The first settled peoples of El Salvador were the
Maya
, who had arrived in the territory from Guatemala by 1200 BC or earlier. By 500 BC they had developed several large settlements in the west and the centre, the most important of which was Chalchuapa - close to present-day Santa Ana - trading in ceramics and obsidian across Mesoamerica. A catastrophic eruption of Volcán Ilopango around 250 AD spread ash over ten thousand square kilometres and all but wiped out many of these settlements, forcing their inhabitants to flee north. Over the next two hundred years, during the early Classic Period (300-900 AD), the land began to be repopulated, with important cities developing at San Andrés, Tazumal, Cara Sucia and, in the east, Quelepa. West of the Río Lempa the
Maya-Quiché
predominated, with the Chortís (Chortí being a dialect of Quiché) settling around Santa Tomas and Tejutla in what is today the department of Chalatenango. To the east of the river the
Lenca
- a mix of the early nomadic tribes and groups of Maya-Quiché, with linguistic links to the South American Chibchan group - established themselves and developed in overall isolation from their neighbours.
Around 900 AD, when - for reasons still unclear - the Classic Maya culture began to crumble, these cities were abandoned. During the early Postclassic period (900-1200 AD), waves of Nahuat-speaking groups began to migrate south from Mexico, seeking land and power. These settlers, who established themselves in west and central El Salvador and in the northwest around Metapán, came to be known as the
Pipils
. New seats of power were built at Cihuatán, Tehuacán and Cuscatlán; unusually, the deserted Maya city of Tazumal was also reoccupied. The new settlers planted maize, beans, cocoa and tobacco, lived in highly stratified societies under a hereditary system of military rule, had highly developed arts and sciences and worshipped the sun and the idols of Quetzalcoatl (man), Itzqueye (woman), Tlaloc (rain) and Mictlanteuctli (god of the underworld). Trade links with the west and north were strong, based on the exchange of cocoa, which was extensively cultivated.
Final waves of Nahuat speakers arrived in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, threatening and occasionally displacing the already established communities and disrupting the network of trade, possibly contributing to the abandonment of Cihuatán and Tehuacán. Chief among the new immigrants were the
Nonualcos
, who settled around what is now the city of Zacatecoluca, and the
Pok'omans
who moved in around Chalchuapa.
The conquest of El Salvador
The first
conquistador
to set foot on El Salvador was Andrés Niño who, exploring the Pacific coast of the isthmus, landed on the island of Meanguera in the Golfo de Fonseca on May 31, 1522. The Spanish returned in June 1524 when
Pedro de...
read more >>
Colonial rule
Though the new territory never yielded the fabled riches of the mythical El Dorado, the fertile lands provided sufficient wealth for those Spanish who chose to take advantage. The
encomienda
system was established and haciendas developed,...
read more >>
Independence
Following the deposition of Mexican leader Augustín Iturbide in 1822, which brought an end to the hopes of a Mexican Empire, the Salvadorean Manuel José Arce was elected first president of the
Federal Republic of Central America
in April 1825....
read more >>
A coffee oligarchy: 1860-1931
Commercial production of
coffee
became widespread from 1860 onwards, fuelled by the collapse in demand for indigo following the development of synthetic dyes - and the growing popularity of coffee in Europe and North America. Other exports -...
read more >>
Anastasio Aquino and the indigenous rebellion
The most serious challenge to the nascent government of El Salvador came in 1833 with the indigenous uprising led by
Anastasio Aquino
. Ostensibly a protest against the practice of forced conscription among hacienda workers, the month-long...
read more >>
The early twentieth century
On the back of the profits from the coffee boom, the first decades of the twentieth century were a period of relative
economic stability
and development for El Salvador. Transport links, including railways, and a communications system were...
read more >>
1932 and "La Matanza"
Despite some initial success, Romero's and Arujo's plans for democratic consolidation were brought to an abrupt end by international events. The
Wall Street Crash
in November 1929 and the Great Depression that followed were catastrophic for El...
read more >>
Military government 1932-80
The rebellion and its bloody aftermath ushered in a era of
military rule
as the oligarchy, desperate to defend its interests, handed political power to the army while retaining economic control. For the next fifty years the two groups worked...
read more >>
The 1980s
In October 1980 the formal integration of all left-wing guerrilla organizations led to the foundation of the Frente Faribundo Martí de Liberación Nacional, or
FMLN
. Three months later, in January 1981, the FMLN launched its first general...
read more >>
Steps towards peace
At the close of 1989, an end to the fighting seemed a remote dream. Yet in April 1990, representatives of both the FMLN and the government, under the chairmanship of the UN, met in Geneva for the first of a series of
negotiations
that would...
read more >>
EL Salvador at peace
Recovery from the brutalization of civil war was slow. Many disaffected former combatants remained on the fringes of society, while unemployment soared and the circulation of firearms went unchecked. Delinquency, crime and violence ensued. The first...
read more >>
Dollarization and after
On 30 November 2000, the Asamblea Legislativa approved the ARENA government's plan to
dollarize
the domestic economy - El Salvador thus became the third Latin American nation, along with Ecuador and Panamá, to elect to use the US dollar in all...
read more >>
