HIST338 Midterm

Encomienda System

The encomienda system was a Spanish colonial system that allowed colonists to collect tribute and demand labor from Indigenous communities in exchange for supposed protection and Christianization, helping Spain control Indigenous populations and extract wealth from Central America in the 1500s.

Casta System

The casta system was a Spanish colonial system that classified people based on their ancestry, especially European, Indigenous, and African ancestry, reinforcing racial and social hierarchies by affecting people's social status, legal rights, and opportunities, as shown in casta paintings.

Spanish Conquest of Central America

Spain’s effort to conquer Indigenous territories during the 1500s, overcoming resistance from different Indigenous communities and establishing colonial rule that brought forced labor, Christian conversion, land appropriation, and major population loss.

Central American Independence

September 15, 1821, when Central America ended Spanish rule, influenced by liberal ideas and independence movements elsewhere, but political conflicts continued over how the region should be governed.

Annexation to the Mexican Empire

occurred in 1822–1823, when Central America joined Mexico after gaining independence from Spain, creating disputes over regional autonomy before separating from Mexico in 1823 and moving toward forming its own federation.

• Central America joined the Mexican Empire through a mix of political pressure and support for annexation, rather than a major war to conquer the region.

• Some leaders voted to join Mexico, but others resisted, especially in El Salvador. Mexico sent troops under General Vicente Filísola to suppress Salvadoran resistance and enforce the annexation.

Federal Republic of Central America

Federation formed in 1823–1824 that united Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica under one federal government, but conflicts over political power, taxes, and liberal versus conservative ideas caused it to break apart beginning in 1838.

Rafael Carrera

Guatemalan military and political leader who led the conservative movement in the 1830s–1840s, challenged liberal federalist leaders, and helped bring about the collapse of the Central American Federation and establish Guatemala as an independent state.

Dissolution of the Central American Federation

The breakup of the union of five Central American states beginning in 1838, caused by civil wars, conflicts between liberals and conservatives, and disagreements over taxes and government power, resulting in the states eventually becoming separate independent countries.

Liberalism and conservatism

Competing political ideologies in Central America during the 1820s–1830s, with liberals generally supporting reforms and federalism while conservatives defended traditional institutions and social hierarchies, and their conflicts contributed to civil war and the collapse of the Central American Federation.

Coffee Boom in El Salvador

the rapid growth of coffee production and exports during the late 1800s and early 1900s, which brought wealth and funded infrastructure but concentrated economic and political power among wealthy landowners.

Coffee Oligarchy / Coffee Elite

small group of wealthy Salvadoran coffee-growing landowners who controlled much of the country’s wealth and political power during the late 1800s and early 1900s, increasing inequality by concentrating land and resources among elites.

Abolition of Communal Lands

occurred when the government ended Indigenous and community-owned land systems in the late 1800s, allowing more land to be used for private coffee plantations and forcing many Indigenous and rural communities to lose access to their traditional lands.

Mandamiento / Labor Drafts

systems of forced or compulsory labor used to make Indigenous and rural people work on agricultural estates, including coffee plantations, continuing colonial patterns of labor exploitation after Central American independence.

Vagrancy Laws

laws that punished people who lacked recognized employment or could not prove they had a livelihood, making it harder for landless rural people in El Salvador to avoid working on coffee plantations and helping wealthy landowners secure a steady workforce.

Indigenous Resistance to Land Dispossession

the opposition of Indigenous and rural communities in El Salvador during the 1880s–1890s to losing their communal lands to coffee plantations, as they fought to protect their land, livelihoods, and independence.

1931 Coup d'état

was the military overthrow of President Arturo Araujo in December 1931, bringing Maximiliano Hernández Martínez to power amid economic problems and political tensions, and setting the stage for the violent government crackdown during La Matanza in 1932.

Maximiliano Hernández Martínez

a Salvadoran military officer and president from 1931 to 1944 who led the government during La Matanza in 1932, ordering a violent crackdown on the uprising that killed thousands of Indigenous and rural people and strengthened military rule in El Salvador.

