Gómez de Alvarado y Contreras (; 1482 – September 1542) was a Spanish ''

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

'' and

explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

. He was a member of the

Alvarado family Alvarado was the Spanish family of conquistadors. # ''Diego Gómez de Alvarado y Mexía de Sandoval''. the Commander of municipalities including Lobón, Montijo and Cubillana, ''Alcalde'' of Montánchez, ''Trece'' of the Order of Santiago, Lord ...

and the older brother of the famous ''conquistador''

Pedro de Alvarado Pedro de Alvarado (; 1485 – 4 July 1541) was a Spanish conquistador, ''conquistador'', ''adelantado,'' governor and Captaincy General of Guatemala, captain general of Guatemala.Lovell, Lutz and Swezey 1984, p. 461. He participated in the c ...

. Alvarado participated in the

Spanish colonization of the Americas The Spanish colonization of the Americas began in 1493 on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic) after the initial 1492 voyage of Genoa, Genoese mariner Christopher Columbus under license from Queen Isabella ...

beginning in 1510. He held the rank of captain of the

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

and served in the Spanish campaigns against the

Aztec Empire The Aztec Empire, also known as the Triple Alliance (, Help:IPA/Nahuatl, �jéːʃkaːn̥ t͡ɬaʔtoːˈlóːjaːn̥ or the Tenochca Empire, was an alliance of three Nahuas, Nahua altepetl, city-states: , , and . These three city-states rul ...

, the

Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

and

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

, and the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

. He founded the

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

vian city of

Huánuco Huánuco (; ) is a city in central Peru. It had a population of 196,627 as of 2017 and in 2015 it had a population of 175,068. It is the capital of the Huánuco Region and the Huánuco District. It is the seat of the diocese of Huánuco. The met ...

in 1539 and died of an illness shortly following the Battle of Chupas in 1542.

Early life and family

Gómez de Alvarado y Contreras was born in 1482 in

Badajoz Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portugal, Portuguese Portugal–Spain border, border, on the left bank of the river ...

Extremadura Extremadura ( ; ; ; ; Fala language, Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is a landlocked autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, Spain, Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central- ...

Crown of Castile The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Castile, Castile and Kingd ...

. He was a member of the

, a notable Spanish family of ''conquistadors''. His parents were Gómez de Alvarado y Mexía de Sandoval and Leonor Contreras Carvajal y Gutiérrez.Rújula Ochotorena, José, y Solar Taboada, Antonio. ''Los Alvarado en el Nuevo Mundo, Tomo 1'', en ''Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia, Tomo 105 (1934), pp. 257-294''. Reimpresión digital: Alicante, Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, 2012. pp. 273, 292-294 (PDF pp.19, 38-40 de 40).Rújula Ochotorena, José, y Solar Taboada, Antonio. ''Los Alvarado en el Nuevo Mundo, Tomo 2'', en ''Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia, Tomo 106 (Abr-Jun 1935), pp. 485-529''. Reimpresión digital: Alicante, Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, 2012. pp. 516-518 (PDF pp. 46-48 de 59). Linaje de Pedro Alvarado. His siblings were Jorge (b. 1460),

Pedro Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meanin ...

(b. 1485), Sarra (b. 1485), Juan (b. 1490), and Gonzalo (b. 1490).Castejón 2004. Alvarado married Bernardina de Frias and fathered two children: Isabel and Ana.

Campaigns in New Spain

Alvarado left Extremadura for

Spanish America Spanish America refers to the Spanish territories in the Americas during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The term "Spanish America" was specifically used during the territories' Spanish Empire, imperial era between 15th and 19th centur ...

in 1510 with his brothers Jorge, Pedro, and Gonzalo, their uncle Diego de Alvarado y Mexía de Sandoval, and their cousins Hernando, Diego, and Gonzalo.Cañas Dinarte 2016.Asselbergs 2004, p. 87.Rújula y Ochotorena and Solar y Taboada, p. 292. They served under

Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca (December 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions o ...

during the

Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was a pivotal event in the history of the Americas, marked by the collision of the Aztec Triple Alliance and the Spanish Empire. Taking place between 1519 and 1521, this event saw the Spanish conquistad ...

. On 6 December 1523, Pedro led his brothers, cousins, and uncle, including Gómez, out of

Tenochtitlan , also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, was a large Mexican in what is now the historic center of Mexico City. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear, but the date 13 March 1325 was chosen in 1925 to celebrate the 600th annivers ...

in command of a Spanish army consisting of 120 horsemen with 170 horses, 300 foot soldiers, and 130 crossbowmen to what is modern-day

, beginning the

Spanish conquest of Guatemala In a protracted conflict during the Spanish colonization of the Americas, Spanish colonisers gradually incorporated the territory that became the modern country of Guatemala into the colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain. Before the conquest, this te ...

that would last well into the 17th century.Asselbergs 2004, pp. 87–88.Asselbergs 2004, pp. 95–97. Pedro was known for his cruelness and ruthlessness during his conquest of Guatemala, and the same attributes were shared by his brothers, including Gómez. Atrocities, such as massacres, looting, village burning, rapes, and kidnapping indigenous people for slave labor, were commonly committed by their men.Asselbergs 2004, pp. 88–89. By the end of 1524, Pedro, Jorge, and Gómez began the conquest of Cuzcatlan in modern-day

.Asselbergs 2004, p. 90. In the Battle of Tacuzcalco, Alvarado commanded twenty cavalrymen against the left flank of the indigenous army under

Atlácatl Atlácatl (Nahuatl ''Ātlācatl'': ''ātl'' "water", ''tlācatl'' "human being"; died 1528) is reputed to have been the name of the last ruler of an Indigenous state based around the city of Cuzcatlan, in the southeastern periphery of Mesoameri ...

