Spanish conquest of El Salvador
Spanish conquest of El Salvador | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Spanish colonization of the Americas | |||||||||
Indigenous ethnic groups of El Salvador, prior to Spanish conquest | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Belligerents | |||||||||
Spanish Empire, including Indian auxiliaries |
Indigenous peoples of El Salvador , including:
| ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
|
The Spanish conquest of El Salvador was the campaign undertaken by the
. Native weaponry consisted of spears, bows and arrows, and wooden swords with inset stone blades; they wore padded cotton armour.The Spanish conquistadores were largely volunteers, receiving the spoils of victory instead of a salary; many were experienced soldiers who had already campaigned in Europe. The Spanish expeditions to Central America were launched from three different Spanish jurisdictions, resulting in rival conquests by mutually hostile Spanish captains. Spanish weaponry included swords, firearms, crossbows and light artillery. Metal armour was impractical in the hot, humid climate of Central America and the Spanish were quick to adopt the quilted cotton armour of the natives. The conquistadors were supported by a large number of Indian auxiliaries drawn from previously encountered Mesoamerican groups.
The first campaign against the native inhabitants was undertaken in 1524 by
In 1529, El Salvador became embroiled in a jurisdictional dispute with neighbouring Nicaragua. Pedrarias Dávila sent Martín de Estete at the head of an expedition to annex the territory to Nicaragua. Estete captured the leader of a rival Spanish expedition in eastern El Salvador, and marched on San Salvador, before being repulsed by a relief force sent from Guatemala. In 1530, Pedro de Alvarado ordered the establishment of a new settlement at San Miguel, in the east of the country, to protect against further incursions from Nicaragua and to assist in the conquest of the surrounding area. Indigenous uprisings against the invaders continued, spreading from neighbouring Honduras. The general uprising across the two provinces was put down by the end of 1538, and by 1539 the province was considered pacified. The conquistadores discovered that there was little gold or silver to be found in El Salvador, and it became a colonial backwater with a small Spanish population, within the jurisdiction of the Captaincy General of Guatemala.[3]
El Salvador before the conquest
Before the conquest,
The three principal kingdoms of Cuscatlan, Izalco, and Chaparrastique engaged in regular warfare, and smaller groups occasionally rebelled against their larger neighbours. There was flourishing trade, with cacao as the principal commodity, although maize, cotton, and balsam were also traded.[7]
Native weaponry and tactics
The
After the first two large-scale battles between the Spanish and Pipil armies resulted in decisive victories for the European invaders, the natives preferred to flee their settlements at their approach rather than face the conquistadors on an open battlefield.[15] A common tactic of the natives was to concentrate themselves in strongly defended mountaintop fortresses.[16]
Background to the conquest
In the first two decades of the 16th century, the Spanish established their domination over the islands of the
Conquistadors
The conquistadors were all volunteers, the majority of whom did not receive a fixed salary but instead a portion of the spoils of victory, in the form of
The conquistadors were accompanied by a great many
A key strategy was the establishment of colonial towns across the territories that underwent the process of conquest and colonisation; they were used to project Spanish power over the surrounding countryside.[29] The Spanish were particularly horrified by the Mesoamerican religious practice of human sacrifice, prompting them to attempt to eradicate the native religion.[4]
Spanish weapons and armour
The steel sword was the greatest Spanish advantage in terms of weaponry.
Metal armour was of limited use in the hot, wet tropical climate. It was heavy and had to be constantly cleaned to prevent rusting; in direct sunlight, metal armour became unbearably hot. Conquistadores often went without metal armour, or only donned it immediately prior to battle.
