Strike Fear in the Land: Pedro de Alvarado and the Conquest of Guatemala, 1520–1541 (The Civilization of the American Indian Series Book 279)

Good book, great details on the missions Alvarado went on. He invaded Mexico with Cortes, then Cortes sent him down to Central America to conquer it, using tremendous violence, terror, and his charm and leadership skills to somehow persuade many Native allies to fight and conquer with him. He later extorted most of his allies, forcing them through threats of death by burning and hanging to comply with his demands for tribute.The book is well made, but it doesn't use enough sources in my opinion. The author seems to rely only on a few citations and sources, yet somehow ignores what Bartolomew Las Casas says about his campaigns. Las Casas knew the nobility and soldiers of the time, and what he says about Alvarado in his Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies is among the most horrifying and terrible passages ever written about any leader ever. Las Casas says millions were killed in Guatemala alone, and this is very possible, considering how even Alvarado's peers thought he mistreated the Natives.Despite my feelings that the author holds back on Alvarado's conquests and the bloody details, the book is excellent in the fact that it describes how the natives of the region felt about him. This is where the book truly shines. Highly recommended, a sad book in the end, and it shows just how devastating the conquest was to Guatemala and Honduras alongside El Salvador. Great descriptions of the conquistador mindset of the time.