.Recinos 1986, p. 91. During the conquest, the city of

San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...

was founded on 1 April 1525 at the current site of

Ciudad Vieja Ciudad Vieja () is a town and municipality in the Guatemalan Departments of Guatemala, department of Sacatepéquez. According to the 2018 census, the town has a population of 32,802Diego de Holguín as the city's first

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

.García Granados 1924, p. 10.Arce and Antonio 2001, p. 118 The city was refounded on 1 April 1528 at its modern-day location and Diego de Alvarado ( es), Alvarado's nephew, became its mayor.Matthew and Oudijk 2007, p. 108.

Campaigns in Peru

In 1532, Pedro left

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

to join

Francisco Pizarro Francisco Pizarro, Marquess of the Atabillos (; ; – 26 June 1541) was a Spanish ''conquistador'', best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Born in Trujillo, Cáceres, Trujillo, Spain, to a poor fam ...

in the

conquest Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...

of the

and Gómez joined him in 1534 after serving as mayor of San Salvador from 1532 until 1534.García Añoveros 1987, p. 248. Alvarado served under

Diego de Almagro Diego de Almagro (; – July 8, 1538), also known as El Adelantado and El Viejo, was a Spanish conquistador known for his exploits in western South America. He participated with Francisco Pizarro in the Spanish conquest of Peru. While subduing ...

in the conquest. Alvarado commanded 90 cavalrymen in the Spanish victory at the Battle of Reinogüelén against

Mapuche The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...

forces under

Michimalonco Michima Lonco ( – ) (''lonco'' meaning "head" or "chief" in Mapudungun language, Mapudungun) was a Mapuche chief who ruled as an independent sovereign over the territory of the Aconcagua, Mapocho and Maipo valleys. He freed the Picunche (norther ...

in September 1536.Mariño de Lobera 1970, pp. 25–26. When civil war erupted between forces under Pizarro and Almagro in 1537, Alvarado sided with Almargo under the banner of Nueva Toledo against Pizarro's Nueva Castile.Rújula y Ochotorena and Solar y Taboada, p. 293. He participated in the Almagrist victory at the Battle of Abancay on 12 July 1537 and was captured during the Almagrist defeat during the Battle of Las Salinas on 6 April 1538.MacQuarrie 2007, p. 338. He refused to surrender his sword to a Spaniard, and instead gave it to an African slave. After Almagro was executed, Alvarado received a pardon from Pizarro and later founded the Peruvian city of

in 1539. The city was abandoned and refounded in 1541 and later received the title of "Very Noble and Very Loyal" by the Spanish Emperor Carlos I in 1543. Pizarro was assassinated on 26 June 1541 on orders of Diego de Almagro II in revenge for executing his father in 1538.MacQuarrie 2007, pp. 342–343. The assassination sparked a second civil war where

Cristóbal Vaca de Castro Cristóbal Vaca de Castro (c. 1492, Izagre, León (province), León, Spain – 1566, Valladolid, Spain) was a Spanish people, Spanish colonial administrator in Peru. Background Vaca de Castro's parents were Garci Diez de Castro and Guiomar Cabez ...

sought to regain full control of Spanish Peru from Almagro who also sought to control the territory.MacQuarrie 2007, pp. 343–344. The armies of Almagro and Vaca de Castro engaged at the Battle of Chupas with Alvarado serving under Almagro.MacQuarrie 2007, p. 344. The Almagrists were defeated in battle; Almagro fled but was later captured and executed, suffering the fate of many other captured Almagrists who were hanged by Vaca de Castro's forces. Alvarado evaded capture by Vaca de Castro following the battle, but he was taken ill with a fever shortly after the battle. His health deteriorated and he died a few days after the battle in September 1542 in the town of Vilcashuamán. His body was transferred to Huamanga and he was buried in the local parish. Since his death, Alvarado has been confused with another Gómez de Alvarado, who is nicknamed "el Mozo," to distinguish him from Alvarado who is nicknamed "el Viejo."

Ancestors

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Alvarado family genealogy

Alvarado y Contreras family genealogy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarado, Gómez de Spanish conquistadors 1480s births 1542 deaths People from New Spain People of colonial Peru Extremaduran conquistadors Spanish generals People from Badajoz 16th-century Spanish explorers Mayors of San Salvador Spanish city founders