Following Christopher Columbus's discovery of the Americas for Spain in 1492, the Spanish sent numerous expeditions to the region, and they began their conquest of Maya lands in 1519. During those expeditions, Spanish contact resulted in an epidemic that devastated native populations. Hernán Cortés, who had led the Spanish conquest of Mexico, granted a permit to Captain Gonzalo de Alvarado and his brother, Pedro de Alvarado, to conquer the land that today belongs to the republics of Guatemala and El Salvador.