The January 1932 Uprising

a revolt by Indigenous and rural communities, along with communist organizers, against El Salvador’s government and powerful landowners over poverty, land loss, and labor exploitation, which led to the government’s brutal crackdown known as La Matanza.

La Matanza (The Massacre)

the mass killing of thousands of predominantly Indigenous and rural Salvadorans by government forces in January–February 1932 after an uprising, driven by land inequality, poverty, labor exploitation, and communist organizing, devastating Indigenous communities and suppressing political resistance.

Communist Party of El Salvador (PCS)

founded in 1930 to promote communist ideas and organize workers and peasants against economic inequality, and it became associated with the 1932 uprising, which the government used as justification for widespread anti-communist repression during La Matanza.

Civic Guards

civilian groups mobilized to help the Salvadoran government suppress suspected rebels after the January 1932 uprising, assisting the military in restoring government control and participating in the persecution of suspected rebels during La Matanza.

Roque Dalton

Salvadoran poet and revolutionary who used his writing to criticize government oppression, imperialism, and social inequality, joined revolutionary movements, and was killed in 1975, becoming a symbol of the connection between literature and political resistance in El Salvador.

The Committed Generation

group of Salvadoran writers in the 1950s and early 1960s who used literature to criticize government repression, inequality, and oppression, turning poetry and writing into tools for political resistance and social change.

People's Revolutionary Army (ERP)

an armed revolutionary organization in El Salvador during the 1970s that fought for political and social change, opposed government repression, and became known for its involvement in the revolutionary movement and the controversial 1975 killing of poet Roque Dalton.

ANDES 21 de Junio

a major Salvadoran teachers’ organization founded in 1965 that fought for better salaries and working conditions, organizing nationwide strikes in 1968 and becoming an important symbol of labor resistance against government pressure.

National Guard (Guardia Nacional)

a security force established in El Salvador in 1912 that operated in rural areas to maintain order, protect the existing political and economic system, and suppress labor organizers and rural communities challenging powerful landowners.

Labor Unions and Labor Organizing

efforts by Salvadoran workers to unite and demand better wages, working conditions, and rights, growing during the 1920s, being suppressed under Martínez’s regime, and returning in the late 1950s and 1960s as an important form of resistance to inequality and government repression.

Cuban Revolution

the revolution that overthrew Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista in January 1959 and brought Fidel Castro to power, inspiring Salvadoran activists to challenge authoritarian government and inequality and consider socialism and armed revolution as ways to achieve change.

José María Lemus Regime

A period when José María Lemus was president of El Salvador. His government initially allowed some political freedoms and labor organizing, but later used repression against opposition groups, and he was overthrown by a military coup in 1960.

United Front of Revolutionary Action (FUAR) 1961-1963

A revolutionary organization in El Salvador formed by communist intellectuals that opposed U.S. influence, organized peasants, and supported more radical protests and military training, showing that some activists were beginning to consider armed revolution to fight inequality and land ownership problems.

Catholic Action and Liberation Theology (1960s)

Catholic groups and religious leaders began focusing more on helping poor people, especially rural farmers, through education, community organizing, and fighting social inequality, sometimes working alongside left-wing activists.

The New Left

A newer generation of 1960s of activists who wanted more radical social change, inspired by the Cuban Revolution, student protests, and anti-colonial movements, and who challenged older communist groups over how to fight inequality and whether to use armed struggle.

Cold War in Latin America

1947–1991

A global struggle between the U.S. (capitalism) and the Soviet Union (communism) that led the U.S. to support anti-communist governments in Latin America, including governments that suppressed left-wing activists, students, and labor unions.

Alliance for Progress

(1961): A U.S. program launched by President John F. Kennedy to improve Latin American economies and reduce poverty while preventing the spread of communism, combining development aid with support for anti-communist governments and security forces.

