The Spanish conquest of Guatemala was in 1524, when Hernán Cortés sent an army of 400 Spanish and 200 Mexicans under the command of Pedro de Alvarado. An army of 30,000 Indians were unable to defeat the Spanish because of their new military technology. Pedro de Alvarado took six years to conquer all parts of Guatemala. Alvarado had a reputation for cruelty and was recalled to Spain. [A]
He returned to rule Guatemala as if it was his personal kingdom. Also, he became wealthy as the first governor in Guatemala. He died in 1541. The Spanish brought many European diseases, including small pox, influenza, and measles, which killed half of the original population. [A]
No comments:
Post a Comment