A Conqueror's Wealth: Notes on the Estate of Don Pedro de Alvarado

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Abstract
The remarkable career of the adelantado don Pedro de Alvarado is associated in the minds of most with his exploits during the conquest of the Aztec state. To a somewhat lesser degree he is remembered as the conqueror, and later governor, of Guatemala. But in retrospect, perhaps his most significant, though less dramatic, achievement was the fact that he was able to maintain his preëminence for two decades. In an age when Charles V followed a policy of removing conquistadores from positions of political power, Alvarado not only retained the good will of the Crown, but also enhanced his authority and prestige. Despite the many crimes of which he was accused, he was not replaced by royal officials. At his death in 1541 he was one of the most powerful men in the New World, overshadowed perhaps only by Viceroy Mendoza, with whom Alvarado had the shrewd sense to make an alliance.

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