Editing Pedro de Alvarado (section)

==Conquest of Soconusco and Guatemala==
{{Main|Spanish conquest of Guatemala}}
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| quote  = ...&nbsp;we waited until they came close enough to shoot their arrows, and then we smashed into them; as they had never seen horses, they grew very fearful, and we made a good advance&nbsp;... and many of them died.
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| source = Pedro de Alvarado describing the approach to Quetzaltenango in his 3rd letter to Hernán Cortés<ref>Alvarado 1524, 2007, p. 30.</ref>
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Cortés despatched Pedro de Alvarado to [[Spanish conquest of Guatemala|invade Guatemala]] with 180 cavalry, 300 infantry, crossbows, muskets, 4 cannons, large amounts of ammunition and gunpowder, and thousands of allied Mexican warriors.<ref>Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 763. Lovell 2005, p. 58. Matthew 2012, pp. 78–79.</ref> Pedro de Alvarado passed through Soconusco with a sizeable force in 1523, en route to conquer Guatemala.<ref>Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 763.</ref> Alvarado's army included hardened veterans of the conquest of the Aztecs, and included cavalry and artillery;<ref>Recinos 1986, p. 62.</ref> there were also a great many indigenous allies from [[Cholula (Mesoamerican site)|Cholula]], Tenochtitlan, [[Texcoco (altepetl)|Texcoco]], [[Tlaxcala]], and [[Xochimilco]].<ref>Recinos 1986, p. 64.</ref>

Alvarado was received in peace in Soconusco, and the inhabitants swore allegiance to the Spanish Crown. They reported that neighbouring groups in Guatemala were attacking them because of their friendly outlook towards the Spanish. Alvarado's letter to [[Hernán Cortés]] describing his passage through Soconusco is lost, and knowledge of events there come from the account of [[Bernal Díaz del Castillo]], who was not present, but related the report of Gonzalo de Alvarado.<ref>Recinos 1986, p. 63.</ref> By 1524, Soconusco had been completely pacified by Alvarado and his forces.<ref>Gasco 1997, pp. 55–56.</ref>

[[File:Lienzo de Tlaxcala Quetzaltenango.gif|thumb|300px|A page from the ''[[Lienzo de Tlaxcala]]'' showing the conquest of [[Quetzaltenango]]]]
Pedro de Alvarado and his army advanced along the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] coast unopposed until they reached the [[Samalá River]] in western Guatemala. This region formed a part of the [[K'iche' Kingdom of Q'umarkaj|K'iche' kingdom]], and a K'iche' army tried unsuccessfully to prevent the Spanish from crossing the river. Once across, the conquistadors ransacked nearby settlements in an effort to terrorise the K'iche'.<ref name="SharerTraxler06p764">Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 764.</ref> On 8 February 1524 Alvarado's army fought a battle at Xetulul, called Zapotitlán by his Mexican allies (modern [[San Francisco Zapotitlán]]). Although suffering many injuries inflicted by defending K'iche' archers, the Spanish and their allies stormed the town and set up camp in the marketplace.<ref>Recinos 1986, p. 65. Gall 1967, pp. 40–41.</ref>

Alvarado then turned to head upriver into the [[Sierra Madre de Chiapas|Sierra Madre mountains]] towards the K'iche' heartlands, crossing the pass into the fertile valley of Quetzaltenango. On 12 February 1524 Alvarado's Mexican allies were ambushed in the pass and driven back by K'iche' warriors but the Spanish cavalry charge that followed was a shock for the K'iche', who had never before seen horses. The cavalry scattered the K'iche' and the army crossed to the city of Xelaju (modern Quetzaltenango) only to find it deserted.<ref>Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 764. Gall 1967, p. 41.</ref>

Almost a week later, on 18 February 1524,<ref name="Gall67p41">Gall 1967, p. 41.</ref> a K'iche' army confronted the Spanish army in the Quetzaltenango valley and were comprehensively defeated; many K'iche' nobles were among the dead.<ref name="Sharer & Traxler 2006, pp.764-765" /> This battle exhausted the K'iche' militarily and they asked for peace and offered tribute, inviting Pedro de Alvarado into their capital [[Q'umarkaj]], which was known as Tecpan Utatlan to the Nahuatl-speaking allies of the Spanish. Alvarado was deeply suspicious of the K'iche' intentions but accepted the offer and marched to Q'umarkaj with his army.<ref name="SharerTraxler06p765">Sharer & Traxler 2006, p. 765.</ref>

