Pedro de Alvarado

Pedro de Alvarado
Pedro de Alvarado in a contemporaneous rendition.
Born	ca. 1485 Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain
Died	July 4, 1541 (aged c. 55–56) Guadalajara, New Spain

Pedro de Alvarado y Contreras (Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain, ca. 1485 – Guadalajara, New Spain, 4 July 1541) was a Spanish conquistador and governor of Guatemala. He participated in the conquest of Cuba, in Juan de Grijalva's exploration of the coasts of the Yucatán Peninsula and the Gulf of Mexico, and in the conquest of Mexico led by Hernán Cortés. He is considered the conquistador of much of Central America, including Guatemala, Honduras 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.

Historiography portrays that indigenous people, both Nahuatl-speakers and speakers of other languages, called him Tonatiuh, meaning "sun" in the Nahuatl language. Yet he was also called "Red Sun" in Nahuatl, which allows a variety of interpretations. Whether this epithet refers to Alvarado's red hair, some esoteric quality attributed to him, or both, is disputed.

Pedro de Alvarado was flamboyant and charismatic, and was both a brilliant military commander and a cruel, hardened man. His hair and beard were blond, which earned him the name of Tonatiuh from the Aztecs, the name of one of their sun gods. He was handsome, and presented an affable appearance, but was volatile and quick to anger. He was ruthless in his dealings with the indigenous peoples he set out to conquer. Historians judge that his greed drove him to excessive cruelty, and his Spanish contemporaries denounced his extreme brutality during his lifetime. He was a poor governor of territories he had conquered, and restlessly sought out new adventures.