While the tribes of highland Guatemala were warring amongst themselves to the north, in what is now Mexico, the Spanish conquistadors had captured the Aztec capital at Tenochtitlán. Even amidst the horrors of the Conquest there was one man whose evil stood out: Pedro de Alvarado . Ambitious, cunning, intelligent, dashingly handsome and ruthlessly cruel, he could hardly have been better suited to the job of subduing Guatemala.

In 1523, Alvarado arrived in Guatemala via the Pacific coast with a very modest force of a few hundred horsemen, soldiers and Mexican allies. After some minor skirmishes Alvarado confronted the K'iche' army, said to be 30,000-strong, at Xelajú (present-day Quetzaltenango). Despite the huge disparity in numbers, sling-shot and foot soldiers were no match for cavalry and gunpowder, and the Spanish were able to wade through the Maya ranks. Legend has it that the battle was brought to a close when Alvarado himself slew the K'iche' leader Tecún Umán in hand-to-hand combat.

By a series of tactical alliances and brilliant, utterly ruthless military manoeuvres, by 1525 Alvarado's small Spanish force had overpowered all the main highland tribes. First the K'iche' capital, Utatlán, was sacked, then the Tz'utujil were defeated on the shores of Lago de Atitlán with the aid of the Kaqchikel, followed by the Pipil of the Pacific coast. Finally, the last of the major highland tribes, the Mam, were conquered after a siege of their fortified capital, Zaculeu. The support of the Kaqchikel (whose capital, Iximché, they used as a base for their campaigns) during this string of relatively easy gains was probably invaluable.

Dealing with the more remote tribes proved more difficult and it wasn't until the 1530s that Alvarado managed to assert control over the Ixil and Uspantenko. In 1526, the Kaqchikel also revolted and waged a guerrilla war against their former partners, forcing the Spanish from Iximché to a site near the modern town of Antigua (now called Ciudad Vieja). Here, at the base of the Volcán de Agua, they established their first permanent capital on November 22, 1527.

Meanwhile, one thorny problem remained. Despite all his efforts, Alvarado had been unable to conquer the Achi and Q'eqchi' tribes, who occupied what are now the Verapaz highlands. In the end, Dominican priests under Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas succeeded where gunpowder had failed, and in 1540 the last of the highland tribes were brought under colonial control. Thus did the area earn its name of Verapaz - "true peace".