Pedro de Alvarado

His first marriage was to Francisca de la Cueva, the niece of Francisco de los Cobos, the Spanish king's secretary, and a member of the powerful noble house of Albuquerque. His wife died shortly after their arrival in America.

He later on married one of his first wife's sisters, Beatriz de la Cueva. He did not have any legitimate children from either of his marriages.

He was in a long-term relationship with Luisa de Tlaxcala, a Nahua noblewoman, daughter of the Tlaxcallan Chief Xicotencatl the Elder. In spite of not being married to him, she was respected for her relationship with Alvarado and for her noble origin. This union resulted in the birth of three children. Alvarado also had two other children with other women.

Pedro de Alvarado was born in 1485 in the town of Badajoz, Extremadura, to Gómez de Alvarado and Leonor de Contreras. Pedro had a twin sister, four full-blood brothers, and an illegitimate half-brother.

Not much is known about his childhood and early life experiences though there is no doubt that he grew up to be an adventurous young man. Around 1510, he along with his brothers crossed the Atlantic Ocean to venture into the New World.

Pedro de Alvarado soon arrived at Santo Domingo, on Hispaniola where he met Hernan Cortes who was serving as a public scribe. The two men struck up a friendship and participated in the conquest of Cuba, under the command of Diego de Velázquez.

Following the conquest, Diego de Velázquez became the governor of Cuba. Alvarado settled into a prosperous life as an estate owner. The governor heard reports of gold in the newly discovered Yucatán Peninsula and organized an expedition of four ships and 260 men to explore the area. Alvarado was made the captain of one of these ships.

The expedition left Cuba in April 1518. Over the course of their journey, the men confirmed the news of the presence of riches in the Aztec Empire (modern-day Mexico) to the west, and also collected golden trinkets as proof.

During the expedition, Alvarado disobeyed Juan de Grijalva, the overall commander of the expedition which greatly angered him. As a punishment, Grijalva sent back Alvarado to Cuba to relay the news of the discoveries of the riches. Alvarado was received enthusiastically in Cuba and soon plans were made for further expeditions to the gold-rich lands.

In February 1519 a new expedition was organized, with a fleet of 11 ships carrying 500 men and some horses to conquer Mexico. Hernan Cortes was placed in command of the expedition of which Alvarado was also a part. Alvarado was a brave man blessed with great military skills. Cortes recognized this and gave him important leadership roles.

A renowned conquistador who participated in several significant Spanish conquests, Pedro de Alvarado is best known for leading the conquest of Guatemala. He was dispatched by Cortes to invade Guatemala during the Spanish expedition against the Aztecs. Alvarado successfully conquered Guatemala and was made its governor.