Special Sub-Topic: El Salvador Click Here To Play: El Salvador

Who was the Spanish Commander that first invaded the area now known as El Salvador?

Pedro de Alvarado. Under orders from Cortes, de Alvarado left Mexico with some 100 cavalry, 150 foot soldiers and several thousand indigenous allies. He crossed the Rio Paz in 1524. At first the native Pipil people fled before him: towns and villages were deserted, as de Alvarado's reputation for awful ruthlessness had travelled before him. The way to further conquest was open.

Upon finally coming into contact with the Pipil army at Acajutla in 1524, the Spanish won a shattering victory and the Pipil were destroyed.

f. The Pipil soundly thrashed the Spaniards at the Battle of Acajutla. Alvarado was in despair and handed over leadership to his brother and ran off back to Mexico where he died some fifteen years later more than 40,000 pesos in debt.

What was the name of the Pipil archer who shot an arrow through de Alvarado's left knee? The archer became a national hero.

Atonati. The Pipil archer named Atonati severly wounded de Alvarado in the first encounter between the Spanish and indigenous fighters. The wound left the Spanish Commander with one leg a good four inches shorter than the other.

In which year did the Spanish gain total control of El Salvador?

1540. Despite early successes the native people of El Salvador fell prey to internal dissent; a fact that the Spanish were quick exploit. Instead of remaining united, small tribes confronted the Spanish and they were picked off one by one. By 1540 the Spanish held complete dominion over El Salvador and incorporated it into the Spanish Captaincy-General of Guatemala.

Because of the slave trade there are many black people in El Salvador.

f. There are very few black people in El Salvador. No more than 10,000 were brought in as slaves during the colonial period. Apart from the long sea journey making such an import expensive, a planned slave rebellion in El Salvador in 1625 was only just averted and this made the authorities wary of importing any more slaves than was absolutely neccessary for their purposes.

In what year did El Salvador gain independence from Spain?

1821. El Salvador signed, along with the other Central American nations, the Declaration of Independence on September 15, 1821. The ceremony took place in Guatemala City.

The army of which empire besieged the capital of El Salvador, San Salvador, in 1822?

Mexican Empire. Mexico, as the largest of the Central American countries, took the lead after the declaration of independence from Spain and the smaller Central American nations aligned under her leadership in what was known as the Mexican Empire. This empire, however, was very short lived as the other countries of Central America very soon discovered that being bossed around by Mexico was every bit as bad as being ruled by Spain. Within months of its creation the Mexican empire collapsed completely.

The introduction of which European manufacturing process almost ruined the economy in El Salvador in 1879?

Synthetic dyes. Idigo was the prime export of El Salvador when Europe introduced synthetic dyes 1878 and this process meant that the expensive indigo was no longer be needed in any large quantities by European importers. Had it not been for the advent of coffee plantations, which happened at around the same time, the effect on El Salvador's economy would have been ruinous. Oddly enough, idigo is making a comeback; foreign demand is high and so efforts are being made in El Salvador to plant suitable land for this commodity.

What was the war between El Salvador and Honduras in 1969 called?

The Soccer War. The war of 1969 is known as the Soccer War but that is something of a misnomer. The real cause behind this conflict arose from the fact that some 300,000 Salvadorans had settled in Honduras and many Hondurans resented losing their jobs to the hard working immigrants; also a long standing dispute over the border location was a long way from being settled. The two countries had other quite major differences; such as how to apply the rules and regulations relating to the Central American Common Market. The Salvadoran immigrants complained of bad treatment and harrassment and in many cases were expelled from Honduras. Basically unrest was seething. The whole thing came to head during the World Cup play-offs between the two countries and war erupted in July 14, 1969. The war lasted only four days. Militarily, El Salvador won but much damage was done to the economy of both countries. In total there were some 3,000 dead and twice as many wounded. The main highway from San salvador to Santa Ana was used as an airstrip during this war and the marks of badly landed aircraft can still be seen.

In 1975 the Miss Universe pageant was staged at Los Chorros Turicentro just outside San Salvador.

f. The Salvadoran government spent more than one million dollars to ensure the pageant's success. However, a peaceful demonstration against the pageant by as many as 50,000 people ended in horror when police opened fire killing dozens and wounding many more. Needless to say, the event was cancelled.