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El Salvador Timeline
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El Salvador fights first battle.
El Salvador fought for independence from Spain. This is the date of the first battle. It was harsh but El Salvador did gain freedom. -
Independence on a bigger scale
A junta which was convened by the captain-general for Guatamala. The junta gave full independence for El Salvador. it also gave freedom to othe Latin American countries. -
The United Provinces of Central America
The Untied Provinces of Central America (Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and San Salvador) is created. They gained their independence from Mexico, It dissolved in 1840. -
Destroyed by Earthquake
San Salvador is the capital of El Salvador and is the biggest city in El Salvador. In 1854 it was destroyed by an earthquake which decimated the country. Since it was the biggest city, El Salvador was greatly hurt. -
Army Kills 4,000
A group of farmers were preotesting about how only 8 families had 90% of the money in El Salvador. 4,000 were killed by the army. Many of peasents and farmers saw this as horrible and used it as fuel to rebel. -
The Central American Common Market
The Central American Common Market was set up by a treaty. It was between El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and then Costa Rica. It helped with trade but fell apart by the end of the decade. -
4-day "Soccer War"
El Salvador and Honduras broke foreign relations because of a soccer game. It was a world-cup qualifier and tensions were high. A 4-day war followed after the game and around 3,000 people died. -
Fraud in elections
In the 1972 El Salvador had a presidential election. The blatancy of the fraud the PCN, a political party, used to stay in power angered many Salvadorians. Included were some soldiers and the leftists protested the election. -
Guerilla warfare breaks out
Guerilla warfare breaks out in the citties and throughout the countryside. This is from the poverty and government opression. It was during a time of severe government opression. -
Death squads kill many
From 1979-1981 Right wing backed death squads killied 30,000 people. This is an example of the government opression. They were trying to stop the rebellion but it actually fueled it. Lately we have been able to figure out that most of the deaths were women and children in small towns. -
Archbishop Oscar Romero assasinated
Oscar Romero, the archbishop, was speaking out against the government, against the opression, death squads, and poverty. While he was giving mass, ironically about forgiving those that hurt you, he was assasinated. This fueled the rebellion even more and officially started the war. People in El Salvador still glorify and some even worship Oscar Romero.
In the picture he is in the middle with peasents on the sides with nail holes in their hands and feet representing the suffering. -
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El Salvador civil war
El Salvador had a violent civil war that lasted from 1980-1992. Security forces have been blamed for killing 40,000 people. Torture was common. Guerilla warfare was in abundance. Although the Guerillas did not have as many or as good of weapons they knew the towns and would kill and then take the guns of security forces. Later it has been noted that the U.S. pumped $1.5 million a day to make El Salvador "safe for democracy." -
ARENA party is founded
Army Major Roberto d' aubuisson founded the rightist ARENA party. This party had significant influence on the country, Some of the peasants joined the party. -
Three American nuns and a lay worker were shot
Three American nuns were raped and then shot in San Salvador. The next day peasants found the bodies and buried them. The next day the bodies were unearthed. Lately five guardsman have been convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison. -
FMLN created
The Salvadoran communist party merged with four other leftist group to form the FMLN. The people were so desperate that many actually wanted communism. The FMLN is now the biggest political party in El Salvador. -
Help comes from the U.S.
The United States sent an OPAT (operational and planning assistance team) to El Salvador. U.S. military advisors had also been sent to help the government. They also sent a team to help protect the harvest from guerillas. -
FMLN begins military attacks
The FMLN started there military attacks on the U.S. embassy. They fired RPGs and machine guns at the base. Their attacks grew in intensity. -
Guerilla leader killed
Melida Anaya Montes was shot in Nicaragua. She was a leader of the FMLN guerillas. Many of the gurillas took refuge in Nicaragua under its leftist government. -
Jose Napoleon Duarte elected President
Jose Napoleon Duarte was elected President following 5 years of military rule. He was a Christian Democrat tby party. He was elected earlier as the people's candidate. -
A large earthquake hits
A large earthquake hits El Salvador causing massive destruction. The U.S. sent 60 million dollars in emergency funds and another 98 million dollars in reconstruction money. This shows the United State's involvemnet and interest in El Salvador. -
Civil War ends
Finally after 12 years of a violent civil war that left at least 75,000 dead El Salvador signed a peace pact. After many of the police and guards were sentenced as criminals. Things got better but the civil war is still fresh in the El Salvadorian's minds. It made a big impact on them all.
