El Salvador has received many names in the past including ‘Cuscation’ which means the land of beautiful jewels, but what caught on was the name taken from Jesus Christ- El Salvador or The Saviour. El Salvador is situated on the pacific coast of Central America, with Guatemala on the west and Honduras on the north and east. It is the smallest country of Western Hemisphere with an area of just 8,123 square miles. In 1524 the Spaniards arrived in El Salvador and established their capital at San Salvador (St Saviour) the following year.