El Salvador is a small, densely populated country in Central America with a history of conflict between Spanish colonizers and indigenous people. The 20th century was marked by wars and political struggles, including a civil war that ended in 1992. Today, the country is growing economically and is a democratic republic. Its Pacific beaches attract surfers, and its capital, San Salvador, is known for its nightlife.
El Salvador, or officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a lush and fertile Central American country located on the Pacific Ocean and bordering Guatemala and Honduras. It is the smallest country in Central America, with a land area of 8,000 square miles (20,720 sq km). It is densely populated, with over 2 million of its total population of 6.9 million living in the capital San Salvador.
The earliest known settlers of El Salvador were the Pipil Indians, descendants of the Aztecs – they arrived in the 11th century AD. When the Spanish arrived in the 11th, a long conflict for control began between them and the indigenous people. In the 1500s, the indigenous people were conquered and Spain began colonization of the area. On November 1525, 5, the struggle for independence began again, but it was not until September 1811, 15 that the Acta de Independencia, or declaration of independence, was issued against Spain.
El Salvador successively became part of the United Provinces of Central America and later the Grand Republic of Central America before dissolving. The 20th century will be marked by wars, violence and political struggles. The coffee trade made the precious few very rich and would prove to be a point of contention among many. From 20 to 1931, El Salvador was under military dictatorship.
In 1969, El Salvador and Honduras engaged in what was termed the “soccer war,” which lasted four days and began during a soccer match. Border disputes and the expulsion of Salvadorans from Honduras sparked the confrontation. El Salvador would be at war again in the late 1970s, this time against itself. The civil war pitted the ruling party, the conservative National Conciliation Party (PCN) against the leftist Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN). In 1992 the war ended definitively with a peace treaty between the government and the guerrilla group, after 12 years and 75,000 dead.
Today El Salvador is one of the poorest countries in the region, but its economy is growing rapidly and is strengthening, thanks in part to its involvement in the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) of March 2006 and the adoption of the US dollar as its currency. It is currently a democratic republic with a democratically elected president.
El Salvador is the only Central American country without a Caribbean coast. While its tourism industry isn’t as strong as some of its neighbors, its Pacific beaches draw surfers, and San Salvador draws others for its nightlife. Its climate is mainly tropical, with a rainy season from May to October.
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