Pedro de Alvarado
Pedro de Alvarado y Contreras (also known as Don Pedro de Alvarado; born
Badajoz,
Spain, c.
1495, died
Guadalajara,
New Spain,
July 41541) was a
Spanish conquistador, known for his skill as a soldier and cruelty to native populations.
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Pedro de Alvarado |
Alvarado went to
Hispaniola in
1510. He held a command in the
Juan de Grijalva expedition sent from
Cuba against
Yucatán in the spring of
1518, and returned in a few months, bearing reports of the wealth and splendour of
Moctezuma II's empire.
In
1519 he accompanied, as chief lieutenant and second in command,
Hernán Cortés in the expedition for the conquest of
Mexico. Alvarado was being appointed to the command of one of the eleven vessels of the fleet. He acted as Cortés's principal officer on the first occupation of the
Aztec capital city of
Tenochtitlán. He was left in command of the forces at Tenochtitlan when Hernán Cortés had to move against
Pánfilo de Narváez. When the Spaniards had temporarily to retire before the Mexican uprising, Alvarado led the rear-guard (
July 1, 1520
see La Noche Triste) and the
Salto de Alvarado — a long leap with the use of his spear, by which he saved his life — became famous.
Sent out by Hernán Cortés with 120 horsemen, 300 footsoldiers and several hundred Cholula and Tlascala auxiliaries, he was engaged in the conquest of the highlands of
Guatemala from
1523 to
1527. At first Alvarado allied himself with the
Cakchiquel nation in his conquest of their traditional rivals the
Quiché nation, but his cruelties alienated the Cakchiquel, and he needed several years to stamp out resistance in the region. Pedro de Alvarado led the first effort by Spanish forces to extend their dominion to the future
El Salvador in June 1524. Spanish efforts were firmly resisted by the indigenous people known as the
Pipil and their Mayan speaking neighbors. Led by a war leader tradition calls
Atlacatl, the indigenous people defeated the Spaniards and forced them to withdraw to Guatemala. Two subsequent expeditions were required — the first in 1525, followed by a smaller group in 1528 — to bring the Pipil under Spanish control. Alvarado was subsequently appointed governor of Guatemala by
Charles I of Spain and remained governor of Guatemala until his death.In
1534 Alvarado heard tales of the riches of
Peru, headed south to the
Andes and attempted to bring the province of
Quito under his rule. When he arrived he found the land already held by
Francisco Pizarro's lieutenant
Sebastian de Belalcazar. The two forces of Conquistadors almost came to blows, but then Pizarro paid off Alvarado to leave.
During a visit to Spain, in
1537, Alvarado had the governorship of
Honduras conferred upon him in addition to that of Guatemala for next seven years.
Alvarado fought to suppress a major revolt by the
Mixtón natives of the
Nueva Galicia region of Mexico in 1541. After an unsuccessful assault on the fortified peak of
Nochistlan, Alvarado was leading a retreat when he was crushed by a horse that lost its footing. He died a few days later, on
July 4,
1541, and was buried in the church at
Tiripetio (in present-day
Michoacán). Four decades later, his daughter Leonor Alvarado Xicoténcatl paid to transport his remains to Guatemala for reburial in the cathedral of the city of Santiago (now
Antigua Guatemala).
*
Tecún Umán*
The massacre in the Main Temple, Tenochtitlán*
La Noche Triste*
Catholic Encyclopedia:Pedro de Alvarado
