Senate Resolution No. 5434

BY: Senator PERALTA

COMMEMORATING the 197th Anniversary of the
Independence of El Salvador from Spain on September
15, 2018

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
economic 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 197th Anniversary of the Independence of El Salvador
from Spain on September 15, 2018.