Impact of Old World diseases
Diseases introduced to the Americas by the conquistadors had a great impact upon indigenous populations. As the Spanish were occupied with the conquest of Mexico, these diseases ran ahead of them from 1519 onwards.[40] A smallpox epidemic swept through Guatemala in 1520–1521, and is also likely to have spread throughout the Pipil region of El Salvador.[41] By the time the Spanish arrived in the area in 1524, it is estimated that up to 50% of the native population of El Salvador had already been eliminated by the new diseases, against which they had no immunity.[40] It is likely that disease had significantly weakened the Pipil by the time they fielded large armies against the Spanish at Acajutla and Tacuzcalco.[41] Further waves of epidemic diseases spread across Mesoamerica in 1545–1548, and again in 1576–1581, reducing indigenous populations to just 10% of their pre-contact levels,[42] making successful resistance against the European colonisers extremely difficult.[40] The deadliest of the newly introduced diseases were smallpox, malaria, measles, typhus, and yellow fever.[43] Their introduction was catastrophic in the Americas; it is estimated that 90% of the indigenous population had been eliminated by disease within the first century of European contact.[44]
Spanish discovery of El Salvador
Conquest
The territory now incorporated into
First expeditions, 1524–1528
Battle of Acajutla, 1524
From Acatepeque, the Spanish expedition proceeded to
Battle of Tacuzcalco, 1524
Six days after the battle, Alvarado marched northeast searching for the city of Tacuzcalco,[52] some 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from Acajutla,[53] in the modern department of Sonsonate.[54] Pedro de Portocarrero led a group of mounted scouts that managed to capture two native lookouts, from whom they learned that a large native army had gathered near the city, with forces gathered from the surrounding area. The Spanish scouts advanced until they found the enemy, then waited for the vanguard of forty cavalry led by Gonzalo de Alvarado. Pedro de Alvarado was travelling in the rearguard, slowed by his wounds. Alvarado watched the battle unfold from a nearby viewpoint, and left command in the hands of his brothers. He sent Gómez de Alvarado with twenty cavalry to attack the left flank, and Gonzalo de Alvarado with thirty cavalry against the right flank. He sent Jorge de Alvarado with the rest of his men against a mass of warriors that was still distant but they stood off for a time, believing that the two forces were separated by a swamp. As soon as the Spanish discovered that the apparent swamp was in fact solid ground, they charged the enemy and routed them, killing a great many.[55] After this battle, the Pipil refused to confront the Spanish upon an open battlefield, and resorted to guerilla tactics.[53]
Retreat to Guatemala, 1524
Alvarado rested two days at Tazuzcalco, before proceeding to Miahuaclan, which had been abandoned by its inhabitants, then on to Atehuan (modern
Although the Spanish had won decisive victories at
Founding of San Salvador
Gonzalo de Alvarado founded the settlement of Villa de San Salvador in early 1525,[10] before May of that year,[59] but it was attacked and destroyed by natives in 1526,[10] during a general Pipil uprising that engulfed the province of Cuzcatlan.[60] Diego de Alvarado, who was Pedro de Alvarado's cousin, was sent to reconquer Cuzcatlan in the same year;[61] he was accompanied by 300 Indian auxiliaries from Soconusco, 160 of whom died in the campaign.[62] He was joined by Pedro de Alvarado after the latter returned from an expedition to Chiapas.[59] By 1526, the territory of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras was racked by indigenous wars against the Spanish invaders.[63] Izalco did not join the general uprising, having been militarily exhausted by the battles of Acajutla and Tacuzcalco.[53] The campaign that followed lasted two years, during which the Spanish battled continually against indigenous resistance.[64] During this time, the natives defended themselves from fortified mountain strongholds.[65] Pedro de Alvarado undertook further expeditions to El Salvador in 1526 and 1528.[10] In 1528, the conquest of Cuzcatlan was completed,[65] with the aid of a significant body of Nahua allies from central and southern Mexico.[66] On 1 April 1528,[67] Diego de Alvarado reestablished San Salvador, and distributed encomienda rights among his supporters.[10] This site is now known as Ciudad Vieja, and is situated 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) south of Suchitoto.[67] The location may have been chosen because it occupied a no-man's-land between the territory of the Pipil to the west, the Lenca to the east, and the Ch'orti' to the north.[68] For the first few years, San Salvador was a frontier town under the constant threat of indigenous attack.[63] Soon after the town was re-founded, a Spaniard and some indigenous auxiliaries were killed when visiting a nearby settlement.[69]