[[File:Utatlan1.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Q'umarkaj]] was the capital of the K'iche' kingdom until it was burnt by Alvarado's forces.|alt=Grass- and scrub-covered ruins set against a backdrop of low pine forest. A crumbling squat square tower stands behind to the right, all that remains of the Temple of Tohil, with the remains of the walls of the ballcourt to the left in the foreground.]]
In March 1524 Pedro de Alvarado entered Q'umarkaj at the invitation of the remaining lords of the K'iche' after their catastrophic defeat,<ref>Sharer & Traxler 2006, pp. 764–765. Recinos 1986, pp. 68, 74.</ref> fearing that he was entering a trap.<ref name="Sharer & Traxler 2006, pp.764-765">Sharer and Traxler 2006, pp. 764–765.</ref> He encamped on the plain outside the city rather than accepting lodgings inside.<ref>Recinos 1986, p. 74.</ref> Fearing the great number of K'iche' warriors gathered outside the city and that his cavalry would not be able to manoeuvre in the narrow streets of Q'umarkaj, he invited the leading lords of the city, Oxib-Keh (the king) and Beleheb-Tzy (the  king elect) to visit him in his camp.<ref>Recinos 1986, p. 75. Sharer & Traxler 2006, pp. 764–765.</ref>

As soon as they did so, he seized them and kept them as prisoners in his camp. The K'iche' warriors, seeing their lords taken prisoner, attacked the Spaniards' indigenous allies and managed to kill one of the Spanish soldiers.<ref name="Recinos 1952, 1986, p.75">Recinos 1986, p. 75.</ref> At this point Alvarado decided to have the captured K'iche' lords burnt to death, and then proceeded to burn the entire city.<ref>Recinos 1986, pp. 74–5. Sharer & Traxler 2006, pp. 764–765.</ref> After the destruction of Q'umarkaj and the execution of its rulers, Pedro de Alvarado sent messages to [[Iximche]], capital of the Kaqchikel, proposing an alliance against the remaining K'iche' resistance.<ref name="SharerTraxler06p765" />

===Kaqchikel alliance and conquest of the Tz'utujil===
On 14 April 1524, soon after the defeat of the K'iche', the Spanish were invited into Iximche and were well received by the lords Belehe Qat and Cahi Imox.<ref>Schele & Mathews 1999, p. 297. Guillemín 1965, p. 9.</ref><ref group="nb">Recinos places all these dates two days earlier (e.g. the Spanish arrival at Iximche on 12 April rather than 14 April) based on vague dating in Spanish primary records. Schele and Fahsen calculated all dates on the more securely dated Kaqchikel annals, where equivalent dates are often given in both the Kaqchikel and Spanish calendars. The Schele and Fahsen dates are used in this section. Schele & Mathews 1999, p. 386. n. 15.</ref> The Kaqchikel kings provided native soldiers to assist the conquistadors against continuing K'iche' resistance and to help with the defeat of the neighbouring Tz'utuhil kingdom.<ref name="ScheleMathews99p297">Schele and Mathews 1999, p. 297.</ref> The Spanish only stayed briefly in Iximche before continuing through Atitlán, [[Escuintla]] and [[Cuscatlán Department|Cuscatlán]]. The Spanish returned to the Kaqchikel capital on 23 July 1524 and on 27 July, Pedro de Alvarado declared Iximche as the first capital of Guatemala, Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala ("St. James of the Knights of Guatemala").<ref name="autogenerated297">Schele & Mathews 1999, p. 297. Recinos 1998, p. 101. Guillemín 1965, p. 10.</ref>

