Editing Pedro de Alvarado (section)

==First campaigns in the Americas==
Alvarado and his brothers crossed the Atlantic Ocean before 1511, possibly in 1510.<ref>Gall 1967, p. 38.</ref> By 1511 a system of licenses had been established in Spain to control the flow of colonists to the New World. The only one of the Alvarado brothers that appears in the registers is Juan de Alvarado, in 1511, leading to the assumption that the rest were already in the Americas by the time the licensing system was established.<ref>Recinos 1986, p. 14.</ref> The Alvarado brothers stopped off at [[Hispaniola]], but there are few mentions of their stay there in historical documents.<ref>Recinos 1986, pp. 14–15.</ref>

Soon after arriving in [[Santo Domingo]], on Hispaniola, Pedro de Alvarado established a friendship with [[Hernán Cortés]], who at the time was serving as public scribe. Alvarado joined Cortés to participate in the conquest of [[Cuba]],<ref name="Recinos86p16"/> under the command of [[Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar|Diego de Velázquez]]. The conquest of Cuba was launched in 1511, and Pedro de Alvarado was accompanied by his brothers.<ref name="Recinos86p17">Recinos 1986, p. 17.</ref> Soon after the invasion, Alvarado was managing a prosperous ''[[hacienda]]'' in the new colony.<ref name="Recinos86p16">Recinos 1986, p. 16.</ref> It is around this time that Pedro de Alvarado emerges into the historical record as a prosperous and influential ''hacienda''-owner, already well connected with Velázquez, who was now [[List of colonial governors of Cuba|governor of Cuba]].<ref name="Recinos86p17"/>

===Grijalva expedition, 1518===
{{main|Spanish conquest of Yucatán#Juan de Grijalva, 1518}}

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| caption1 = [[Juan de Grijalva]]
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| caption2 = The coast of [[Cozumel]] was Alvarado's first sight of Yucatán.
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Diego Velázquez, the governor of Cuba, was enthused by [[Francisco Hernández de Córdoba (Yucatán conquistador)|Francisco Hernández de Córdoba]]'s report of gold in the newly discovered [[Yucatán Peninsula]].<ref>Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 759.</ref> He organised an expedition consisting of four ships and 260 men.<ref>Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 759. Clendinnen 2003, p. 14.</ref> He placed his nephew Juan de Grijalva in overall command;<ref>Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 759. Recinos 1986, p. 18.</ref> Pedro de Alvarado captained one of the ships.<ref>Recinos 1986, p. 18.</ref> The small fleet was stocked with [[crossbow]]s, [[musket]]s, barter goods, salted pork and [[cassava bread]].<ref>Clendinnen 2003, pp. 14–15.</ref>

The fleet left Cuba in April 1518,<ref name="SharerTraxler06p760"/> and made its first landfall upon the island of [[Cozumel]],<ref name="Clendinned87,03p15"/> off the east coast of Yucatán.<ref name="SharerTraxler06p760"/> The [[Maya civilization|Maya]] inhabitants of Cozumel fled the Spanish; the fleet then sailed south from Cozumel, along the east coast of the peninsula.<ref name="SharerTraxler06p760Clendinner87,03p15">Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 760.<br>Clendinnen 2003, p. 15.</ref> The Spanish spotted three large [[Maya city|Maya cities]] along the coast. On [[Feast of the Ascension|Ascension Thursday]] the fleet discovered a large bay, which the Spanish named Bahía de la Ascensión.<ref name="SharerTraxler06p760">Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 760.</ref>

Grijalva did not land at any of these cities and turned back north to loop around the north of the Yucatán Peninsula and sail down the west coast.<ref name="SharerTraxler06p760Clendinner87,03p15"/> At [[Campeche, Campeche|Campeche]] the Spanish opened fire against the city with small cannon; the inhabitants fled, allowing the Spanish to take the abandoned city. The Maya remained hidden in the forest, so the Spanish boarded their ships and continued along the coast.<ref name="Clendinned87,03p15">Clendinnen 2003, p. 15.</ref>

At [[Champotón, Campeche|Champotón]], the fleet was approached by a small number of large war canoes, but the ships' cannon soon put them to flight.<ref name="Clendinned87,03p15"/> At the mouth of the [[Tabasco River]] the Spanish sighted massed warriors and canoes but the natives did not approach.<ref>Clendinnen 2003, pp. 15–16.</ref> By means of interpreters, Grijalva indicated that he wished to trade and bartered wine and beads in exchange for food and other supplies. From the natives they received a few gold trinkets and news of the riches of the [[Aztec Empire]] to the west. The expedition continued far enough to confirm the reality of the gold-rich empire,<ref name="Clendinned87,03p16">Clendinnen 2003, p. 16.</ref> sailing as far north as [[Pánuco River]].<ref name="SharerTraxler06p760"/>

At the [[Papaloapan River]], Alvarado ordered his ship upriver, leaving the rest of the small fleet behind to wait for him at the river mouth. This action greatly angered Grijalva, who feared that a lone ship could be lost. After this, the Spanish referred to the river as the ''Río de Alvarado'' ("Alvarado's River").<ref>Recinos 1986, p. 19.</ref> A little further along the coast, the fleet encountered settlements under [[Aztec]] dominion, and was met by Aztec emissaries with gifts of gold and jewels sent by the Emperor [[Moctezuma II]].<ref>Recinos 1986, pp. 19–20.</ref>

As punishment for entering the Papaloapan River without orders, Grijalva sent Alvarado with the ship ''San Sebastián'' to relay news of the discoveries back to Cuba. Alvarado made a triumphal entry to [[Santiago de Cuba]], with a great display of the wealth that had been gained from the expedition. His early arrival in Cuba allowed him to ingratiate himself with the Governor Velázquez before Grijalva's return.<ref name="Recinos86p20">Recinos 1986, p. 20.</ref> The rest of the fleet put into the port of [[Havana]] five months after it had left.<ref name="SharerTraxler06p760"/> Grijalva was coldly received by the governor, who Alvarado had turned against him, claiming much of the glory of the expedition for himself.<ref name="Recinos86p21">Recinos 1986, p. 21.</ref>