Battle of Cinacantan, 1528
The uprising around San Salvador was put down about a month later, when the Spanish stormed the mountaintop stronghold at Cinacantan,[69] 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) south of the modern town of Tamanique.[70] The hostile natives had retreated to their stronghold after their earlier attack.[71] The uprising was considered the first native rebellion in Cuzcatlan, since the initial invasion had already taken place, and San Salvador founded as a Spanish town. A Spanish column was despatched from San Salvador, led by Diego de Alvarado and supported by indigenous auxiliaries.[72] They found three or four allied native groups had set up a defensive position upon the strongly fortified Peñol de Cinacantan ("Rock of Cinacantan", now known as Cerro Redondo);[71] at least one of the groups was Pipil, and possibly all of them.[34] The sides of the fortress were shear, except for a single approach that was strongly defended.[71] As the Spanish party attempted to storm the fortress, the natives threw rocks down upon them, and showered them with arrows and spears.[73] On the first day, Spanish assaults were twice beaten back.[71] Seeing that the fortress could not easily be taken, the Spanish built a wooden siege engine, which greatly impressed the defenders.[73] One of the native lords called a truce and asked the Spanish to return to San Salvador, and promised that the rebellious Indians would arrive to swear loyalty to the King of Spain. The attackers believed this to be a trick, and launched a new attack using their newly built siege tower. They breached the fortifications and killed many of the defenders, while many others fled in terror.[34] Once the fortress had fallen, the defeated Pipil defenders were given in encomienda to the inhabitants of San Salvador; the inhabitants were probably reduced to Tamanique.[74]
Inter-Spanish rivalry, 1529–1530
In 1529, Pedrarias Dávila sent an expedition led by Martín de Estete to annex the territory of El Salvador to his domains in neighbouring Nicaragua,[10] going so far as to distribute the unconquered natives of the Gulf of Fonseca in encomienda to his followers. At the time, Diego de Rojas was in command of the Spanish forces attempting to pacify indigenous resistance centred on Popocatepet. In January or February 1530, Martín de Estete captured Rojas, and marched on San Salvador, but was unable to gain the support of the residents there, and set up camp at Perulapan (modern San Martín Perulapán), just to the south, which he called Ciudad de los Caballeros ("City of the Knights").[60] The acting governor of Guatemala, Francisco de Orduña, sent his captain Francisco López at the head of an expedition to drive out the interlopers.[75] López left Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala in March 1530 with thirty cavalry, and an unspecified body of infantry. The residents of San Salvador rose up in arms to join the relief force; Estete abandoned his camp and retreated towards Nicaragua, taking with him 2,000 enslaved Cuzcatlecos. López pursued Estete and caught up with his forces after crossing the Lempa River. Estete and his second-in-command fled for Nicaragua, and his soldiers surrendered to López. Diego de Rojas was freed, and the slaves recovered. This intervention put an end to Pedrarias Dávila's hopes of securing El Salvador as part of Nicaragua.[76]
Eastern El Salvador, 1530–1538
In order to defend against further rival Spanish incursions from the southeast, Pedro de Alvarado established the Spanish town of San Miguel, which he also used as a base of operations for attacks against the Lenca.[10] A Spanish force commanded by Luis de Moscoso Alvarado, consisting of about 120 Spanish cavalry, accompanied by infantry and Indian auxiliaries, crossed the Lempa River and founded San Miguel on 21 November 1530.[77] In addition to the Spanish colonists, the settlement included Mexica and Tlaxcalan allies, among other Indian auxiliaries.[78] Most of the Spanish population of San Miguel abandoned El Salvador with Pedro de Alvarado when he set out on his expedition to Peru.[10]