[[File:Lago de Atitlán 2009.JPG|thumb|300px|The Tz'utujil kingdom had its capital on the shore of [[Lake Atitlán]].|alt=View across hills to a broad lake bathed in a light mist. The mountainous lake shore curves from the left foreground backwards and to the right, with several volcanoes rising from the far shore, framed by a clear blue sky above.]]
The Kaqchikel appear to have entered into an alliance with the Spanish to defeat their enemies, the Tz'utujil, whose capital was Tecpan Atitlan.<ref name="SharerTraxler06p765" /> Pedro de Alvarado sent two Kaqchikel messengers to Tecpan Atitlan at the request of the Kaqchikel lords, both of whom were killed by the Tz'utujil.<ref>Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 765. Recinos 1986, p. 82.</ref> When news of the killing of the messengers reached the Spanish at Iximche, the conquistadors marched against the Tz'utujil with their Kaqchikel allies.<ref name="SharerTraxler06p765" />

Pedro de Alvarado left Iximche just 5 days after he had arrived there, with 60 cavalry, 150 Spanish infantry and an unspecified number of Kaqchikel warriors. The Spanish and their allies arrived at the lakeshore after a day's hard march, without encountering any opposition. Seeing the lack of resistance, Alvarado rode ahead with 30 cavalry along the lake shore. Opposite a populated island the Spanish at last encountered hostile Tz'utujil warriors and charged among them, scattering and pursuing them to a narrow causeway across which the surviving Tz'utujil fled.<ref name="Recinos86p82">Recinos 1986, p. 82.</ref> The rest of Alvarado's army soon reinforced his party and they successfully stormed the island. This battle took place on 18 April.<ref name="Recinos86p83">Recinos 1986, p. 83.</ref>

The following day the Spanish entered Tecpan Atitlan but found it deserted. Pedro de Alvarado camped in the centre of the city and sent out scouts to find the enemy. They managed to catch some locals and used them to send messages to the Tz'utujil lords, ordering them to submit to the king of Spain. The Tz'utujil leaders responded by surrendering to Pedro de Alvarado and swearing loyalty to Spain, at which point Alvarado considered them pacified and returned to Iximche.<ref name="Recinos86p83" /> Three days after Pedro de Alvarado returned to Iximche, the lords of the Tz'utujil arrived there to pledge their loyalty and offer tribute to the conquistadors.<ref>Sharer and Traxler 2006, pp. 765–766. Recinos 1986, p. 84.</ref> A short time afterwards a number of lords arrived from the Pacific lowlands to swear allegiance to the king of Spain.<ref name="Recinos86p84">Recinos 1986, p. 84.</ref>

===Kaqchikel rebellion===
Pedro de Alvarado rapidly began to demand gold in tribute from the Kaqchikels, souring the friendship between the two peoples.<ref name="ScheleMathews99p298">Schele & Mathews 1999, p. 298.</ref> He demanded that their kings deliver 1000 gold leaves, each worth 15 [[peso]]s.<ref name="Guillemin67p25">Guillemin 1967 p. 25.</ref><ref group="nb">A ''peso'' was a Spanish coin. One peso was worth eight ''reales'' (the source of the term "pieces of eight") or two ''tostones''. During the conquest, a ''peso'' contained {{convert|4.6|g|oz}} of gold. Lovell 2005, p. 223. Recinos 1952, 1986, p. 52. n. 25.</ref> The Kaqchikel people abandoned their city and fled to the forests and hills on 28 August 1524. Ten days later the Spanish declared war on the Kaqchikel.<ref name="ScheleMathews99p298" />

Two years later, on 9 February 1526, a group of sixteen Spanish deserters burnt the palace of the ''[[Iximche#Political organisation|Ahpo Xahil]]'', sacked the temples and kidnapped a priest, acts that the Kaqchikel blamed on Pedro de Alvarado.<ref>Schele & Mathews 1999, pp. 298, 310, 386n19.</ref><ref group="nb">Recinos 1998, p. 19. gives ''sixty'' deserters.</ref> The Kaqchikel kept up resistance against the Spanish for a number of years. On 9 May 1530, exhausted by the warfare that had seen the deaths of their best warriors and the enforced abandonment of their crops,<ref>Polo Sifontes 1986, p. 92.</ref> the two kings of the most important clans returned from the wilds.<ref name="ScheleMathews99p298" /> A day later they were joined by many nobles and their families and many more people; they then surrendered at the new Spanish capital at [[Ciudad Vieja]].<ref name="ScheleMathews99p298" />

