Pedro de Alvarado

1485-1541

Place of Birth: Badojoz, Estremadura, Spain




Biography:




Pedro de Alvarado was born in 1485 in the town of Badajoz, Esremadura. 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, Gonzaloz, Gómez, and Juan. Pedro had an illegitimate half brother, also named Juan, referred to in contemporary sources as Juan el Bastardo.


Very little is known of Pedro de Alvarado's early life before his arrival in the Americas. During the conquest of the americans, tales of his youthful exploits in Spain became popular legends, but their veracity is doubtful. An example is the tale then current that when he was a youth awaiting passage to the Americas, he climbed the church tower in Seville with some friends. A banner pole extended some 3.0 to 3.7 metres (10 to 12 ft) from an upper window. One of his companions walked out to the end of the pole after removing his cloak and sword, and returned to the tower backwards. Alvarado, afraid of being mocked, walked out onto the pole with both sword and cloak, and turned around at the end to return to the tower facing it.


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 Lobon, Puebla, and Montijo, Alcalde of Montanchez, and lord of Castellanos and of Cubillana. Diego was a veteran of the campaigns against the Moors.(from the minds of wikipedia.com)






Legacy:


He is considered the conquistador of much of Central America, including Guatamala 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.