Cristóbal de la Cueva, under orders from Jorge de Alvarado in Guatemala, had entered Honduras with about 40 men to establish a new port and road to Guatemala, and to put down a native uprising there. He was challenged by Andrés de Cerezeda, governor of Honduras, and eventually marched south to San Miguel with his men,[79] bringing an urgently needed influx of new colonists.[80] San Miguel was refounded as San Miguel de la Frontera by Cristóbal de la Cueva on 15 April 1535.[78] De la Cueva brought the area back within the jurisdiction of Guatemala, although the governor of Honduras vigorously protested.[79] Eastern El Salvador, centred on the town of San Miguel, became the Province of San Miguel,[81] which included the territory of the pre-Columbian province of Chaparrastique.[49]
In early 1537, San Miguel was isolated by a general Lenca uprising that spread south from Honduras.[78] A native army laid siege to San Miguel over the course of three days from 27 March. Their surprise attack caught many of the inhabitants defenceless, and 50–60 Spanish colonists were killed, more than half of the Spaniards then resident in the town. After three days the attackers were repulsed by reinforcements that were passing through from Guatemala en route to Peru, with the help of a detachment from San Salvador under the command of Antonio de Quintanilla.[82] This uprising enveloped the territory of El Salvador, led by the Lenca ruler Lempira, and focused upon the Peñol de Cerquín, about 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of San Salvador, within Honduras.[69] Francisco de Montejo, then governor of Honduras, urgently appealed to San Salvador for reinforcements and supplies.[83] Montejo sent twenty Spaniards supported by native auxiliaries south towards the Valley of Xocorro,[83] within the jurisdictional claim of San Miguel, but a scouting party was captured by the Spaniards resident there, and Montejo's column withdrew back to Honduras;[84] en route to Comayagua they were attacked by a Lenca force, and killed almost to a man.[85]
The inhabitants of San Salvador, alarmed by the uprising engulfing the region, responded by sending a great quantity of weapons, armour, gunpowder, and other supplies to Francisco de Montejo in Honduras. They also sent 100 Indian auxiliaries, with 1,000 native porters.[86] Further supplies were forthcoming from the embattled residents of San Miguel.[87] By the end of 1538, Lempira's stronghold had been taken by the Spanish,[88] and Montejo crossed from Honduras to San Miguel to assist in putting down continued indigenous resistance in the district.[89]
Colonial organisation
By 1539, the Spanish advances in
Historical sources
The Annals of the Cakchiquels, an indigenous document from the Guatemalan Highlands, contains an account of Pedro de Alvarado's initial incursion into El Salvador.[93] Pedro de Alvarado wrote four letters to Hernán Cortés describing his conquest of Guatemala and El Salvador, of which two survive. One of these relates his expedition into El Salvador, with an eye to military detail. It is of particular use in its description of tactics and weaponry, although it is disdainful of the native culture.[94]
See also
Notes
- ^ Arce, Escalante (2012). "Crónicas de Cuzcatlán-Nequepio y del Mar del Sur" (PDF): 112 – via REDICCES.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 766.
- ^ a b Pérez 2016, p. 5.
- ^ a b c Peterson 1997, p. 25.
- ^ White 2009, p. 27.
- ^ Boland 2001, pp. 12–13.
- ^ a b c Boland 2001, p. 13.
- ^ Fowler 1993, p. 182.
- ^ White 2009, p. 28.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Olson and Shadle 1991, p. 199.
- ^ Boland 2001, p. 13. Rivas 1993, 2000, p. 42.
- ^ Boland 2001, p. 13. Fowler 1988, pp. 113, 115.
- ^ White 2009, p. 31. Recinos 1952, 1986, pp. 89–90.
- ^ a b Recinos 1952, 1986, pp. 89–90.
- ^ a b Recinos 1952, 1986, p. 92.
- ^ Gallardo 2014, pp. 74–75.
- ^ Feldman 2000, p. xix.
- ^ Nessler 2016, p. 4.
- ^ a b Smith 1996, 2003, p. 272.
- ^ Barahona 1991, p. 69.
- ^ Deagan 1988, p. 199.
- ^ Smith 1996, 2003, p. 276.
- ^ Coe and Koontz 2002, p. 229.
- ^ Barahona 1991, pp. 69–70.
- ^ Polo Sifontes 1986, pp. 57–58.
- ^ Polo Sifontes 1986, p. 62.
- ^ a b Gallardo 2013, p. 107.
- ^ Stone 1990, p. 51.
- ^ Gallardo 2013, pp. 105, 109.
