page_title: Spanish conquest of El Salvador
section_title: Conquistadors
hierarchical_section_title: Spanish conquest of El Salvador / Conquistadors
caption_attribution_description: Español: Archivo General de Indias. Tomás Povedano (1906) pinta a Pedro de Alvarado (†1541), gobernador de Guatemala. Óleo sobre lienzo.
context_page_description: The Spanish conquest of El Salvador was the campaign undertaken by the Spanish conquistadores against the Late Postclassic Mesoamerican polities in the territory that is now incorporated into the modern Central American nation of El Salvador. El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America, and is dominated by two mountain ranges running east–west. Its climate is tropical, and the year is divided into wet and dry seasons. Before the conquest the country formed a part of the Mesoamerican cultural region, and was inhabited by a number of indigenous peoples, including the Pipil, the Lenca, the Xinca, and Maya. 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.
context_section_description: 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 precious metals, land grants and provision of native labour. Many of the Spanish were already experienced soldiers who had previously campaigned in Europe. A sizeable portion of the Spanish conquistadors were from the southwestern regions of Spain, with their origins in Andalusia and Extremadura. Up to 1519, according to licenses issued in Spain, over half were from these two regions. From 1520 to 1539, this fell to just under half of all conquistadors leaving Spain. The conquest of the Central American isthmus was launched from three directions; Mexico, Panama, and the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. Relations between rival conquistadors were dominated by mutual distrust, greed, and envy.
  The conquistadors were accompanied by a great many indigenous allies. These included Tlaxcaltecs, Mexicas, Cholutecs, Xochimilcos, Texcocanos, and Huejotzincas that accompanied Pedro de Alvarado from central Mexico, Zapotecs and Mixtecs that joined him as he marched south towards Guatemala and El Salvador, and Kaqchikels that joined him in Guatemala.
  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. The Spanish were particularly horrified by the Mesoamerican religious practice of human sacrifice, prompting them to attempt to eradicate the native religion.
caption: Pedro de Alvarado led the initial Spanish incursion into El Salvador.
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