Modernization Theory

(1950s–1960s): The idea that countries develop by moving from traditional societies toward industrialization, modern institutions, and higher living standards, although economic growth did not necessarily eliminate poverty or inequality in El Salvador.

ORDEN

A Salvadoran anti-communist organization that worked with the military to monitor rural communities, identify suspected left-wing activists, and intimidate government opponents, helping expand political repression beyond the regular military and police.

Foco Theory

(1960s): A revolutionary strategy associated with Che Guevara that argued a small group of committed guerrilla fighters could inspire ordinary people to join a larger revolution and overthrow the existing government.

El Grupo

1969 An early Salvadoran urban guerrilla group that used secret organization and armed resistance against the government; after security forces dismantled it, surviving members joined other revolutionary groups, helping lay the groundwork for the ERP

Lil Milagro Ramírez

(1946–1979): A Salvadoran poet, writer, and revolutionary who joined underground political organizing against government repression and was captured and killed in secret detention, illustrating the role of women and intellectuals in El Salvador’s revolutionary movement.

Maoism

(1960s–1970s): A communist ideology developed by Chinese leader Mao Zedong that emphasized the role of poor peasants and rural communities in starting a revolution to overthrow the existing system.

Guevarism

(1960s–1970s): Revolutionary ideas associated with Che Guevara that emphasized guerrilla warfare and the belief that a small group of committed fighters could help spark a larger revolution.

FPL (Fuerzas Populares de Liberación) 1970

A Salvadoran left-wing revolutionary organization formed by former members of the Communist Party who believed armed struggle, influenced by Marxism-Leninism and Maoism, was necessary to overthrow the government and change El Salvador’s unequal social system.

Salvador Cayetano Carpio (“Marcial”)

Salvador Cayetano Carpio (“Marcial”) was a Salvadoran communist leader who founded the FPL in 1970 after leaving the traditional Communist Party because he believed armed struggle was necessary for revolutionary change.

ANDES 21 de Junio and the 1971 Teachers' Strike

a Salvadoran teachers’ association that led a 58-day strike in 1971 for better pay and working conditions, demonstrating the power of labor organizing while pushing some activists toward armed struggle after their demands went unmet.

Mélida Anaya Montes (“Ana María”)

a Salvadoran teacher and labor organizer who became a major female leader in the FPL, connecting the teachers’ movement to the armed revolutionary struggle during the 1970s.

National Opposition Union (UNO)

was a coalition of Salvadoran opposition parties that challenged the ruling government in the 1972 and 1977 elections, but having its electoral victories overturned weakened people’s faith in democracy and pushed some toward armed struggle.

many Salvadorans lost faith in elections as a way to create change.

The 1972 Salvadoran Elections

The 1972 Salvadoran election was when opposition candidate José Napoleón Duarte and UNO were widely reported to have won, but the military-backed government overturned the results and declared the ruling PCN’s candidate, Arturo Armando Molina, the winner, causing many Salvadorans to lose faith in elections as a way to achieve political change.

The 1977 Salvadoran Elections

The 1977 Salvadoran election was another election in which UNO claimed victory, but the government declared its own candidate the winner, leading protesters to occupy Plaza Libertad for eight days before government forces attacked them, further convincing many Salvadorans that peaceful elections could not bring political change.

National Conciliation Party (PCN)

The National Conciliation Party (PCN) was a political party founded in 1961 that dominated El Salvador’s government with military support, using election manipulation and repression to maintain power and prevent opposition parties from taking control.

FPL in Chalatenango

The FPL began expanding into rural Chalatenango in 1973, gradually gaining peasants’ trust by addressing their concerns and working through Christian Base Communities, which helped the organization grow beyond a small guerrilla group into a broader revolutionary movement.

Union of Rural Workers (UTC)

The Union of Rural Workers (UTC) was a Salvadoran labor organization established in 1974 that united agricultural workers to fight for better wages and working conditions, helping connect rural workers’ economic struggles with the broader revolutionary movement.