- ^ Restall and Fernández Armesto 2012, location 1576.
- ^ Pohl and Hook 2008, pp. 26, 62. Gallardo 2014, p. 77.
- ^ Wise and McBride 1980, 2008, pp. 9–10.
- ^ Johnson 2009, p. 76. Pohl and Robinson 2005, pp 95–96. Restall and Fernández Armesto 2012, location 1585.
- ^ a b c Gallardo 2014, p. 77.
- ^ a b Pohl and Hook 2008, p. 26.
- ^ Pohl and Hook 2008, pp. 26–27.
- ^ Pohl and Hook 2008, p. 27.
- ^ Pohl and Hook 2008, p. 23.
- ^ Pohl and Hook 2008, p. 16, 26.
- ^ a b c d White 2009, p. 32.
- ^ a b c Fowler 1993, p. 185.
- ^ White 2009, pp. 32–33.
- ^ a b c d e White 2009, p. 33.
- ^ Coe 1999, p. 231.
- ^ White 2009, p. 32. Barahona 1991, p. 70. Newson 1986, 2007, p. 144.
- ^ Giusto and Iuliano 1989 p. 9.
- ^ Recinos 1952, 1986, pp. 88–89. Boland 2001, p. 14.
- ^ Recinos 1952, 1986, pp. 88–89.
- ^ a b Boland 2001, p. 14.
- ^ Recinos 1952, 1986, p. 89.
- ^ Recinos 1952, 1986, p. 90.
- ^ Recinos 1952, 1986, pp. 90–91.
- ^ a b c Fowler 1993, p. 184.
- ^ Tous i Mata 1997, p. 205.
- ^ Recinos 1952, 1986, p. 91.
- ^ Recinos 1952,1986, pp. 92–93.
- ^ a b c Recinos 1952,1986, p. 93.
- ^ Recinos 1952, 1986, p. 97.
- ^ a b Matthew 2012, p. 84.
- ^ a b Vallejo García-Hevia 2008, p. 206.
- ^ Amaroli 1991, p. 61.
- ^ Matthew 2012, pp. 84–85.
- ^ a b Gallardo 2013, p. 109.
- ^ Amaroli 1991, pp. 61–62.
- ^ a b Amaroli 1991, p. 62.
- ^ Matthew 2012, p. 87.
- ^ a b c Gallardo 2013, p. 106.
- ^ Gallardo 2013, pp. 109–110.
- ^ a b c Gallardo 2013, p. 110.
- ^ Gallardo 2014 p. 62.
- ^ a b c d Gallardo 2014, p. 76.
- ^ Gallardo 2014, p. 75.
- ^ a b Gallardo 2014, pp. 76–77.
- ^ Gallardo 2014, pp. 79–80.
- ^ Vallejo García-Hevia 2008, pp. 204–206.
- ^ Vallejo García-Hevia 2008, p. 207.
- ^ Vallejo García-Hevia 2008, pp. 207, 380.
- ^ a b c Vallejo García-Hevia 2008, p. 380.
- ^ a b Chamberlain 1953, 1966, p. 33.
- ^ Chamberlain 1953, 1966, p. 34.
- ^ Vallejo García-Hevia 2008, pp. 161, 380.
- ^ Vallejo García-Hevia 2008, p. 381.
- ^ a b Chamberlain 1953, 1966, p. 83.
- ^ Chamberlain 1953, 1966, p. 84.
- ^ Chamberlain 1953, 1966, pp. 84–85.
- ^ Gallardo 2013, p. 110. Chamberlain 1953, 1966, p. 87.
- ^ Chamberlain 1953, 1966, pp. 87–88.
- ^ Chamberlain 1953, 1966, pp. 89–90.
- ^ Chamberlain 1953, 1966, p. 95.
- ^ a b Dalton 1989, 1997, p. 26.
- ^ Fowler 1993, p. 181.
- ^ Fowler 1993, p. 197.
- ^ Fowler 1985, p. 41.
- ^ Fowler 1985, pp. 42-43.
