萨尔瓦多(El Salvador)

正式名称萨尔瓦多共和国（Republic of El Salvador）

中美洲共和国。面积8,260平方哩（21,393平方公里）。人口约6,238,000（2001）。首都︰圣萨尔瓦多（San Salvador）。人口大多数是梅斯蒂索人（欧洲人和印第安人的混血种），少数印第安人（多为皮皮尔人〔Pipil〕）和欧洲人後裔。语言︰西班牙语（官方语）。宗教：天主教。货币︰萨尔瓦多科郎（Salvadoran colón; ）。是中美洲面积最小、人口最稠密的国家，两座火山山脉横跨该国，南部地区有一狭长的海岸地带和高的中央平原。气候分布，从低地的炎热、潮湿，到高地的更为寒冷、潮湿。高海拔地区布满云林（cloud forest）。该国的经济处於开发中状态，以贸易、制造业和农业为基础，咖啡、甘蔗和棉花是主要出口农作物。政府形式是共和国，一院制。国家元首暨政府首脑为总统。

1524年西班牙人来到该区，到1539年征服了皮皮尔印第安人和他们的库斯卡特兰王国（kingdom of Cuzcatlán）。西班牙人将萨尔瓦多划分为两个区，即圣萨尔瓦多和松索纳特（Sonsonate），两地都附属於瓜地马拉。1821年独立後，圣萨尔瓦多并入墨西哥帝国。1823年帝国瓦解，松索纳特和圣萨尔瓦多在中美洲联邦（United Provinces of Central America）内组成新的萨尔瓦多国，建国後，经历了一段政治极为动乱的时期，1931～1979年被军事统治，1979年一场政变推翻了政府。1982年举行大选，建立新政府。1983年通过新宪法，但整个1980年代内战仍持续。1992年达成的一项协议，带来不稳定的停火。

English version：

El Salvador

Republic in Central America. Area: 8,260 sq mi (21,393 sq km). Population (1997 est.): 5,662,000. Capital: San Salvador. The majority of the people are mestizo (mixed European and Indian), with small numbers of Indians (mostly Pipil), and people of European descent. Language: Spanish (official). Religion: Roman Catholicism. Currency: Salvadoran colón. The smallest but most densely populated Central American country, it is crossed by two volcanic mountain ranges, with a narrow coastal region and high central plains in the southern region. The climate ranges from hot and wet in the lowlands to cooler and wetter in the highlands. Cloud forests predominate at the highest elevations. El Salvador has a developing economy based on trade, manufacturing, and agriculture, with coffee, sugarcane, and cotton the major export crops. It is a republic with one legislative house; its chief of state and head of government is the president. The Spanish arrived in the area in 1524 and subjugated the Pipil Indian kingdom of Cuzcatlán by 1539. The country was divided into two districts, San Salvador and Sonsonate, both attached to Guatemala. When independence came in 1821, San Salvador was incorporated into the Mexican empire; upon its collapse in 1823, Sonsonate and San Salvador combined to form the new state of El Salvador within the United Provinces of Central America. From its founding, it experienced a high degree of political turmoil, and was under military rule 1931-79, when the government was ousted in a coup. Elections held in 1982 set up a new government, and in 1983 a new constitution was adopted, but civil war continued through the 1980s. An accord in 1992 brought an uneasy truce.

参考文章

• 萨尔瓦多共和国的历史沿革专项地理
• 海底、墨西哥、危地马拉、萨尔瓦多的由来世界史