History

There were many civilizations over time, living throughout El Salvador. The first were the Olmec tribes. The Olmecs were the Early Indians. Many Indian tribes descended from the Olmecs. They were the first trace of human civilization and lived from about 1500 B.C. to 300 B.C. Later, many different Native American tribes descended from the past Olmec Tribe that branched off in 300 B.C.

The tribe that lived partially in El Salvador were the Mayans. The Mayan civilization lasted from 300 B.C. to 900 A. D. They developed things like a number system, writing, and a calendar. They based their calendar on astronomy, which they all studied and knew. For religion, they had many different Gods and worshiped them all with stone temples, and even sacrifices. They even built one of their cities called Tazumal, in present-day Santa Ana, El Salvador. They also mined, farmed, and made basic tools. At around 900 A.D. the Mayans mysteriously disappeared, and historians have not been able to this day, to figure out why, when, and where they went to.

After the disappearance of the Mayans, the Toltec took control of this area. The Toltec had very advanced weaponry to sustain their rule.

In 1200 A.D, the Aztecs conquered the Toltec civilization, and gained control of their area.

In the 1400's & 1500's European explorers and Spanish conquistadors, began to arrive in Latin America.

In 1519, Hernán Cortés, leader of the Spanish conquistadors, conquered the Aztec civilization, and gained control of El Salvador and the surrounding area.

In 1525, the colony of El Salvador was founded, with other colonies, to form New Spain.

During the colonial times of El Salvador, the Spaniards forced the Natives to learn and practice Christian faith. They also, set up plantations where they had Native American slaves work on, to grow cash crops, such as cotton & citrus.

Much later in the 1800's, Spain still controlled El Salvador. The citizens of El Salvador believed they were being treated unfairly, so they rebelled against Spain, along with many other Latin American Spanish colonies. El Salvador won in a battle against Spain, and then gained independence from Spain, to form their own country of El Salvador.