References
- Amaroli, Paul (1991). "Linderos y geografía económica de Cuscatlán, provinica pipil del territorio de El Salvador" (in Spanish). Mesoamérica 21 (June 1991): 41–70. Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala and South Woodstock, Vermont: El Centro de Investigaciones Regionales de Mesoamérica (CIRMA) in conjunction with Plumsock Mesoamerican Studies.
- Barahona, Marvin (1991) Evolución histórica de la identidad nacional (in Spanish). Tegucialpa, Honduras: Editorial Guaymuras. OCLC 24399780.
- Boland, Roy C. (2001) Culture and Customs of El Salvador Westport, Connecticut and London: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-30620-6.
- Chamberlain, Robert Stoner (1966) [1953] The Conquest and Colonization of Honduras: 1502–1550. New York, US: Octagon Books. OCLC 640057454.
- Coe, Michael D. (1999). The Maya. Ancient peoples and places series (6th ed.). London and New York: Thames & Hudson. OCLC 59432778.
- Coe, Michael D.; with Rex Koontz (2002). Mexico: from the Olmecs to the Aztecs (5th ed.). London and New York: Thames & Hudson. OCLC 50131575.
- Dalton, Roque (1997) [1989]. El Salvador (monografía) (in Spanish). 9th edition. San Salvador, El Salvador: UCA Editores. OCLC 53932968.
- Deagan, Kathleen (June 1988). "The Archaeology of the Spanish Contact Period in the Caribbean". Journal of World Prehistory Vol. 2, No. 2: 187–233. Springer. JSTOR 25800541.
- Feldman, Lawrence H. (2000). Lost Shores, Forgotten Peoples: Spanish Explorations of the South East Maya Lowlands. Durham, North Carolina, US: Duke University Press. OCLC 254438823.
- Fowler, William R. Jr. (Winter 1985). "Ethnohistoric Sources on the Pipil-Nicarao of Central America: A Critical Analysis". Ethnohistory. Duke University Press. 32 (1): 37–62. OCLC 478130795. Retrieved 2017-06-27.
- Fowler, William R. Jr. (1988). "La población nativa de El Salvador al momento de la conquista española" (in Spanish). Mesoamérica 15 (June 1988): 79–116. Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala and South Woodstock, Vermont, US: El Centro de Investigaciones Regionales de Mesoamérica (CIRMA) in conjunction with Plumsock Mesoamerican Studies.
- Fowler, William R. (1993). "The Living Pay for the Dead: Trade, Exploitation, and Social Change in Early Colonial Izalco, El Salvador". In J. Daniel Rogers, Samual M. Wilson (eds.) Ethnohistory and Archaeology: Approaches to Postcontact Change in the Americas.
- Gallardo, Roberto (2013). "El origen de la identidad salvadoreña. Etnicidad en la antigua Villa de San Salvador" (in Spanish). Revista de Museología "Kóot" 1: 101–116. San Salvador, El Salvador: Universidad Tecnológica de El Salvador. ISSN 2307-3942.
- Gallardo Mejía, Francisco Roberto (2014). "El sitio arqueológico Cinacantan: Primer levantamiento indígena en Cuscatlán" (in Spanish). Revista de Museología "Kóot" 5: 61–85. San Salvador, El Salvador: Universidad Tecnológica de El Salvador. ISSN 2307-3942.
- Giusto, Vicente Jorge; and Rolando Iuliano (1989). "Aportes Para Una Historia Socio-economica De El Salvador: Desde La Colonia Hasta La Crisis Del Mercado Comun Centroamericano" (in Spanish). Revista de Historia de América, no. 108: 5–71. Mexico City: Pan American Institute of Geography and History. (Full text via JSTOR.)
- Johnson, S. E. (2009) ""You Should Give them Blacks to Eat": Waging Inter-American Wars of Torture and Terror." American Quarterly, vol. 61 no. 1, pp. 65–92. Project MUSE.)
- Matthew, Laura E. (2012). Memories of Conquest: Becoming Mexicano in Colonial Guatemala (hardback). First Peoples. Chapel Hill, North Carolina, US: University of North Carolina Press. OCLC 752286995.
