The History of El Salvador

By MelanieAlvarao1
  • 1524

    Conquered land

    Conquered land
    Spanish conquistador, Pedro de Alvarado, conquered El Salvador alongside his brother. They destroyed the homes of the indigenous people, and forced them into slavery.
  • 1540

    Colony

    The indigenous people give up their land, it becomes a Spanish colony.

  • The Fourteen Families

    Agriculture thrived in the 1700's. The agriculture and wealth was controlled by 'The Fourteen Families'.

  • Independence

    Independence
    In this year on September 15th, El Salvador gained its independence from Spain.

  • UPCA

    UPCA
    El Salvador becomes apart of the United Provinces of Central America.

  • Independence Pt 2

    El Salvador is now fully independent, they are no longer apart of the UPCA.
  • Period: to

    Coffee

    Coffee growing was introduced by President Gerardo Barrios.

  • Struggles

    The Salvadoran government repressed the efforts made by the poor majority to fix the social and economic injustices.

  • Crash

    Due to the US stock market crash, coffee prices in El Salvador collapsed.

  • Great Depression

    The Great Depression hit El Salvador

  • Protest gone wrong

    Protest gone wrong
    The Salvadoran government killed thousands of citizens when they came together to protest to demand their rights. Many people ended up fleeing the country for better pay and work opportunities.
  • Period: to

    Jews

    President Jose Arturo Castellanos gave citizen certificates to around 40,000 jews during the Holocaust.

  • Football War

    Football War
    Honduras and El Salvador engaged in a 4 day war after a soccer match, killing around 3,000 people.

  • Guerrilla Warfare

    Guerrilla Warfare broke out in the cities and the country side amid government repression.
  • Period: to

    Death Squad

    Army-backed right wing death squad killed over 30,000 people.
  • Period: to

    12 Year War

    The Junta promised to improve living conditions but failed to do so. Fought "to make El Salvador safe for democracy"

  • Earthquake

    A large earthquake hit El Salvador. The United States provided the country with $60 million in emergency aid and $98 million in repair funds.

  • Currency

    Currency
    El Salvador adopted the U.S. dollar as their official currency, no longer using Colones.

  • CAFTA-DR

    CAFTA-DR
    El Salvador became the first Central American country to join A regional free trade agreement with the U.S.

  • Murder

    El Salvador had the world's highest murder rate.

  • Rare

    The country went 24 hours without any murders- a rare occurrence in a nation plagued by gang warfare.