LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating the 189th Anniversary of the Inde-
pendence of El Salvador from Spain on September 15, 2010

WHEREAS, Prior to being under Spanish rule for nearly 300 years, El
Salvador, meaning the Savior, was originally inhabited and ruled by the
Pocomames, Lencas and the Pipil Indians, descendents of the Aztecs; and
WHEREAS, The Spanish first set foot on Meanguera Island in the Gulf of
Fonseca and later established the village of San Salvador, which now
serves as the capital and largest city in El Salvador; and
WHEREAS, Granted the title of city in 1546, San Salvador served as the
Spanish seat of government in the El Salvador territory under the
Audiencia of Mexico; and
WHEREAS, As with every other Latin American territory under Spanish
rule, the Salvadoran people were not content with the absence of econom-
ic freedoms and began to mobilize against the Spanish Crown in 1810; and
WHEREAS, On November 5, 1811, when Priest Jose Matias Delgado rang the
bells of La Merced Church in San Salvador calling for insurrection, the
people began to band together for freedom; and
WHEREAS, At that time, armies were sent from Guatemala to diffuse the
uprisings of the indigenous and middle class people, though a decade
later in 1821, El Salvador and the other Central American provinces
affirmatively declared their independence from Spain; and
WHEREAS, El Salvador immediately resisted joining a union of Central
American countries, but did ultimately join with Mexico in early 1822,
then the United Provinces of Central America in 1823; and
WHEREAS, In 1838, El Salvador finally became an independent republic
upon the breaking of the Union; and
WHEREAS, Many Salvadorans have made New York their home, and this
Legislative Body is justly proud to thank the Salvadoran people for
their contributions to this great Empire State; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 189th Anniversary of the Independence of El Salvador
from Spain on September 15, 2010.