In a vault beneath the high altar of the cathedral of Guatemala the remains of Pedro de Alvarado were finally laid at rest. Comparing him with other conquerors of his age he was second as a commander only to Cortés, though in character and system of action he was his opposite. Cortés possessed a certain greatness and nobility of soul: Alvarado was mendacious, treacherous, and dishonest; his frank demeanor cloaked deceit, and favors heaped upon him were repaid with ingratitude. In the breast of Cortés beat an affectionate heart, stern though it was, and he seldom failed to win the true regard of his followers. The conqueror of Guatemala was void of affection even for women, and his choice of wife or mistress was inspired by ambition or lust. To govern by fear was his delight. Cortés was cautious and far-sighted; Alvarado impetuous, never anticipating other than favorable results. In versatility, as well as in mental and moral qualities, Cortés was far superior to the adelantado—instance the mutiny at Patinamit. Cortés would have suppressed it, had such a thing ever occurred under his command. Alvarado's career hardly affords the means of fairly estimating his qualities as a commander, for he never met his countrymen in the field. Nevertheless, though his victories were chiefly owing to superiority in arms and discipline, he displayed on several occasions genuine military skill, and his quick perception, coolness, and presence of mind, which no extremity of danger disturbed, ever enabled him to act promptly and rightly in the most critical positions. That he never sustained a reverse in arms, from the time he left Mexico in 1523 until the disaster which caused his death, indicates generalship of no mean order. As a governor he was tyrannical,[XII‑25] and his capacity for ruling was inferior to his ability in the field.[XII‑26]
Judged even by the standard of his age it must be said of him that, while ever proclaiming disinterestedness and loyalty to the crown,[XII‑27] none of his contemporaries were inspired by a more restless ambition, and few actuated by more thoroughly selfish motives. Success appears to have rendered him callous to any sense of shame, and in the last effort of his life he was prompted by boyish egotism and foolish pride, being spurred by jealous opposition to the man through whose favor he had been raised to his high station.[XII‑28] A perusal of the despatches written during his later years would without other evidence lead to the conclusion that he was the victim of a general attack directed against him by his countrymen, who denied his services to the emperor, misrepresented his motives, and decried his conduct. But his earlier letters addressed to Cortés during the days of their friendship, reveal more correctly the true character of the man. There we see portrayed his audacity, his presence of mind in danger, his capacity as a leader, his diabolic delight in bloodshed, blended with the superstition then strangely prevalent among his countrymen, that, while thus serving the devil to the uttermost, he was glorifying God, and winning for himself celestial favors.[XII‑29]
THE ADELANTADO'S PROGENY.
Alvarado left no legitimate offspring, for though he had two children by his second wife they both died in early childhood.[XII‑30] Numerous illegitimate children, however, survived him, among whom may be mentioned Doña Leonor, Pedro, and Diego de Alvarado, his offspring by a daughter of Xicotencatl, the lord of Tlascala.[XII‑31]
CHAPTER XIII.
THE CONQUEST OF CHIAPAS.
1520-1529.
Origin of the Chiapanecs—They Submit to the Spaniards after the Mexican Conquest—But Rise in Arms when Required to Pay Tribute—Captain Luis Marin Undertakes the Conquest of the Province—His Battles with the Natives—The Panic-stricken Artilleryman—Capture of the Stronghold of Chiapas—The Chamulans Rise in Revolt—Their Fortress Besieged—Repulse of the Spaniards—Bernal Diaz in Peril—Flight and Surrender of the Chamulans—Marin Returns to Espíritu Santo—Second Revolt of the Chiapanecs—Their Subjugation by Diego de Mazariegos—Third Rebellion—Their Self-destruction—Pedro Puertocarrero in the Field—His Discomfiture—Founding of Villa Real—Juan Enriquez de Guzman Takes the Residencia of Mazariegos—His Maladministration.
For many centuries before the beginning of the Christian era, and probably for two or three hundred years later, the site where now stand the ruins of Palenque in Chiapas[XIII‑1] was the centre of one of the most powerful monarchies in the western world, the great Maya empire of the Chanes. To Votan, the culture hero, who, according to Maya tradition, claiming his descent from Chan, the serpent, first introduced civilization into America, and after his disappearance was worshipped as a god, is ascribed the foundation of this ancient dynasty about three thousand years ago.[XIII‑2]
It is related in the oldest records obtained from the archives of Mexican history, that the Tzendales, a tribe dwelling in the neighborhood of Palenque, shared with the Zoques the northern part of Chiapas, while the southern and central portions were occupied by the Zotziles and Quelenes and also by the Chiapanecs, who, though at first confined to a narrow strip of territory, finally overran the entire region.[XIII‑3] Whether the Chiapanecs came originally from Nicaragua, or were a detachment from the great Toltec swarm that swept southward into Guatemala, or were descended from the mythic Chan, is a question that is yet involved in some mystery. We know, however, that after their arrival they built a stronghold which proved impregnable until the advent of the Spaniard with his superior skill and weapons, and that here, for centuries before the conquest, they maintained their independence and extended their possessions.[XIII‑4]
It is probable that, as early as 1520, Spaniards penetrated into this region under the auspices of Montezuma, while friendly relations were still maintained between that monarch and Cortés. After the fall of the Mexican capital, dismay at the achievements of the great conqueror was so widely spread that many independent tribes sent in their allegiance, and among them the Chiapanecs.[XIII‑5] These different territories were soon portioned out in repartimientos, and Chiapas was assigned with other districts to the Spanish settlers in Espíritu Santo. No sooner, however, was the attempt made to render these repartimientos profitable by the exaction of tribute, than the natives rose in arms. Many settlers were killed, some offered in sacrifice, and all the efforts of the colonists to pacify the revolted districts were unavailing.[XIII‑6]
EXPEDITION OF MARIN.