 Juan Ponce de Leon was born in Santervas de Campos, Spain in 1460. He took part in the war to conquer Granada. Later, Ponce de Leon accompanied Columbus on his second voyage. He helped conquer the eastern part of the Hispaniola. Ponce de Leon was given the governorship of the providence in recognition of his service. Ponce de Leon heard rumors of the considerable wealth in the neighboring island of Puerto Rico. He requested and received permission to lead an expedition to explore and conquer that island. In 1508, Ponce de Leon established the first settlement in Puerto Rico, called "Caparra". Ponce de Leon quickly gained control of the whole island. The natives of the island (called "Tainos") were worked hard. Many died from the diseases that Europeans had brought with them. In 1511, Ponce de Leon was removed from office. He requested permission to explore the area to North of Cuba. That permission was granted. Popular history states that Ponce de Leon was searching for the Fountain of Youth during his expedition. There are many questions as to whether that is really true. On April 2nd 1513, Ponce de Leon landed on territory he called "Florida"– for all the flowers he saw there. Ponce de Leon most likely landed just North of the current Florida. Then, he explored that coast from north to south, all the way down to the Florida Keys. In 1514, Ponce de Leon returned to Spain. There, he received the Royal Commission to conquer Guadalupe and settle Florida. He led a failed expedition to Guadalupe in 1515, after which he returned to Puerto Rico. He stayed in Puerto Rico until 1521. Then he led an expedition to set up a permanent colony in Florida. The colonists landed on the Southwest coast of Florida. Hostile Natives soon attacked them. A poison arrow stuck Ponce de Leon. The Spanish withdrew to Cuba where Ponce de Leon soon died from his wound. . BiographyBiography for Kids >> Explorers for KidsJuan Ponce de Leon Author: Jacques Reich
Early Life Juan Ponce de Leon was born in the Spanish kingdom of Castile around the year 1474. While still a young boy, Juan went to work as a squire for a knight named Don Pedro Nunez de Guzman. As a squire, he helped take care of the knight's armor and horses. He attended to de Guzman during battles and basically was a servant for the knight. As Juan grew older, the knight taught him how to fight. He learned how to fight from a horse and took part in battles. At the time, the leaders of Spain (King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella) wanted all of Spain to become Christian. Juan was part of the army that defeated the Moors in 1492 to bring the entire Iberian Peninsula under Spanish control. The New World After the war was over, Ponce de Leon was looking for his next adventure. He joined Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the New World. Juan ended up as a military leader on the Island of Hispaniola. After helping to crush a native rebellion, Juan was made governor over a section of the island and given a large portion of land. He would soon become rich farming the land and selling produce to ships traveling back to Spain. Puerto Rico In 1506, Ponce de Leon decided to begin exploring. He went to the Island of Puerto Rico where he discovered gold and fertile land. In 1508, he returned with the king's blessing and established the first Spanish settlement in Puerto Rico. The king soon named Ponce de Leon as the first governor of Puerto Rico. The Spanish, under Ponce de Leon, made the local natives (called the Tainos) work for them as slaves. They forced the Tainos to farm the land and mine for gold. Between the harsh treatment of the Spanish soldiers and new diseases (like smallpox) brought by the settlers, at least 90% of the Tainos died. Florida After several years of politics in Spain, Ponce de Leon was replaced as governor of Puerto Rico. The king, however, wanted to reward Juan for his service. Juan was granted an expedition to explore islands north of Puerto Rico. In 1513, Ponce de Leon headed north with 200 men and three ships (Santiago, San Cristobal, Santa Maria de la Consolacion). On April 2, 1513, Juan spotted land. He thought it was another island, but it was really big. Because the land was beautiful and he discovered the land around Easter (which was called Pascua Florida, meaning the Festival of Flowers), he called the land "La Florida." The expedition continued to explore and map out the coast of Florida. They discovered that it must be a huge island. They also found that the natives were quite fierce. Several times when they landed on shore, they had to fight for their lives. The Fountain of Youth Legend has it that Ponce de Leon was searching Florida for the "Fountain of Youth." This magical fountain was supposed to make anyone who drank from it young again. However, there is little evidence that this was an actual goal of the expedition. The fountain was not mentioned in any of Ponce de Leon's writings and only became associated with the expedition after his death. Death After the expedition, Ponce de Leon returned to Spain to tell the king about his discovery. He then returned to Florida in 1521 with the hopes of establishing a colony. However, not long after landing in Florida, the colonists were attacked by local natives. Ponce de Leon was struck on the thigh with a poisoned arrow. He died a few days later, after retreating to Havana, Cuba. Interesting Facts about Juan Ponce de Leon
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