Pedro de Alvarado y Contreras was a Spanish conquistador and governor of Guatemala.
Background
Pedro de Alvarado was born in 1485 in the town of Badajoz, Extremadura.
His father was Gómez de Alvarado, and his mother was Leonor de Contreras, Gómez's second wife.
Pedro de Alvarado had a twin sister, Sarra, and four full-blood brothers, Jorge, Gonzalo, Gómez, and Juan.
Pedro had an illegitimate half brother, also named Juan, referred to in contemporary sources as Juan el Bastardo.
Alvarado's paternal grandfather was Juan Alvarado "el Viejo" ("the elder"), who was comendador of Hornachos, and his paternal grandmother was Catalina Messía. Pedro de Alvarado's uncle on his father's side was Diego de Alvarado y Messía, who was the comendador of Lobón, Puebla, and Montijo, alcalde of Montánchez, and lord of Castellanos and of Cubillana. Diego was a veteran of the campaigns against the Moors.
Career
Very little is known of Pedro de Alvarado's early life before his arrival in the Americas.
He is considered the conquistador of much of Central America, including Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Although renowned for his skill as a soldier, Alvarado is known also for the cruelty of his treatment of native populations, and mass murders committed in the subjugation of the native peoples of Mexico.
He went to Hispaniola (1510), sailed in the expedition (1518) of Juan de Grijalva, and was the chief lieutenant of Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico.
He commanded at Tenochtitlán in the absence of Cortés, and his brutality provoked a brief native rebellion.
Sent out by Cortés in 1523, he conquered Guatemala and Salvador.
He met with much opposition from the audiencia in Mexico, but strengthening his power on two voyages to Spain (1527–28, 1536–39), he exercised absolute control.
In 1540, Alvarado, sailing for the Moluccas, stopped in Mexico.
While there he was influenced by the viceroy Antonio de Mendoza and by the tales of Marcos de Niza to begin a search for the fabled Cibola.
When the indigenous people of Nueva Galicia unexpectedly revolted in 1541, Alvarado took part against them in the Mixtón War.
He led a foolhardy attack and was accidentally killed in the subsequent retreat.
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo took command of the maritime expedition.
His letters concerning the conquest of Guatemala have been published.
He died on July 4, 1541, and was buried in the church at Tiripetío, a village between Pátzcuaro and Morelia (in present-day Michoacán).
Achievements
He founded many cities and developed the colony.
He participated in the conquest of Cuba, in Juan de Grijalva's exploration of the coasts of the Yucatán Peninsula and the Gulf of Mexico, and in the conquest of Mexico led by Hernán Cortés.
He is considered the conquistador of much of Central America, including Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
Personality
Pedro de Alvarado was flamboyant and charismatic, and was both a brilliant military commander and a cruel, hardened man. His hair and beard were blond, which earned him the name of Tonatiuh from the Aztecs, the name of one of their sun gods. He was handsome, and presented an affable appearance, but was volatile and quick to anger. He was ruthless in his dealings with the indigenous peoples he set out to conquer. Historians judge that his greed drove him to excessive cruelty, and his Spanish contemporaries denounced his extreme brutality during his lifetime. He was a poor governor of territories he had conquered, and restlessly sought out new adventures.
He was a poor governor of territories he had conquered, and restlessly sought out new adventures.
In his easy recourse to violence, Alvarado was a product of his time, and Alvarado was not the only conquistador to have resorted to such actions. Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro carried out deeds of similar cruelty, but have not attracted as much criticism as Alvarado.
Quotes from others about the person
American historian William H. Prescott described Alvarado's character in the following terms:
"Alvarado was a cavalier of high family, gallant and chivalrous, and [Cortes'] warm personal friend. He had talents for action, was possessed of firmness and intrepidity, while his frank and dazzling manners made the Tonatiuh an especial favourite with the Mexicans. But, underneath this showy exterior, the future conqueror of Guatemala concealed a heart rash, rapacious, and cruel. He was altogether destitute of that moderation, which, in the delicate position he occupied, was a quality of more worth than all the rest. "
Spanish chronicler Antonio de Remesal commented that "Alvarado desired more to be feared than loved by his subjects, whether they were Indians or Spaniards. "
Connections
Alvarado had no children from either of his legal marriages.
His life companion was his concubine Luisa de Tlaxcala (also called Xicoténcatl or Tecubalsi, her original names after Catholic baptism). She was a Nahua noblewoman, daughter of the Tlaxcallan Chief Xicotencatl the Elder. Luisa was given by her father in 1519 to Hernán Cortés as a proof of respect and friendship. In turn Cortés gave her in guard to Pedro de Alvarado, who quickly and unremarkably became her lover. Luisa followed Alvarado in his pursuit of conquests beyond central Mexico. Despite never being his legitimate wife, Luisa de Tlaxcala had numerous possessions and was respected as a Doña, both for her relationship with Alvarado and for her noble origin. She died in 1535 and was buried at the Guatemala Cathedral.
With Luisa de Tlaxcala Pedro de Alvarado had three children.
