la Revolución or Monumento to the Revolution - Rodolfo Villeda

Throughout the following years, the country lived in a state of constant political instability, due to the struggle between liberal and conservatives. The liberals triumphed in 1871, causing a succession of governments directed by landowners and what is known as the Coffee Republic. Between 1881 and 1882, president Rafael Zaldívar decreed the abolition of the communal and ejidal property. Historians consider that this measurement contributed to create a concentration in the possession of land, one of the causes of the Salvadorean civil war in the 20th Century. These circumstances added to the dissatisfactions of the population, the continuous political crises, and the economic depressions and world- wide level recessions took it's rise on the people and lead to the Salvadorean Civil War (from 1980 to 1992).

Peace Accord was signed on January 16, 1992 in the Castle of Chapultepec, Mexico.This would mark a cease-fire, and during the reconstruction process it would include five fundamental areas: The modification of the Armed Forces, the creation of the National Civil Police (PNC), modifications to the judicial system and the defence of the Human rights, modification in the electoral system and adoption of measures in the economic and social field. The fulfilment of this agreements occurred under the trusteeship of a special United Nations mission, which concluded after 3 years of management.

These days El Salvador has the third largest economy in Central America. In 2006 the country signed the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), having been the first in ratifying it two years before. With the adoption of the US dollar as its currency in 2001, El Salvador lost control over monetary policy and must concentrate on maintaining a disciplined fiscal policy. The current government has pursued economic diversification, with some success in promoting textile production, international port services, and tourism through tax incentives. The country is committed to opening the economy to trade and investment, and has embarked on a wave of privatizations of the public sector extending to telecom, electricity distribution, banking, and pension funds. At the end of year 2006, the government and the Millennium Challenge Corporation signed an five year $461 million compact that has as it's objective to stimulate economic growth and reduce poverty in the country's northern region through investments in education, public services, enterprise development, and transportation infrastructure.