BATTLE OF ACAJUTLA–SPANISH DEFEAT PIPIL
Hernán Cortés, after conquering the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, delegated conquest of the territories southward to Pedro de Alvarado & his force of over 400 Spanish horsemen & foot soldiers, and several hundred Cholula & Tlaxcala auxiliaries. Subduing the highland Mayan city-states, he turned to the Pipils-a Nahuat-speaking people of the state of Cuzcatlán (in present-day Ecuador). The Kaqchikel Mayans, long rivals of Cuzcatlán, joined with Alvarado. At Acajutla, he met Pipil warriors wearing heavy 3-4” thick cotton armor & carrying long lances. After the armor thwarted Alverado’s archers, Alvarado feigned a retreat to draw the Pipil into the open. When they did, Alvarado’s forces turned and fought. Here, the weight of the cotton armor hindered the Pipil and slaughter ensued. A 2nd battle fought a few days later worsened the Pipil defeat. The remaining resistance operated from the mountains where Alverado’s forces could not engage them. They would not be defeated until a 2nd Spanish invasion a decade later.
Sources:
W. George Lovell, Christopher H. Lutz, Wendy Kramer, “Strike Fear in the Land: Pedro de Alvarado and the Conquest of Guatemala, 1520–1541 (Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 5/7/2020). Retrieved 11/16/2021, Strike Fear in the Land: Pedro de Alvarado and the Conquest of Guatemala ... - W. George Lovell, Christopher H. Lutz, Wendy Kramer - Google Books
Wikipedia
Illustration: Diego Muñoz Camargo, Indigenas Tlaxcaltecas, 1524. Battle of Acajutla (faithful photograph reproduction of public domain work of art). Public Domain.
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