Alonzo de Alvarado was a Spanish Conquistador, loyal to the crown.

Biography

He was born at Secadura de Trasmura, near Burgos (Castilia), date unknown. He was a Knight of Santiago, came to America, and went to Peru with Pedro de Alvarado in 1534, but was no relative of the latter. The cathedral Our Lady of Burgos. ... Pedro de Alvarado y Contreras (Badajoz, c. ...

While charged by some contemporaries with avarice and cruelty, it is undeniable that during the trying period of civil wars in Peru (about 1537 to 1555) Alvarado was an unflinching and determined adherent to the interests of Spain. He always sided with those whom he thought to be sincere representatives of the crown, and it was not always profitable and safe to be on that side. Thus in 1537, he commanded the troops of Pizarro's followers, when Almagro claimed Cuzco. Defeated and captured by the latter at Abancay, after effecting his escape under great difficulties as well as dangers, and rejoining Pizarro, whom he looked upon as the legitimate governor of Peru, he took part in all the bloody troubles that followed, always as a prominent military leader and always unsuccessful when in immediate command. Still, he was counted upon as a mainstay of the Spanish cause, and occupied a high military position. Francisco Pizarro ( 1475–June 26, 1541) was a Spanish conquistador, conqueror of the Inca Empire and founder of the city of Lima. ... Almagro may refer to: People Diego de Almagro, Spanish Explorer Places Almagro, Buenos Aires, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. ... For The Emperors New Groove character, see Kuzco. ... Abancay is a city in Peru, located in the central Andes at aproximately 2,300 m - with a semi-tropical climate. ...

Alvarado married in Spain while on a short visit, in 1544.

When Francisco Hernandez Giron raised the standard of rebellion in 1553, Alvarado was put in command of the forces to oppose him. At Chuquinga, in 1554, Alvarado suffered a signal defeat at the hands of the insurgents. Overcome by melancholy in consequence of that last disaster, he pined away and died in 1559. His principal achievement was the pacification of Chachapoyas in northeastern Peru, in the years 1535 and 1536, this being the first step taken from Peru towards the Amazonian basin.

Source

This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913. [1]