El Salvador is the smallest and also the most densely populated country in Central America. It borders the Pacific Ocean between Guatemala and Honduras. It lies on the Gulf of Fonseca, as do Honduras and Nicaragua further south. It has a population of approximately 6.1 million people, as of 2009 The capital city of San Salvador is the largest city of the republic. The colón was the currency of El Salvador between 1892 and 2001, until El Salvador adopted the U.S. Dollar. The colón continues to be legal tender.
In the early sixteenth century, the Spanish conquistadors ventured into ports to extend their dominion to the area. They called the land "(Provincia De Nuestro Señor Jesus Cristo, El Salvador Del Mundo)" ("Province Of Our Lord Jesus Christ, The Savior Of The World"), which was subsequently abbreviated to "El Salvador". Pedro de Alvarado sent an expedition into the region from Guatemala in 1524, but the indigenous Pipil drove them out in 1526. In 1528 he sent a second expedition, which succeeded, and the Spanish founded their first capital city in El Salvador at a place known today as Ciudad Vieja, the first site of the Villa de San Salvador, 10 km. south of Suchitoto. This capital was occupied from 1528 until 1545 when it was abandoned, and the capital city moved to where modern San Salvador is today.
