El Salvador is a country in Central America with a population of approximately 6.9 million people. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the north and east by Honduras, and to the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador is the most densely populated nation on the American mainland (especially in its capital, San Salvador) and also the most industrialized country in the region. The official name is Republic of El Salvador (Spanish: República de El Salvador, IPA: ). The country was named after the Spanish word for "The Savior" in honor of Jesus and its territory was known prehispanically as Cuscatlán.

History

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In June, 1524, Spanish Captain Pedro Alvares Cabral attacked Cuscatlán (land of beautiful jewels), which was populated by the native tribes of the land. After 17 days of bloody battles many natives and Spaniards died. Pedro de Alvarado, defeated and hurt in his left hip, abandoned the fight and ran to Guatemala, telling his brother, Gonzalo de Alvarado, to continue with the conquest of Cuscatlán. Later, his cousin Diego de Alvarado established the villa of San Salvador on April, 1525. King Carlos I of Spain granted San Salvador the title of city in the year 1546. During the following years, El Salvador developed under Spanish dominion within the Kingdom of Guatemala. Towards the end of 1810 a combination of external and internal factors allowed Central American elites to attempt independence from the Spanish crown. The internal factors were mainly the interest the elites had in controlling the territories they owned as they pleased, without so much involvement from Spanish authorities. The external factors that enabled such independence movement were the success of the French and American revolutions in the 18th Century and the weakening of the military power of the Spanish crown because of its wars against Napoleonic France. The independence movement was consolidated on November 5th, 1811, when the Salvadoran priest, Jose Matías Delgado, sounded the bells of the Iglesia La Merced in San Salvador, making a call for the insurrection. After many years of internal fights, the Acta de Independencia (Act of Independence) of Central America was signed in Guatemala on September 15th, 1821.

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