- Nessler, Graham T. (2016). An Islandwide Struggle for Freedom: Revolution, Emancipation, and Reenslavement in Hispaniola 1789–1809. Chapel Hill, North Carolina, US: University of North Carolina Press. OCLC 945632920.
- Newson, Linda (2007) [1986]. El Costo de la Conquista (in Spanish). Tegucigalpa, Honduras: Editorial Guaymuras. ISBN 99926-15-57-5.
- Olson, James S.; and Robert Shadle (1991). Historical Dictionary of European Imperialism. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-415-08836-4.
- Pérez, Orlando J. (2016) Historical Dictionary of El Salvador. Lanham, Maryland and Plymouth, Devon: Rowman & Littlefield. OCLC 942611084
- Peterson, Anna L. (1997) Martyrdom and the Politics of Religion: Progressive Catholicism in El Salvador's Civil War. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. OCLC 34150172
- Pohl, John; and Adam Hook (2008) [2001]. The Conquistador 1492–1550. Warrior. 40. Oxford and New York: Osprey Publishing. OCLC 47726663.
- Pohl, John; and Charles M. Robinson III (2005). Aztecs & Conquistadors: The Spanish invasion & the collapse of the Aztec Empire. Oxford, UK and New York, US: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-934-7.
- Polo Sifontes, Francis (1986). Los Cakchiqueles en la Conquista de Guatemala (in Spanish). Guatemala City, Guatemala: CENALTEX. OCLC 82712257.
- Recinos, Adrian (1986) [1952]. Pedro de Alvarado: Conquistador de México y Guatemala (in Spanish) (2nd ed.). Guatemala City, Guatemala: CENALTEX Centro Nacional de Libros de Texto y Material Didáctico "José de Pineda Ibarra". OCLC 243309954.
- Restall, Matthew; and Felipe Fernández Armesto (2012). The Conquistadors: A Very Short Introduction. Kindle edition. New York, US: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-539229-6.
- Rivas, Ramón D. (2000) [1993]. Pueblos Indígenas y Garífuna de Honduras: Una caracterización (in Spanish). Tegucigalpha, Honduras: Editorial Guaymuras. Colección CÓDICES (Ciencias Sociales). OCLC 30659634
- Sharer, Robert J.; Loa P. Traxler (2006). The Ancient Maya (6th (fully revised) ed.). Stanford, California, US: Stanford University Press. OCLC 57577446.
- Smith, Michael E. (2003) [1996]. The Aztecs (2nd ed.). Malden, Massachusetts and Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. OCLC 59452395
- Stone, Samuel Z. (1990). The Heritage of the Conquistadors: Ruling Classes in Central America from the Conquest to the Sandinistas. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. OCLC 844182512.
- Tous i Mata, Meritxell (1997). "El patrimonio arquitectónico histórico-artístico de Santa Ana y Sonsonate, El Salvador" (in Spanish). ISSN 0520-4100.
- Vallejo García-Hevia (2008). Juicio a un conquistador: Pedro de Alvarado: su proceso de residencia en Guatemala (1536–1538) (in Spanish). Volume 1. Madrid, Spain: Marcial Pons, Ediciones de Historia. OCLC 745512698.
- White, Christopher M. (2009). The History of El Salvador. Greenwood histories of the modern nations. Westport, Connecticut and London: Greenwood Press. ISSN 1096-2905.
- Wise, Terence; and Angus McBride (2008) [1980]. The Conquistadores. Men-at-Arms. 101. Oxford and New York: Osprey Publishing. OCLC 12782941.
Further reading
- Fowler, William R. (2007). The End of Pre-Columbian Pipil Civilization, Ciudad Vieja, El Salvador. Los Angeles, US: Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies (FAMSI), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Archived from the original on 2015-05-31.
- Salgado Zelaya, Róger Antonio (2008). "Defensa territorial y maritima de Nicaragua en el mar Caribe: efectos de la resolución de la Corte Centroamericana de Justicia en el marco del Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana" (in Spanish) pp. 8, 28. Doctoral dissertation. León, Nicaragua: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua – León.