San Salvador

San Salvador

The name given by Columbus to his first discovery in the New World. It is one of the Bahama group of islands, and lies to the east of the southern extremity of Florida in 24° north lat. and 75° west long. It is also known under its Indian name of Guanahani. There has been endless discussion as to exactly which one of the Bahamas was first discovered by Columbus, and it is probable that men will never quite agree. All that can be said positively is that the first land discovered by him was one of the Bahamas. Different writers have at different times claimed the distinction for Cat Island, Samana, Mariguana, Grand Turk, and Watling's Island. The name San Salvador was given to Cat Island during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but it does not fit the description given by Columbus in as much as it is not low and level and has no interior lagoon. A noteworthy attempt to prove that Samana was the landfall was made by Captain Gustavus V. Fox, of the United States Navy, in the "Report of the United States Coast Survey" for 1880. Navarrete first advocated Grand Turk Island in 1826, and Varnhagen in 1864 wrote a paper advocating Mariguana. The weight of modern testimony, however, seems to favor Watling's Island. Lieutenant J. B. Murdoch an American naval officer, made a careful study of the subject, and found that in Columbus's description there were more points of resemblance in Watling's Island than in any other of the group. Among others whose opimon carries weight, and who are advocates of Watling's Island, are Major, the map-custodian of the British Museum, and the eminent geographer, Clements R. Markham.

See bibliography of COLUMBUS.

VENTURA FUENTES

San Salvador

San Salvador

(SANCTI SALVATORIS IN AMERICA CENTRALI)

Diocese. The Republic of Salvador, often incorrectly called San Salvador from the name of its capital, is the smallest and most thickly populated state of Central America. It is bounded on the W. by Guatemala, on the N. and E. by Honduras, on the S. by the Pacific Ocean. It lies between 92° 26´ 55´´ and 89° 57´ W. long., and 14° 27´ 20´´ and 13° 2´ 22´´ N. lat., being 50 miles long and 186 miles broad. It is 7225 square miles in area and is divided politically into 14 departments. The population in 1906 was 1,116,253, of whom 772,200 were Ladinos (mixed Spanish and Indian blood), and 224,648 Indians, the latter being principally Pipils, but partly Chontalli. The chief towns are San Salvador (59,540), Santa Anna (48,120), San Miguel (24,768), and Nueva San Salvador (18,770); the chief port is La Union (4000). With the exception of a narrow alluvial seaboard Salvador is a high plateau, intersected by mountains containing many volcanoes, five of which are active. The most remarkable of the latter, Izalco, popularly called the "Lighthouse of Salvador" from its almost continual eruptions (three to each hour), broke out in a small plain on 23 February, 1770, and has now a cone over 6000 feet high. Earthquakes are frequent and San Salvador has often suffered, especially on 16 April, 1854, when the entire city was levelled in ten seconds. Salvador is rich in minerals, gold, silver, copper, mercury, and coal being mined. The chief imports, which in 1909 had a value of $4,176,931 (gold), are machinery, woollens, cottons, drugs, hardware; the chief exports besides minerals are indigo, sugar, coffee, and Peruvian balsam, valued at $16,963,000 (silver).

Railroads connect the capital with Santa Tecla and the port of Acajutla. Education is free and compulsory but very backward. There are about 600 primary schools, with 30,000 enrolled pupils, 20 high schools (3 normal, and 3 technical), and a university at San Salvador with faculties of engineering, law, medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry. The National Library (founded 1867) has 20,000 volumes; a National Museum was established in 1903. Salvador was invaded by Pedro Alvarado in 1524, emancipated from Spain in 1821, and made part of the Federation of Central America in 1824. In 1839 it became free. Its Constitution finally adopted in 1886 provides for a president elected for four years, with a right to nominate four secretaries of State, and a National Assembly of 70 members, 42 of whom are landholders, all elected by universal male suffrage. Catholicism is the state religion, but the civil authorities are hostile and have confiscated the sources of church revenue. San Salvador on the Rio Acelhuate in the valley of Las Hamacas was founded in 1528, but rebuilt in 1539, about twenty miles south of its first site; the diocese, erected on 28 September, 1842, is suffragan of Santiago of Guatemala, and contains 589 churches and chapels, 190 secular and 45 regular clergy, 70 nuns, 89 parishes, 3 colleges for boys and 3 for girls, and a Catholic population of over 1,000,000; the present bishop, who succeeded Mgr. Carcamo, is Mgr. Antonio Adolfo PÈrez y Aguilar, born at San Salvador, 20 March, 1839, and appointed on 13 January, 1888.

Salvador: Bulletin of the Bureau of American Republics (Washington, 1892); Reyes, Nociones de historia del Salvador (San Salvador, 1886); Pector, Notice sur le Salvador (Paris, 1889); GonsÁlez, Datos sobre la república de El Salvador (San Salvador, 1901); Keane, Central America, II (London, 1901), 183-94.

A.A. MACERLEAN