===Pacific lowlands of Guatemala===
[[File:Lienzo de Tlaxcala Escuintla.gif|thumb|300px|A page from the ''[[Lienzo de Tlaxcala]]'' depicting the conquest of Izcuintepeque]]
On 8 May 1524, Pedro de Alvarado continued southwards to the Pacific coastal plain with an army numbering approximately 6000,<ref group="nb">Most of these were native allies.</ref> where he defeated the Pipil of Panacal or Panacaltepeque near Izcuintepeque on 9 May.<ref>Fowler 1985, p. 41. Recinos 1998, p. 29. Matthew 2012, p. 81.</ref> Alvarado described the terrain approaching the town as very difficult, covered with dense vegetation and swampland that made the use of cavalry impossible; instead he sent men with crossbows ahead. The Pipil withdrew their scouts because of the heavy rain, believing that the Spanish and their allies would not be able to reach the town that day.<ref name="PoloSifontes81p117" />

Pedro de Alvarado pressed ahead and when the Spanish entered the town the defenders were completely unprepared, with the Pipil warriors indoors sheltering from the torrential rain. In the battle that ensued, the Spanish and their indigenous allies suffered minor losses but the Pipil were able to flee into the forest, sheltered from Spanish pursuit by the weather and the vegetation. Pedro de Alvarado ordered the town to be burnt and sent messengers to the Pipil lords demanding their surrender, otherwise he would lay waste to their lands.<ref name="PoloSifontes81p117" />

According to Alvarado's letter to Cortés, the Pipil came back to the town and submitted to him, accepting the king of Spain as their overlord.<ref>Batres 2009, p. 65.</ref> The Spanish force camped in the captured town for eight days.<ref name="PoloSifontes81p117">Polo Sifontes 1981, p. 117.</ref> A few years later, in 1529, Pedro de Alvarado was accused of using excessive brutality in his conquest of Izcuintepeque, amongst other atrocities.<ref>Batres 2009, p. 66.</ref>

[[File:Moyuta.jpg|thumb|300px|The Pacific slope of [[Jutiapa]] was the scene of a number of battles with the [[Xinca people|Xinca]].]]
In [[Guazacapán]], Pedro de Alvarado described his encounter with people who were neither Maya nor Pipil, speaking a different language altogether; these people were probably Xinca.<ref name="Letona5">Letona Zuleta et al., p. 5.</ref> At this point Alvarado's force consisted of 250 Spanish infantry accompanied by 6,000 indigenous allies, mostly Kaqchikel and Cholutec.<ref name="Letona6">Letona Zuleta et al., p. 6.</ref> Alvarado and his army defeated and occupied the most important Xinca city, named as Atiquipaque. The defending warriors were described by Alvarado as engaging in fierce hand-to-hand combat using spears, stakes and poisoned arrows. The battle took place on 26 May 1524 and resulted in a significant reduction of the Xinca population.<ref name="Letona5" />

Alvarado's army continued eastwards from Atiquipaque, seizing several more Xinca cities. Because Alvarado and his allies could not understand the Xinca language, Alvarado took extra precautions on the march eastward by strengthening his vanguard and rearguard with ten cavalry apiece. In spite of these precautions the baggage train was ambushed by a Xinca army soon after leaving Taxisco. Many indigenous allies were killed and most of the baggage was lost, including all the crossbows and ironwork for the horses.<ref>Recinos 1986, p. 87.</ref>

This was a serious setback and Alvarado camped his army in Nancintla for eight days, during which time he sent two expeditions against the attacking army.<ref>Recinos 1986, pp. 87–88.</ref> Alvarado sent out Xinca messengers to make contact with the enemy but they failed to return. Messengers from the city of [[Pasaco|Pazaco]], in the modern department of Jutiapa,<ref>Mendoza Asencio 2011, pp. 34–35.</ref> offered peace to the conquistadors but when Alvarado arrived there the next day the inhabitants were preparing for war. Alvarado's troops encountered a sizeable quantity of gathered warriors and quickly routed them through the city's streets. From Pazaco, Alvarado crossed the [[Paz River|Río Paz]] and entered what is now El Salvador.<ref>Recinos 1986, p. 88.</ref>