Salvador
2 of the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Salvador. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
or SAN SALVADOR, a republic in Central America; on the coast of the Pacific; and bounded by Honduras on the N. and E., and by Guatemala on the N. W.; area, 13,176. Pop. (1919), estimated, 1,298,621; Spanish-speaking Indians and half-breeds. A range of volcanic peaks, varying in height from 4,000 to 9,000 feet, runs through the center of the country, dividing an interior valley from the lowlands on the coast. The largest river is the Lempe, which is only navigable in parts. The soil is remarkably fertile. Sugar, tobacco, cotton, etc., also thrive. Cattle-breeding is carried on, but not extensively. The manufactures are unimportant. The imports in 1918 were valued at $1,228,539, and the exports £2,479,960. Trade is chiefly with the United States, Great Britain, and France. The chief articles of import are cottons, hardware, flour, drugs and chemical products. The chief exports are cofhas been developed in recent years. The established religion is Roman Catholicism. The government is carried on by a president and four ministers. There is a congress of 70 deputies elected by universal suffrage. The inhabitants had long the reputation of being the most industrious in Central America, and the St State, in proportion to its size, is still the most densely peopled. Salvador remained under Spanish rule till 1821, when it asserted its independence and joined the Mexican Confederation. In 1823, however, it seceded from the confederation and subsequently formed part of the Republic of Central America. In 1853 it became an independent republic. Its progress has been much hindered by internal dissensions, revolutions and counter-revolutions following each other without end. The capital is San Salvador. History. In 1913 President Aranjo was killed by an assassin and on the expiration of the term for which he had been elected, Carlos Melendez was in 1915 elected president for the term 1915 to 1919. He at once addressed himself to improving the finances of the country, and in this he met with some success. When the United States entered the war with Germany, the Government proclaimed its neutrality, but explained that its attitude was friendly toward the United States, and in proof of this offered the use of the ports of the country to the United States. In March, 1920, Salvador joined the League of Nations, and at the same time revived a scheme for a central federation or union of the five Central American republics under one governor, such a union to take place on Sept. 15, 1921. An exceptional large crop in 1920 made the year the most prosperous of this country. The coffee harvest was estimated at 100,000,000 pounds. A moratorium, which had been in operation since the beginning of the World War, terminated on June 28, 1920. Congress on Aug. 27, 1920, passed a resolution favoring the political unity of the five republics.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
. See Central America
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's wrote in 1921 that Salvador was the most densely peopled state in Central America and that the coming union of the five republics was set for 15 September 1921; that federation collapsed within about a year, and the country is now known as El Salvador, with roughly six million people at home and around two million more living abroad, chiefly in the United States. The "internal dissensions, revolutions and counter-revolutions" the entry mentions did not end: a peasant uprising was crushed in 1932 with many thousands killed, and a civil war from 1980 to 1992 cost some 75,000 lives before the Chapultepec Peace Accords. Coffee, described as the chief export, has been overtaken by family remittances, which now supply well over a fifth of national income. El Salvador abandoned its own currency for the US dollar in 2001 and in 2021 became the first country in the world to make bitcoin legal tender.
Written for this edition, 2026.